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Original poster

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

118 replies

donkey86 · 12/05/2023 16:53

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?

OP posts:
SquashPenguin · 12/05/2023 20:19

House initially, but it’s since worked out amazing location wise and I consider myself very fortunate.

VikingLady · 12/05/2023 20:21

Size, definitely. We're a full household of home loving introverts, so we need discernment for our stuff! Schools weren't an issue for us, and we have a car/there's online shopping.

We live on the outskirts and in a bad area of a fairly small northern town though, so we can walk into town or to a park. I just wouldn't do it after dark.

Tulipvase · 12/05/2023 20:26

We chose house and location but it’s not the ideal location. It’s on a main road, so ideally, I would be a street or 2 back. But we are 10 mins from the town, schools, work.

I didn’t want to live on an estate and I wanted an old house. So we bought a Victorian terrace on a main road.

For us though it was an upgrade in size too.

Teachingteacher · 12/05/2023 20:28

I’m in a European city, and I feel that we’ve managed to land somewhere in the middle with the house we just bought. 3-bed that we plan to turn into a 4-bed. Small but nice garden. No driveway or garage, so only street parking.
The location is a little bit out in the burbs, but we have a metro/tram line a 7 min walk away, which takes you downtown to the opera house in 22 mins. Lots of shops etc. within walking distance.

We thought about getting a massive 5-bed with a huge garden outside the city, but it’s not our first language here, and we felt that we would be isolated from our friends. I think we’ve reached a decent compromise.

If I were you OP, I’d stay in the smaller house closer to the beach/amenities. But each to their own.

Lcb123 · 12/05/2023 20:30

We’re buying now and have prioritised location above everything. Probably could have got a bigger house somewhere else but we’re buying we can walk/cycle everywhere, there’s regular buses and a mainline station to London. We only need 1 car and even that we’re debating selling. As a teenager living in a town centre was amazing for my freedom. I can’t think of anything worse than having to drive everywhere. And smaller house means easier to clean, maintain and heat! We go away a lot anyway

AllegraWalterJones · 12/05/2023 20:35

Closer to amenities, definitely.
Although we cheated and got both, the compromise being the 'naiceness' of the location. We're lucky to have been looking in areas with a large choice of housing!

Large house with garden, garage and parking for multiple cars off street. 10 mins walk to train station/bus stop direct to Manchester, there's also a park and ride a 15 mins drive away.

For the price of a small 2 bed terrace, with no off-street parking in naice area.

We've got lovely neighbours , I still feel a bit of regret but ultimately I think it's just FOMO, and all the 'location location location' advice. The town centre is crap but even when were were renting in 'naice' area we didn't go to all the local independents etc because our friends were from all over - so easier to just meet in Manchester!

MerryChristmasToYou · 12/05/2023 20:39

In your case, I'd pick location. The not having to drive everywhere was a major factor for us.

DiscoBeat · 12/05/2023 20:41

When I was younger I sold my larger 3-bed semi for a much smaller 2-bed because it was in a lovely village that I knew well. I didn't regret it at all although when I met my husband we were sensible about space so I moved in with him (and paid off his mortgage, which helped - it also gave us space for the children to all have their own rooms. But we both do still miss my little cottage sometimes!

ashamed1235 · 12/05/2023 20:50

We prioritised in a different way. We wanted to live in a nice part of our town that was walking distance to shops/good schools/parks/ beach etc. some of the roads in the area are leafy and quiet and we could only afford a small house. We are in the same area, but in a big house on a busier road with no off street parking and a small courtyard garden. However, big lovely park over the road.

it was the right compromise for us. Our 4 bed Victorian house with features was about 30 percent less than a not so nice 3 bed house the road over, because the road is leafy and quiet. It didn’t even come with parking but street parking is easier there. Ours is on a permit here but that’s good because others can’t use it!

But we ruled out the suburbs because we wanted to be able to walk to local amenities. Whichever way you look at it, everyone has to compromise. Sadly!

gettingolderbutcooler · 12/05/2023 20:50

We did a bit of both! We chose a lovely area, but we got a house on the side of a busy road.
Love it here. Sooo glad to be able to browse all the shops and restaurants, be in catchment of great schools, not worry about the kids meeting up with friends.

WhatWeDoInTheShadow · 12/05/2023 20:55

We've got the best / worst of both worlds really. Used to be in a flat in a really expensive town with great transport links but no chance of us getting a place at any of the half decent schools. Moved further away from London and good transport links to another nice town (but nowhere near as expensive due to being further from London) with great schools. We still can't afford a big house here though

Heatherbell1978 · 12/05/2023 20:55

House. Around 8-10 years ago most of our friends including us were selling our city flats and buying our family homes after marriage etc. Most of our friends opted for the 3 bed semi in the city while we decided to go for the new build 4 bed detached in the suburbs with garage etc. To be fair it's well connected with plenty amenities so not rural at all. We're so happy we did that as we don't need to move again. We've invested a lot in the house too as we know we'll be here for years to come. Friends are now stuck as prices in our city have soared and a 4 bed is out of reach unless they move..which is harder to do once kids are at school etc.

