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?

This is my second home that I have owned, and location both times!

Services/facilities we need nearby (and more recently near elderly parents). Having to drive and long travel times would have more of a negative effect on my quality of life than having less space.

But each to their own!

Bit of a balance act for us as well. We moved from a nice neighbourhood in a bad town, to a bigger, better house in an OK neighbourhood in a much nicer town. It's the less desirable part of the town but not what I'd call rough. Good schools and some amenities in walking distance, half an hour's walk into the lovely town centre.
We viewed houses in the more popular/expensive residential areas as well, but none of them offered the space we crave at a budget we could stomach.
I still feel that we moved to a better place overall because the town is so much nicer than where we lived before, and our road is one of the nicest ones in the neighbourhood.
We could also have gone into one of the nice nearby villages but then we would've had to take the car everywhere, and we didn't want that.

So far it feels like we made the right compromise.

I'm facing this location/ property dilemma right now!

The 'location house' is smaller but not too small. Quieter. More money.

The 'house house' is larger all round but not as well laid out inside. Next to a main road. Less money.

Both roughly the same distance from schools, amenities though. Both same size garden. Both nice areas generally.

Mix for me. I currently live around 10 minutes from our town which I adore, relocated here two years ago. I dislike the house though and have just not settled - mid terrace, small north facing garden, can hear the neighbours and no off road parking. I feel like I am surrounded by people and cars. I have sold and have bought a post war dormer bungalow on an estate which is nice but will now have a 20 minute walk into the town (and a not as nice walk) but I will have a driveway, a south west facing garden, a garage, 4 double bedrooms and two bathrooms. I have to admit I am slightly nervous that I am doubling the walk into town but there are bike routes all the way in. Don't have to think about schools anymore as the DC are University age.

Always location. In laws now stuck in a large family house they can’t sell as it’s in shit area with bad state schools. Any family with half a brain that could afford the house would buy in the next town that is lovely with good schools.

Location for us. We are in one of the best areas of the city we live in and house prices are very high so we’ve compromised in that we could be in a much larger house by now had we moved. We’re in the process of moving to a slightly different (even nicer) area and will be in walking distance of plenty of cafes, pubs, restaurants and nature walks which will be perfect for our kids now they are a bit older - and for us as they become more independent. The house we are moving to is a large 3 bed semi. For our budget, in a worse area, we could easily afford a sprawling, detached with multiple bathrooms and at least 4 bedrooms, but for me the location is tied up in how much we love our home!

Location for us - currently moving from a four bed house in a nice enough area in zone 3 to a two bed flat is a really really nice area in zone 2. Most people would think we're mad but we only have one DC and am just not bothered enough about cleaning a big house.

We prioritised a ‘small’ house (it’s still a 4 bed but smaller than we can afford & garden is tiny) in the best area that worked for us location wise. We could afford a lot bigger, wanted it even, but this area works for us in ways others wouldn’t. It’s central, shops and ameneties are walking distance, I have some of the county’s best schools within walking distance, and it’s only at most a 20 min drive to the places I need to go to most often.

I would definitely not want to sacrifice all that for a bigger garden I probably wouldn’t want to spend all my free time de-weeding lol

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.

😂😂😂😂
Very funny. Still chuckling about that.

20 mins is very quick still. Unless you're disabled /the sort to need frequent nipping out for a pint of milk!

Does your DH commute by train and therefore really need to be walking distance to the station? How often do you go to the beach? What are the buses like? Just wondering if there's a middle ground which is still walking distance to kids schools and a corner shop, but not right in the centre with city-centre prices?

@AllegraWalterJones I know I think I have been ruined by the 10 minute walk along a beautiful route into the town. Not disabled thankfully. My OH seems to think it is the back of beyond though and is slightly putting me off but I have never felt relaxed in my current house, when I walked into my new house to be I breathed a sigh of relief and that will be worth an extra 10 minutes I hope!

Haha don't worry - you will get used to it. Plus the house will be so nice you won't really want to leave.
I'm the 'popping out for milk' type, we do have a corner shop here but I need to go to the supermarket anyway. I've gotten used to it, and it's actually nice to add it to the daily 'exercise' quota 😎

The majority of replies here are location though.
There is some logic in the fact that it cannot change, and might even prevent you from moving. No house can go beyond the ceiling price for an area because those who have that kind of money would just go for the better area.

Nobody wants to live in a crime-ridden area with lots of ASB.. or one with bad schools (for families with kids).

Location of 'close to town' is a bit less pronounced as it depends on personality. Some people are so used to hopping in the car for anything and wouldn't walk even if it was 5 mins. Others would walk 20+ mins to avoid a 5 min car journey (like myself).

Yes, this makes sense. Tbh we are probably going to end up like this.
I love where we live, I can be in a major city 20 mins on the train, but have birdsong all day. People are really friendly and we got to know all the neighbours within days of moving in.

We initially thought of building equity and moving back to 'nicer' area but this place feels like home in a way that never did. Although on paper it has more stuff.

Yes, I agree with this. I bought a house that box ticked all my requirements, in a good immediate location, in an ok area I was a bit "iffy" about. Had I of gone for a house that didn't fit any of my requirements, no room for pets, hobbies, on a main road, no parking, backing onto a railway line, tiny garden etc it would be driving me nuts by now, but it would have increased in value more. But I need to be able to live in it. Im in Surrey, so "an ok" area is subjective when you're surrounded by some of the most affluent villages in the UK. So where I live appears "down market" in comparison. I love my house.

We went for property size but it wasn’t a horrific choice, we needed 3 bedrooms and the only place we could afford was a ‘good’ street in a town regarded as the poor relation of the area.

It was the right choice, the town and schools have improved massively and we have all the facilities we need.

I was embarrassed to say where I lived for a few years, not anymore.

We chose location, although the house is big enough for our family so not too much a compromise. We're in a busy touristy bit of London Zone 2, the tube is a 5 min walk, countless bus routes (we don't have a car), canal walks 3 min away, dc's prep 5 min walk, great markets and high street, short walk to several big parks, and easy walk or public transport to lots of interesting activities for dcs. Lots of people would dislike our area as it's very busy and there is lots of crime around, but we ike the diversity and have never been affected by the crime.

Our house is a 4 bed, but the garden is tiny and the layout is not ideal for our family, and it's a Victorian property, and we're still learning about its quirks. Our budget would have got us a huge detached with land elsewhere, but I'd be bored without easy access to the kind of activities we like, I'd resent depending on a car, DH would hate a commute (he can walk to work here), and we wouldn't be able to live the lifestyle we like.