In a new house in the suburbs, would you rather be able to walk to the town center (suburban, not like city living), and a small yard, or have to drive into town and a big yard?
This is the one area DH and I seem to differ the most in our house hunt. We live in the city now so can walk everywhere but have zero outdoor space.
pomelo / 5084 posts
My main priority is being reasonably close to work so I don't add 1-2 hours on to my day in commuting!! So I would (and do) sacrifice house and yard space to live close to downtown.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Personally I lean towards smaller yard, walkable to town (like half mile or so). I think being able to walk to things like a coffee shop or the library or something would be nice. DH wants a huge (well huge by greater boston standards!) piece of land and gets seduced by big yards even when the house totally doesn't work for us. Hopefully we find a good middle ground!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@wrkbrk: that's what we have been doing but we are both ready for more space even though that means a longer commute. it will be an adjustment for sure but he works downtown.
coconut / 8483 posts
We moved from a smaller lot (50 ft by 130 ft) that was walkable to town (the main town..... But it's really small!) to about 5 mins away that's no longer walkable but a lot that is 75 ft by 200 ft and super private, lots of trees, etc. Love where we are now!
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
This is our eternal struggle. We really want to have 2ish acres but would have to go from a 20 minute commute to an hour commute. We have a quarter acre now and are walking distance to our cute little downtown. We literally go back and forth about staying or moving several times a month haha.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Mrs. Lion: we were going back and forth on staying in the city until the baby had to start sleeping in our master bathroom. That's when we decided it's time to get serious!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Oh and no surprise, but I grew up in a suburb with all small yards and close together houses, so that seems fine, while DH grew up with a sprawling backyard and much more spaced out houses in the neighborhood!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
i would prefer being able to walk somewhere. when i visit my parents in the suburbs and need to drive everywhere, it drives me crazy after living in the city.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@lawbee11: say a quarter acre. Like enough space to run a little, and have a little swing set, but that's about it. Vs an acre, including a little wooded bit at the back.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
@Foodnerd81: oh man. No that would be a dealbreaker haha. We are in the suberbs so our house is comfortably big. We have to drive to do most everything, but theres a few restaurants, a coffee shop, a library and some other small shops that are walkable. Definitely not a big city.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
It would depend on the specifics of the lot for me. If the large lot was beautiful and scenic and private, with many tall trees for example, I might choose that one. If it was just all grass, and the neighbors also just had all grass, then I'd definitely go for the smaller lot with better walkability.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Mrs. Lion: that's what I would like- just a few shops or something interesting. Not like world class museums and restaurants and everything, just someplace I can walk and get a coffee and sit. Maybe even a park.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@catlady: we actually found a beautiful house with a gorgeous 2 acre lot with a freaking pond on it, only a little over half a mile to town... In the main road, with no sidewalks at that section. So close.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@hilsy85: me too. And I hate loading but both kids in and out of the car every time I have to run in somewhere for ten seconds.
squash / 13764 posts
@Foodnerd81: yep. We are moving this summer and considered a suburb. My requirements were that I could wlk to a coffee shop, grocery store, drug store, etc. Even if I had to drive to larger stores, I needed some walkability in every day life.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
@Foodnerd81: Oh man, so close. You can never find the perfect house around here, though. It's so annoying.
My dream is to live somewhere where my backyard looks like a forest but in reality we'll probably end up in a bigger condo in the city. 
clementine / 918 posts
It really depends... I know that doesn't help at all. We really prioritized having a large (for our area but would be considered small by your definition) yard. We live in OC, California so sprawling urbanizing suburbs (meaning smallish houses, small yards but few city center, downtown areas) We have a shopping center with a cute coffee shop, grocery store etc within walking distance, but we rarely walk there. We have a very close park and a close enough to walk lake, that we do walk to and that I love. So I'd pick a smaller yard with a walkable park over a large yard but I'd pick a large yard over a walkable shopping area. Because we use the park most, the backyard next, and the shops least. I think you have to really consider what you'd use most and prioritize that. Also, do you and/or your DH like yard-work? If you don't like it a large yard can be painful.
