Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

1 Acre with an hour commute or a small backyard with a half hour commute?

JV36912

JV36912

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
796
I've been MIA the past few months because of well, life. We've been getting ready for a move and new home purchase and are considering two options at the moment:

1. One is a home that meets all our requirements space wise but it's on a smaller lot. Commute to work is a half an hour
2. Second home has one less room than we'd like but it's not a deal breaker and it's on a beautiful one acre lot. Commute to work is an hour

Which would you choose and why? Anyone have experience with either of these options. Did you love/hate it? Would love to hear peoples opinions and perspectives on these different options. I'm sure there things we're not seeing. Thanks in advance <3
 
Some questions that immediately go through my mind:

How much smaller is the other lot?
How many years until you see yourself retiring?
How convenient are the other necessities in life to each home? I'm thinking of the convenience of a grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store, doctors/dentist.
Do you have children/grandchildren? If so, how would each location hinder/improve connections there?
 
Last edited:
There’s no one right answer. It depends on your priorities and how long you think you’ll be at this job and if there’s any flexibility to wfh. It comes down ultimately to your needs and preferences
 
I would choose 1 with the shorter commute (smaller lawn).

We currently have an acre lot and less than a 30-minute commute for my DH.

The negatives of the larger lawn residence
- Acre-size lots require a lot of work (mowing/hedging). My DH complains all the time that he wants his
condo on the beach back! Do you plan on getting a lawn service (obviously, extra cost associated with this)?
- An hour commute is a chunk out of your day/every day, for as long as you live at that house.
(This is the big one to me) This includes less time to enjoy that extra space.

I had a job with a 45-minute commute each way. After an 8.5 hour day + 1.5 hour commute, I was
exhausted! Then I/we had to make dinner and do some chores around the house. I was pretty much
exhausted every day. On the weekends, we had to catch up on things we couldn't get done during
the week. I felt like we were always playing catch-up. We never got to relax. The commute seemed ok,
at first, but in the end, we decided to move closer to work. Unfortunately, housing sales were down, so it
took over a year to sell the house.

The positives of a larger lawn
- No neighbors right on top of you.
- Get to enjoy the extra space (as time allows)

In the end, I have realized my time/energy is more valuable than anything. As with everything like this, YMMV.
 
Thanks, all!
tyty333 said:
I would choose 1 with the shorter commute (smaller lawn).

We currently have an acre lot and less than a 30-minute commute for my DH.

The negatives of the larger lawn residence
- Acre-size lots require a lot of work (mowing/hedging). My DH complains all the time that he wants his
condo on the beach back! Do you plan on getting a lawn service (obviously, extra cost associated with this)?
- An hour commute is a chunk out of your day/every day, for as long as you live at that house.
(This is the big one to me) This includes less time to enjoy that extra space.

I had a job with a 45-minute commute each way. After an 8.5 hour day + 1.5 hour commute, I was
exhausted! Then I/we had to make dinner and do some chores around the house. I was pretty much
exhausted every day. On the weekends, we had to catch up on things we couldn't get done during
the week. I felt like we were always playing catch-up. We never got to relax. The commute seemed ok,
at first, but in the end, we decided to move closer to work. Unfortunately, housing sales were down, so it
took over a year to sell the house.

The positives of a larger lawn
- No neighbors right on top of you.
- Get to enjoy the extra space (as time allows)

In the end, I have realized my time/energy is more valuable than anything. As with everything like this, YMMV.
Click to expand...

This is so helpful @tyty333. Thank you! The time/energy aspect is something I hadn't considered.

@Rfisher @Rockdiamond @RMOO @elizat @missy thanks so much for your responses and input.

