ᐅ Location of the Property Acceptable Distances for Daily Living?

Hello everyone,

I have been searching for a plot of land for a while now, and so far we have mostly only considered the distance or commute time to work.
We both grew up in a large city (Cologne). Our daily trips were therefore relatively short. Public transport is well developed.

Now we have found an interesting plot of land located a bit outside the city, with a village-like character. The travel time and distance to work are still acceptable.
However, we are now wondering how daily life will look, especially concerning children.

The nearest bus stop is about 10 minutes away. The bus runs only once an hour and only during peak times.
Kindergarten and primary school are in the neighboring village.
The secondary school in the next larger town is about a 30-minute bus ride away.
The nearest supermarket is 3 meters (2 miles) away.
If you want to go to Cologne, it takes about 50-60 minutes with a transfer, assuming the bus is still running.

There is no question—we both want to move out of the city. However, we are now asking ourselves whether these distances are still acceptable or if it could become frustrating over time to have to rely on a car for everything. Or does one get used to it eventually?

What about the children? A 30-minute bus ride to school. If they want to go out in the evening, they cannot easily get away. The travel time to the university later could also be too long, possibly forcing them to move away just for that reason.
We don’t want to raise unhappy teenagers who just want to leave as soon as possible.
Or are we being too critical about these things when it comes to children?

What do you think? What are your experiences?

We lived the first 10 years in a polder, directly behind the dike on the North Sea. There was practically no bus service; the nearest small town with 5,000 inhabitants was 20 km (12 miles) away, Hamburg was 1.5 hours away, and Kiel about the same. The hospital was 35 km (22 miles) away, where our children were born, both close to high tide, just as the midwife had predicted.

And yet, they had extremely happy childhoods. There were no locked doors; even at daycare age, they roamed freely around the village. We played together in the mud at low tide, swam in the tidal creek at high tide. Watching TV was almost unknown, and entertainment consisted of watching seals. So don’t blame the children—they will grow up happy if you adults don’t complain and pass that onto them.

I was able to develop professionally, and we moved to our current seaside town on the Baltic Sea, where we still live. This place is still rural; our son had to take a 30-minute bus ride to attend secondary school, and naturally, he moved out for university, going to Rostock. Why would he stay at home? What kind of degree is that, “Hotel Mama”? Even from here, the larger urban centers are far away: Kiel 1 hour, Lübeck the same, Hamburg 1.5-2 hours, depending on the destination. There is practically no train service; buses run at best once an hour until 8:00 p.m., then that’s it.

So please—I wouldn’t want to live any other way, my wife, originally from farming, especially not, and our children... Our daughter still lives here, working with tourists, shaking their pockets and sending them back to Cologne and the like. Our son lives in Austria but often flies home to see his old “paradise” again and meet friends.

Think about it. Can you live rurally? It won’t be a problem for the children.
Karsten

How many residents does the town have? Is there a chance for a youth community, or will they be the only ones their age? Are there clubs where they can feel at home (youth fire brigade, forest youth groups, scouts? These groups generally know how to have a good time)? A 30-minute commute to school is not an issue if they are not the only ones doing it. However, you should mentally prepare for the moped license.

3 km (2 miles) to the supermarket is actually great; sometimes you don’t even have that in the city, and it’s definitely doable by bike.

In my opinion, moving out is the way to go when starting university anyway.

This is the problem with the "commuter belts" around major cities:
Where good infrastructure exists (schools, hospitals, transport connections, public transit), land prices are almost as high as in the city center. Outside these development corridors, small towns and villages become purely residential suburbs without their own infrastructure. In the centers of these commuter belts, both land prices and private motor vehicle traffic increase enormously, and quality of life also suffers there. Since no change is expected in the medium term, I would not want to put myself through either situation.

You either move directly into the city and accept all its advantages and disadvantages or relocate to a regional center / small town outside the metropolitan areas, or look for work there and then move to that location.

We grew up like this and never lacked anything. My sister and I both moved to the respective cities for our studies/training, but now we’re both leaning towards living in the countryside again.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

If the parents are happy, then the children certainly are too.

I can only agree with Nordlys on that.

I can only agree with Nordlys.

It’s also good for teenagers to move away sometimes and be away from their parents. Even if you live in the middle of a big city, that doesn’t necessarily mean you attend university there.

The countryside is great for toddlers and young children. I see it like my niece from Cologne lights up. Running around, playing, no "quiet for the neighbors" rules.
Many teenagers don’t want to leave at all, so living there has to work for them too. Yes, the nightlife isn’t the same as in the city, but they find their own solutions.
Sure, I loved moving to the big city in my early 20s, but eventually the appeal fades. Many people from my generation moved back to rural areas after having children.
Anything we don’t have locally is delivered free to our door the next day by a major mail-order company. On the other hand, the countryside offers many things you can’t buy.

Whether country, city, or commuter belt—that’s up to you to decide. Find a spot where schools, hospitals, doctors, and jobs are reachable within 30 minutes, and a supermarket is conveniently along the way.