If you chose between location and property size which did you go for and do you regret it?

[donkey86]

When we moved to our current town about six years ago DH and I very much prioritised location. It’s a seaside town and we wanted to be walking distance from both the beach and the railway station. So we accepted that we could only afford a fairly small terraced house.

For the most part I’ve been happy with the decision even though it means our DDs sharing a room. It’s great to have everything in walking distance, especially as DH can’t drive. But yesterday I went around a new friend’s house at the far end of town. It’s massive! Four bedrooms, a lovely garden, a driveway. When I got home I looked on Rightmove (I’m nosy!) and I saw that a very similar house near them is on sale for less than ours is worth. Despite being well over twice the size!

So of course now I’m thinking of how much house we could have if we moved to the suburbs. But they don’t even have a corner shop close by. They drive everywhere. There aren’t many buses either. And DH would never agree. But that lovely garden - oh, I’d like one like that! We only have a courtyard patio.

I was just wondering how other people feel? If you went for location, do you pine for a big house? If you went for the house, do you get frustrated having to drive for a pint of milk?

location! I’ve lived in a location like you describe (suburban, 20 minute walk to a corner shop) yes I had a nice garden but my god it was a pain. And with DC you’d be a taxi service for their entire teens

I think it depends very much on the location. We live in a small ish town so although at the edge can still walk into the centre in 15 minutes. If you’d be losing all amenities, I’m not sure house size for me would make up for that. I’d move slightly further out if amenities were still there but if there’s no buses and you’re driving everywhere it would be a no from me. That’s why the house is cheaper.

For us it was house. We live central, in an OK bit of a bad area. The primary school is good but bad secondary.

We love our house though! And the town we live in is well connected, so easy to leave if you need to. We are near the shops, parks etc within walking distance. Its just the area isn't deemed 'nice'.

We live in a small thatched cottage in a rural village, very sought after. It has excellent schools and have to drive everywhere but that suits us.

We used to live in a much larger modern house in a less desirable village with less good schools.

The cottage is significantly smaller (same number of bedrooms though) and vastly more expensive and needs tons of work. But we absolutely love it here. Wouldn’t go back, no regrets.

We moved from the Good Postcode to the Bad Postcode 😁 so we could have a bigger house. I have not regretted it for one second, I love my house, we now have space for a dining table and the kids all have their own rooms. And the double glazing largely mutes the sound of all the police sirens and I don't own a car to nick anyway so we are golden. And thankfully my neighbours are lovely 😀

Yes a middling option would be perfect - but too expensive!

We definitely chose the house.

We live in a semi rural village which didn't really appeal initially but we absolutely loved the house - brand new, pretty huge and the former show home on a small cul de sac - which just fit within our budget and we were offered a part ex which was brilliant.

Moved in 6 weeks later and the initial plan was to stay just for 5 years and then look again in our preferred location.

Guess what? We are still here 29 years later and absolutely love our home. We have decided we will never move from here. We still don't really have a shop within comfortable walking distance but we both drive and in the years since moving here, they have built a retail park, an indoor shopping centre, 3 Aldis, Morrisons, Asda, M & S and Sainsburys all within 10 mins drive. We never go to the town centre now.

We went for size over location.

Our house is big with plenty of room for a growing family and fabulous during lockdown when we could all have our own space.

We've now got two adults working permanently from home, so I still think it's worth it.

The downside is that we have to drive everywhere.

We begrudgingly went for the house. We both work from home, so needed the extra space. Time will tell if we regret it or not! With wfh and a young baby, we figured we spend more time in the house than out of it. And we both drive, so it's not like we're limited to the amenities (or lack of) within walking distance.

That sounds perfect tbh. I just need to persuade DH to learn to drive!

location, 2 bed flat in a nice suburb of London in zone 3. We are near in laws and good schools and on the cusp of posh areas like Muswell Hill and Hampstead Garden Suburb. We can walk to Highgate Woods and I go into the office daily now so commuting isn't expensive the way it is for many people who live outside London. I accepted my current job and work patterns because it paid £19k more; if I lived outside London, I probably wouldn't have done it.

When we bought it, we both worked 5 days a week for long hours in central London. DH is hybrid now but like me, I don't think we can say that our future jobs would not involve a lot of time in the office with perhaps only a day or two at home. In a time of high inflation, being able to move jobs and get pay increases is a gift in itself. I do also love our area and while there are times i dream of moving to St Albans, the increased amount I would spend on season ticket fares does put me off unless i get a job one day which pays so well that £5k a year would be just a snip! I would like an extra bedroom though, but honestly if it was a 3 bedroom flat, i would be completely happy.