pear / 1586 posts
Walk to town and small yard. We live in a medium-sized (?) city and can walk to downtown proper (about 15 minutes, museums, restaurants/bars, etc) as well as a bunch of stuff in our downtown-adjacent neighborhood (coffee/bakery, restaurants, wine store!!, post office, etc.). Our yard is pretty small (less than 1/6 of an acre) but it's big enough for small kids and our pitbull/boxer mix to play in. We also have a screened-in porch that we can play on (water table) and a bunch of parks/playgrounds within walking distance.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Foodnerd81: oh god Boston is a whole different story. I lived there for 3 years. Id say pick what works reasonably well and you can afford and you'll be ahead of most people!! Haha!
pomegranate / 3350 posts
We are Boston area too and totally lucked out finding a house within easy walking distance to the town center. The drawbacks are that the house is super old and only part of the yard is fenced in. But the kids can play and I love being able to walk to stores, the library, restaurants, the train, preschool, playgrounds, etc. We almost bought a house with a better yard but it was much further to everything and I'm so glad that one fell through!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Ms.Badger: good point- having a walkable park would be even nicer. And no neither of us particularly like yard work but in his daydream he will.
We are both willing to compromise on this, it's just how highly we prioritize each.
pineapple / 12793 posts
Walking distance.
If there's one thing I hate it's loading and unloading kids into car seats.
pomegranate / 3331 posts
We had the exact same debate when we moved to the burbs, and i thought being walking distance to town was the most important thing coming from the city. Well, i'm so glad my husband won this one, because having the space and being a bit further from the town is so much nicer in reality! We are walking distance to a park and 1.5 miles from town so my commute is easy, and it is absolutely perfect. I'm so glad we have a bigger space and are not in the congestion of town 24/7, because once I got out of the city, I craved the peace and quiet.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@Foodnerd81: Haha I don't consider 1/4 acre small. I thought you meant like a postage stamp size yard which would be a deal-breaker for me. I'd go for the "small" yard and walkability! We can't walk to any stores but we can walk to the park and pool and it's really nice.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@lawbee11: well some (lots) are definitely smaller. But we are moving far enough out to get a real yard. But I'm happy with a little space to run and a swing set. DH thinks he needs all the space. I think there are benefits to both.
papaya / 10343 posts
If you're saying small = .25 acre I'd totally go with that. We live on .1 acre -- I always call our yard a postage stamp. I do wish it was a bit bigger but we make it work. Having double this space would feel big to me with plenty of room to run!
grapefruit / 4903 posts
We chose the first option, and I'm really happy with the choice for this stage of life.
nectarine / 2148 posts
Hands down more space. Not only it's more yard to play but it's more privacy
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Smaller yard, but I don't want to back up onto someone else's property. Our new house is on top of our neighbors on the sides, but the backyard backs up to protected trees. I'm cool with that. I don't mind driving 5-7 minutes to a grocery store.
nectarine / 2085 posts
How much do you like to garden/weed/plant? That's the next question after whether you're up for the commute. If this is a place you only plan to stay in for a little while, and you don't have prior gardening experience so that you know you'll enjoy it, I would go small.
A big yard/garden seems awesome (and it totally can be!), but it's a lot of work. However, it is incredible exercise--way more than I ever got by walking in the city, and I walked everywhere--and really rewarding.
pomegranate / 3809 posts
More space and a drive. We're in a Boston suburb (sort of, we're outside 495 so it feel like the boonies compared to where I used to live in Newton). We came out here for more land (2 acres) and love it. I figured that I'd use and see my space everyday, vs the occasional need to visit the town center.
papaya / 10560 posts
We just bought a bigger house but a smaller backyard. It is right across the street from a park though! Trade off.
Smaller house and bigger backyard wasn't the way to go for us.
clementine / 756 posts
Definitely walkable! We actually view a large tard as a bad thing because of the maintenance. We would love a large porch/deck/patio and tiny plot for a garden and no yard if there was a close park!
clementine / 824 posts
I think I would choose the smaller yard closer to town, especially if that is the house you prefer. We used to live in walking distance to coffee, groceries, and several parks and were a very short drive to the downtown area with good restaurants, etc. We moved about 15 mins further to a more suburban neighborhood where we could get a whole lot more for our money and I really miss being so close to things (even though everything I need is still a five minute drive away). However, our new place has so many kids and it has been great to see my LO making friends in the neighborhood.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
70 comments