I'm most curious to hear everyone's thoughts/opinions on their personal preferences/experience to see if there's an aspect I'm not considering but to answer some of the questions posed:

- smaller lot is .25 acre so definitely still some space for the kiddos to run around but nothing close to the acre lot (which has a really nice tree lined view in the back)
-20-30 years to retiring, God willing
-smaller lot is much closer to the city so easy access to everything and closer to my sister who lives about 30 mins away. large lot is in a smaller town but it's got all the essentials close by so easy access there too (grocery store, pharmacy, doctor, etc.) but an hour from my family.
-Yes, kiddos (ages 3-9) and God wiling, grand kiddos one day
- commute would be driving. In the house closer to the city commute is 30mins (this is more typical)- 45 mins (on a bad day). In the house farther from the city commute is 45/50 mins (this is more typical) and 1 hr 20 mins (on a bad day)
@Rfisher- I forgot to add we enjoy being outside and I love the view on the one acre lot. can't find anything like it in the city! we'd outside some of the yard work to help on that end
 
Last edited:
@JV36912 I was hesitant to add this, but while we're being honest, the long commute and the time it
took out of my day getting things done or just relaxing, affected my mental health. As soon as we were
able to sell the house and move closer to work, I could literally feel my heavy mood lifting. Again, we're
all so different, YMMV.
 
I guess you have to decide which factor is most important to you - larger lot or shorter commute. We live on an acre and when you are young, maintenance is doable. As you age, not so much! We do pay for some lawn service now. We have enjoyed the larger house and lot - still do - and our commutes were never really an issue. However, I would have to say that losing precious time in your life five days a week could definitely be draining. Buying a larger home and lot now does not mean that you have to stay with it forever. Once the kids are grown or moving on to their own lives, you may decide to move and relocate. Folks are much more mobile today than ever, so I say decide for your circumstance now and worry about the future down the road.
 
From what you've said - for me, I see no advantage in the larger lot. The smaller lot seems offer everything but the view and extra grass to cut. You can always invest in making the the smaller garden extra nice to make up for the lack of view.

I'm not sure what your weather is like but when I add in scraping ice off the car, driving in the dark/snow/hail/rain, I'd choose closer to home every time (read: walking distance of a train station).

What about access to schools and aftercare, especially if you are delayed by the commute and can't do pick up on time?
 
Hmmm, each to their own and everyone has different needs and wants, which are also dependent upon where he/she is on his/her life's journey.

If I don't have to travel/commute to work every day, then the odd 1h commute time would not bother me.

If I live on my own with just the pets for company, with occasional visitors that do not require overnight stay, then a smaller house with smaller garden and less rooms would not bother me.

DK :))
 
tyty333 said:
@JV36912 I was hesitant to add this, but while we're being honest, the long commute and the time it
took out of my day getting things done or just relaxing, affected my mental health. As soon as we were
able to sell the house and move closer to work, I could literally feel my heavy mood lifting. Again, we're
all so different, YMMV.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing still @tyty333 . I so appreciate your transparency. Going to talk to hubs about this one since he has the long commute to make sure it's something he's thought through and commit to indefinitely

@Matata yes kiddos will go to school in whichever town we decide on so that wouldn't come into play too much

@MissGotRocks you're so right. We'd love for this to be our "forever" home though- one that we don't plan on moving from, as God wills. As you mentioned though, circumstances may call us to move one day -but we'd love this home to have the potential to be long-term.

@Tartansparkles the larger lot is actually less expensive since it's farther away so a pretty decent financial advantage (though both affordable and neither a stretch). As I shared, most interested in different perspectives/personal experiences vs which route is best as I know it's so personal and there is no real wrong answer. I WFH mostly (very thankfully) so pick-ups aren't really an issue

@dk168 yes, totally agree! Hubs has to commute 4 days a week and we have a big family with visitors often (with overnight stays multiple days a year)!
 
We had a similar situation. We were living in a larger house with over an acre of land. It was about 50- 70 minutes away from my job depending on traffic.
We decided to sell so I could be closer to work. My house now is similar square feet but one less bathroom and bedroom on .34 acres. My commute is 25 minutes.
I am so happy we made the decision to sell and move to this house. I'm closer to work, we have less maintenance, utilities are a lot less, we can actually see our neighbors now.
I feel we made the best choice. At first I was afraid to sell bc we were literally sell our dream home but this house is perfect for us.
 