We chose a flat in the city centre rather than a house in the suburbs. There are days when I love it, because it is convenient to have everything right on my doorstep. But days like today when I received my annual ground rent bill that I regret the decision.

I went for location over a spare bedroom. I’m not going to lie - I think the spare bedroom would have improved our quality of life on a daily basis. I could have worked from there and stored some of DD’s toys. On the other hand, DD gets to grow up in a quiet, safe area with low air pollution and her school has few social issues and a lovely, big outdoor space.

See, St Albans was our "location" that we left so we could get more "house". So I guess it's all a matter of perspective (and budget!)

My parents moved from a tiny house in a small city to another small house with more garden in a very rural area. It sucked for me so much as a teenager being so far from everything that I vowed never to force that on my kids.

My husband and I both drive but having at least a shop in walking distance was non-negotiable for me. Our house is on the outskirts of a city, and while the third bedroom is a bit too small, I love the location as we’re near everything, and it more than makes up for it.

Overall, I don’t regret my decision, but I think our street has been unlucky with the council tax banding. We should not be in the same band as larger houses worth twice as much! So, I do regret the extra money I have to spend on that.

We have also prioritised location. However we could still get more house in other areas that are almost as convenient - so it came down to schools first and foremost. We live near to the only vaguely ok secondary schools around which aren't church schools or grammar. No idea if our kids would get into the latter (eldest hasn't even dtarted primary yet) and there's zero way they'd get into any of the church schools.

Location, every time

There's a middle ground between urban and suburban. We're in a village with great amenities for its size, a short drive away from a mainline station into a big city. Houses cost about the same as suburban houses in the nearby town but are much cheaper than the town centre which is premium prices. We chose to have a bigger house but don't feel we've compromised on location.

We chose location which meant our kids get to go to nice schools and have lots of great activities nearby. I do sometimes with we lived in a bigger place but our lifestyle would be different and am still pleased we made that decision.

We picked 'the house', loved it but it on the edge of a shit area that overspilt. Moved within 3 years to 'the location'. Smaller house that cost more but feel much happier. I love the sound of your friends house, but I drive so it wouldn't bother me.....however the coast is where I long to be

I think there always a balance. Our new location is not as desirable as the old one, but it's not exactly awful. It's more rural with fewer amenities but it's also lovely and peaceful. The house is amazing with great views and well worth the move for the extra space and the garden.

Having said that we own two cars and we wouldn't dream of living here if we couldn't drive. I think that transport is so important for a good quality of life and outside of London public transport is mostly crap.

I notice every other person on MN "lives rurally" so will be used to relying on a car. I wouldn't like it.
I grew up in London suburbia within walking distance of shops (about 3 min walk) school (15-20 min walk) and a couple of tube or mainline stations probably within a mile of my house.
Then I moved to zone 2, and we barely used our cars.
Moving away from London my non-negotiable was being within a mile of a train station for commuting to work so we wouldn't need to factor in the expense of fuel, and station parking. We have shops and the kids school within about 15-20 min walk. They are now teens and can get themselves to and from school and after school activities and part time jobs while we are at work. DD is looking for a part time job and I think options might be limited in our town but there are bigger towns and a retail park that are easily accessible by train.

I definitely wouldn't live somewhere rural or without shops/facilities if I didn't drive.

Interesting question, @donkey86. We looked at houses from 60-80,000 30+ years ago. We looked at properties which ranged in size from large modern 4 bedroom/3 bathroom to plain boxy 1970's 3 bedroom/1 bathroom all over central Scotland.

Eventually chose the small detached 1970's 3 bed house, 1 tiny bathroom, tiny kitchen, one living/dining room, conservatory,huge corner garden, double garage and less than 70,000. Why? Cul de sac so safe for our toddlers /cats to play in street. 10 min walk from station to Glasgow/Edinburgh/Stirling. Next to canal and ancient woodland. Close to good schools, doctors and dentists (NHS). Incredible view of Firth of Forth. Still there today. Often think about the huge modern house I turned down - all those bathrooms to clean . No, I have to spend as little as possible time cleaning my small house and don't regret a thing. It is so convenient to be 40 mins on train from Glasgow/Edinburgh, even less to Stirling.

I'd love to live beside the sea though, OP. My mum does and we spend a lot of time down there strolling along the prom when we visit.

Location was my choice, not size of house. We managed with a small home fine, had to be organised though.

We left a house in London for a house the same size in the countryside.

I never thought I'd leave London but I absolutely adore where we are now and have no intentions of ever living in a City again