Would you rather.. (house buying)

[HouseoneHousetwo]

..a smaller house with large garden with views over countryside but slightly overlooked by neighbours.
OR
a larger house with a small but private garden.

We are family with young kids

It depends on "small" and "large" what square footage are we talking?

What kind of size of house are you talking about? If the smaller house is still perfectly adequate, maybe option 1. If the smaller house leaves you short a of space then 2. I don’t want an excessively large house but do wish I had one extra bedroom.

Approx 3000 vs 4500

Do both houses have enough rooms. I know that sounds basic, but if you lived in either would you ever think "I wish we had a separate office" or "I wish I had a proper utility room?".

Oooh just noticed this is in the same vein as @Coffeecoconut's questions...

I'd go for larger house smaller garden.

Larger house!

Larger house

Larger house!

Larger house, smaller garden

Are you sure you’ve got your measurements correct? 3000 sq ft is not a small house. How many bedrooms/ reception rooms etc?

Personally I’d go for the better plot as you can always extend the house but you can’t usually add to the plot.

Aren't those houses both quite significant sizes? I'm rubbish with house sizes.
With young kids, if the smaller house is plenty big enough, I would go for garden. We had room for a trampoline but I would have loved a climbing frame too. And more space for a kick about would be good,

My main criteria would be living in a community with plenty of other children of a similar age so they can play out together and it's easy for lift shares for when they're all doing loads of activities

Larger house. At that size you have enough space to put some garden type toys indoors, and would get more use out of it on rainy days.

If the smaller house offers everyone their own bedroom and adequate space I would choose a bigger garden. We have a good size garden and over the years while the
children were growing up we had space for a trampoline
and other play equipment. Pets such as chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs. A caravan they could
use as a den with friends and a veggie patch. These days they only use it for bbqs and sunbathing though!

The only thing with a larger garden is how much maintaining they need. Someone needs to enjoy pottering and keeping it nice.

I really don't do anything in my garden that requires privacy so that side of things doesn't bother me at all but I use the house a lot more than the garden so larger house all the way

Well I would want my garden private, but I've never been fussed about having a big house. If the garden could be made more private with trees etc then I'd go for that one.

Whichever one is in a better location

Are you sure on sizes, as 3000 sq foot is actually a very substantial house. 4500 is massive,

I know, right!

Should I buy a mansion with one swimming pool and half an acre or 2 full acres no pool? Decisions decisions 🤔 😕 😂

Bigger garden every time. Mainly as I love gardening, so if you don't then go for the smaller garden. Don't care at all about being overlooked. If you live in a town everyone is overlooked.

Our house is 3000 and it's pretty big and a lot of hoovering with a dog!

How small a garden are you talking

Always remember, you’re not buying the view. Unless there’s a geographical feature right in front of your house that would make it impossible, anywhere is fair game these days for building.

Views would be my main wish!
You can screen neighbours out with plants.
Love having a green view, especially long distance.
Helps make your house feel bigger 😁
(Both houses sound like they've got a very healthy sq. footage!)

‘Smaller’ house has families nearby for lift shares etc
’Larger’ house is semi-rural. Lovely area but 10mins further out of town and unsure how many families with children live locally.

I think it's not really about size, but other factors in this case. Assuming both have enough bedrooms etc, things I'd take into consideration... neighbours, proximity to shops, transport links, school - walking distance? Close to bus routes etc dir secondary? Practically speaking, are heating, cleaning, gardening all things you can afford/ have time for?
I know people always seem to love enormous houses,but sometimes I think they can be unnecessary.

Based on your last update, definitely smaller house with better community. Being able to see friends and walk to places is much better for physical and mental health than a big garden.