To me, the 30 minute commute seems like the better choice for a few clear reasons: 1. Most importantly, shorter commute means more time every day to spend with the kiddos. 2. You say the size of the home itself suits your needs more which as your kiddos age, will become even more important. 3. It is closer to your family.
 
It’s also sounds like one of those times where either answer is right- or not.
IOW try not to stress it. You won’t make the wrong decision. Either way.
If you can take the stress out it may be easier to assess the options.
 
I would choose neither and find an apartment in the city where my commute is 10 minutes.

I’ve always said I’d rather die than live in a suburb and spend my whole life in a car.
 
On a more serious note (though my previous post accurately reflect my feelings) I currently live a 10 minute commute from my work by car, and we have a large lot for the city. I wish I had a smaller lot. Bigger lot is more property taxes. Higher city utilities (some scale by lot size). More expensive upkeep in money and time. Our house is also large and I wish it was smaller. Higher costs to clean. Higher electricity and water bills. All of it. From a long term financial perspective our property is probably a good investment but I’m not sure that it’s worth it. I want to downsize first chance I get… and move even closer to the urban center :evil2:
 
My first thoughts were, are the kids close to friends to play with at either home? And the cost spent on an hour of extra driving every work day.

Personally I'd go with the easier to maintain out of the two, smaller lot, smaller house, closer to amenities. While it sounds like your family is healthy currently, life can change and having less responsibilities (or the money to hire help) can sometimes come into play later in life and since you said you'd like this next move to be the forever home, I'd keep that in consideration.

Also the kids, once they're grown and move out, how far from each will they move for schooling or just to be closer to city life? I know that would factor into my decision as well, or the ease of them visiting me in the future (is there an airport closer to one, or an hour drive away from the airport for the other?).

One more side note, I've had multiple family members need ambulances, one lived in a small town that needed a 2.5 hour ambulance ride to a major hospital, and the others who lived closer to a major city only needed a 30 min ambulance.

I dream of lower maintenance already, a smaller home and smaller lot, which would equal more free time for fun or relationships! I also greatly value being able to zip into town and run errands very quickly, so urban spread is important to me.
 
The one hour commute would be a no for me. That’s 40 hours a month you’d be commuting! Like a whole other week of work! With young children. Nope! Then you’ll be spending weekends attending to your acre. You’ll grow tired quickly of that. If you have to work late or go in early, you’ll have that hour commute. But I grew up outside a major city and didn’t want an hour commute into the city. So I moved to a city and had a 15-20 minute commute to work. But that’s me!
 
If possible, try driving the longer commute at rush hour a few times and see how it affects you.

Years ago I lived close to my job but yearned to live farther out, in the country, and have some land. I had a good friend who lived about 20-30 miles north of me and had several acres with horses. I thought that would be heavenly.

She and her husband went on vacation for a week and asked me to stay at her home, take care of the horses and other animals. I was happy to do it! Then I drove to work and back every day for a week at rush hour and realized it was a big "No" for me as long as I was working.

The farther out you are the more opportunities there are for traffic problems, too. It seemed to me that on that longer commute there was some kind of traffic issue almost every day.
 
@ringbling17 thanks so much for sharing! your experience is so close to mine. Definitely food for thought. I too am wondering if we'd be giving up a "dream" property if we choose the one closer to the city but it seems like dreams change over time so I should weigh that in

@Bonfire both cities have good school districts so not really a factor here

@lala646 Thank you! I hadn't thought about the size of the home coming into play as kiddos get older. Interestingly enough, since the home farther away costs less, I'd reduce my schedule at work so we'd likely have the same amount (if not more) time together. The one in the city begin closer to my family is the biggest draw for us

@Rockdiamond thanks so much. I needed that advice. It's easy to get caught up and stressed and that makes the decision that much more uncertain. Will definitely try to take it easy!