847arc · 12/05/2023 20:55

Location. We moved from very rural with a huge garden with pre-school kids to less rural on a bus route near to a good school. But now the kids are older they can travel independently and have friends within walking distance.
I mostly don’t regret it.

DuesToTheDirt · 12/05/2023 20:57

Depends, I'd say...

We moved from an area which I loved, and an incredibly noisy flat, to a house in so-so area. If we'd stayed in the lovely area we could only have afforded a bigger flat, and after the noise trouble we didn't want another flat. We moved with the thought that we'd stay here at least 5 years - we've now been here 25 years, so it worked out well!

When I say this is a so-so area, it has good transport routes and some amenities, but not as many amenities as the previous area, and it's a bit more down-market.

ididntknowthat11 · 12/05/2023 20:58

We moved two years ago from the good bit of a bad area.

And for that reason we kind of had the best of both worlds. Big detached Georgian house on a beautiful tree lined street. Corner shop a few doors down and a 5-6 minute walk into the centre of town.

We adored our house, so big and so much character, but because the town we were in wasn't "nice", it was very affordable.

Moved 2 years ago to an expensive town around 90 minutes away. Had to increase our mortgage massively for a much smaller house, 1980s built, no character Sad

Good bus links but further out from the nearest city so can't walk it.

So in our case, I'd say we preferred where we were, but I don't think it's quite the same comparison as yours as it's due to the other town being so much cheaper.

Violinist64 · 12/05/2023 21:06

It was the house for us. We have two pianos as well as several other musical instruments so needed a room big enough for them. It is in a nice area, though.

SortOfLikeAnOctopusOnlyMoreBlocky · 12/05/2023 21:11

We chose size. I regret it, husband does not.

NellyBarney · 12/05/2023 21:31

We went for location, we wanted to be close to dcs school and train station, the compromise we had to make was to buy an extremely large house - during the recent property craze, we couldn't win an offer battle for a sensible property. The size and state of our house had put people off and it had been on the market for years. We are now very happy with both location and the size, we've spread out and use the whole 6000 feet.

NellyBarney · 12/05/2023 21:35

To be fair, while the location for us is perfect, many would consider the area pretty bad and rough (where we live, it's much posher to live very rural).

AllegraWalterJones · 12/05/2023 21:43

DuesToTheDirt · 12/05/2023 20:57

Depends, I'd say...

We moved from an area which I loved, and an incredibly noisy flat, to a house in so-so area. If we'd stayed in the lovely area we could only have afforded a bigger flat, and after the noise trouble we didn't want another flat. We moved with the thought that we'd stay here at least 5 years - we've now been here 25 years, so it worked out well!

When I say this is a so-so area, it has good transport routes and some amenities, but not as many amenities as the previous area, and it's a bit more down-market.

This is us too!
What put you off moving?
Did the area grow on you, or was it just not worth it?

Crikeyalmighty · 12/05/2023 21:59

@Courgettefritters we've lived in St Albans twice- it suited me when our son was small but when we moved back as a teen (10 years ago) - it didn't feel nearly as nice and actually had not that great amenities at that time , was a bit lacking in nice places to go as a couple and an awful amount of empty shops etc - it was also dead in the daytime in the week- hopefully with people working from home more those aspects may well have improved.

OldTinHat · 12/05/2023 22:18

I swore I wouldn't live in the town I do but, wow, it's perfect! The house is okay but the location is best - when I viewed it, I was early and went for a walk around and was like WHOA!!

JandalsAlways · 12/05/2023 22:20

It's a balance, I'd always want location but not at the expense of a terrible house. Probably depends on life stages too.

BarelyLiterate · 12/05/2023 22:31

We chose location. We live on the edge of a village which is described by estate agents as ‘highly sought after’, with views over open fields to both sides of the house. It’s working farmland, so my current neighbours are a herd of dairy cattle. Much less hassle than humans.
The house itself is a 3 bedroom stone barn conversion type cottage with a very small garden. We could have bought a 5 bed detached on a suburban estate for the same price, but we love living here & have zero regrets.

jkld · 12/05/2023 22:44

We went for the house and have no regrets. Although when I say we chose house, I mean we chose a house is a less desirable town that doesn't have the best reputation, but our neighbourhood has excellent schools within walking distance, 30 mins walk to town (or bus/bike for a quicker journey!) and actually a lovely estate. It's perfect for teenagers.

So practically the location is great, but it isn't a sexy postcode so we got a lot of house for our money vs the chocolate box villages or expensive market town 15 miles or so away.