@Dreamer_D so true! I'm with you in that I prefer a short of a commute as possible, ha! Hubs actually prefers a bit of commute (sweet spot is 30 mins) because he uses the time to prepare, listen to podcasts, catch up on phone calls etc.

@Mooshi thanks so much! I'd never considered the hospital aspect but its definitely worth thinking about. thankfully both towns are large enough that they have their own hospital ER. Both towns are also about 30mins from an airport and 30 mins from a big city (though different ones that's why the smaller one we're considering is 1 hr from hubs job)

@caf thank you!! you're right the hours add up over time! I'm going to muddle over this more

@rungirl so very true! on the days the traffic into the smaller town is bad, it's really bad and can be pretty tiring to get home. So glad you got to have a trail run of what life would have been like before you made that kind of move!!

I so appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts and opinions. This is why I love PS and keep coming back ! Ya'll are great!!
 
After inspecting all the important information others have pointed out, if it's agreeable to your wishes, take the short commute. I drove over an hour a day each way for two years and three of our children had between an hour to one and half hour commute on a good day. I left that employment due to time lost on the road and not spent with our kids. Our children's commute changed after covid struck and they all work from home now. They shake their heads when they relive and regret all the driving they did in the past.

Time is precious and it flies by. You realize it even more as you hit your later years and look back over your life. Don't let it slip away from you if all things line up the way you'd like.
 
i commuted for years on the train one hour (on a good day) each way
it was often late and unreliable,(Brand new trains did not like frost) i actually commuted aganist the flow, it was so much worse for those going the other way into town, by car or train
earthquake, floods, landslips, closed roads due to accidents were all a worry for everyone getting home -by rail or car, we even had a couple of fires (one started by the train in the frost) to worry about
i used to have to keep spair clothes at work incase i had to crash at a workmates house
i commuted from the city to a country village, it was a beautiful journey on a good day
no bl**dy way would i live there(The town where i worked) , it looked lovely but was a gossiping ceesepool
also it was a long way to the hospital if anything happened and we would hear helicopters going to car accidents every week

while i think the commute time might just be the most important factor, it is not the only major factor
is their an option C ?

were we live now has a bigger yard than we had before, in all truth its a handful
 
Last edited:
I will add that when my husband started working from home after previously working in an office where he had about a half hour commute, the improvement to our family life was exponential. He had an extra hour per day for domestic tasks and it sure made things better!
 
I agree with everything @tyty333 wrote. I took a job that was 1.5 hours away - whether I drove or took the bus, it was always an hour and a half. Each way. So three hours a day commuting.

When I took the job - I told myself that I would become so very smart, all the podcasts and news and audiobooks I could listen to. It was going to be amazing, how smart I was going to become, a really great fringe benefit of working a distance from home. Three months later I wasn't smarter, I was just super grumpy and tired of being on the go, my patience had gone away, it was exhausting.

Since I liked the job, I moved away from the house I owned and loved, into a rental that wasn't the best, but was only fifteen minutes away from work. I was so much happier, the longer commute was killing me, and the shorter commute gave me back my life.
 
Well, if the kids are going to public school and the houses are in different school districts, then I'd pick the house in the better district. If they are equal, I'd pick the house with the shorter commute. I see you work from home most of the time, so school/daycare pickups aren't an issue now, but might that change in the future? The longer commute might make that tough some days. I commuted into the city every day for 40 years. It's just about 20 highway miles. With no traffic, it was about 40 minutes (there always a bit of traffic) but some days it could easily take an hour and a half each way. That was 3 hours out of my day. It wasn't until COVID hit and I was able to work from home that I realized how much of my life I had spent doing that. Public transportation can be an option if you can reliably get out of work on time and not miss the preferred train times. I have a 15,000 sq.ft lot and it's plenty. But I also have conservation land behind and beside me so I only share a fence line with one neighbor so have lots of privacy. It you're concerned about that, then perhaps you would trade off the more convenient location for the one with more land. Lots to consider. Good luck in making your decision. As someone said, there's no right or wrong answer but you need to evaluate what your priorities are and make your choice that way, I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top