Will I Regret Moving from a large yard to a Townhouse size yard???

[Anonymous]

So we have a beautiful yard. We are on almost 3/4 an acre with towering trees, a huge playset, a wonderful patio, and beautiful gardens. It is park-like. We have 2 boys and now that the weather is warm, the nanny is out there every day with them and we will surely spend these long nights outide watching the boys play. However it is soooo much work. Both DH and I work and don't have time to maintain it. To fully oursource it, costs a lot of money. At this point in time it feels like a huge burden. Also, our house is really small, so in the winter we feel like we are crawling the walls. I also WFH, and I just feel cramped. We already have a contract on our house and are looking for a new one. We have found a beautiful house that is literally on a postage stamp. It is a SFH, but seriously on TH style lot (and looks into the windows of the house behind us. The inside of this house is amazing and needs no work, all we would need to do is paint, it truly is turn-key. Will we completely regret moving into a house with such a small yard, considering we have 2 crazy energetic boys and plan on having a 3rd child? There is a large fenced park within walking distance that is full of tons of kids, so we see that as promising.

For those of you living in large townhouses, are you happy with your small yard or do you wish for a house with a yard and a playset? What is it like with the kids? What about when the kids get older, say 12 years old, do they need more of a yard? We are so used to being outside in the yard with the kids, I'm not sure what it will be like if we have such a small one.

It really does appeal to me because it is such low maintenace. After having our super large yard, I feel like having small yard will be so easy and free up a lot of weekend time.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I understand your predicament? You have a big yard that requires too much time to invest into it, yet you already have a contract on that house. Congrats, BTW. So go with a smaller house in a neighborhood that has great amenities for children and be done with it. I don't see where you're going to have any regrets, as the subject of your posting is noted. You've made up your mind, now pack up and move out, and enjoy most of all!

[Anonymous]

Didn't you post this exact same question last week? I could swear I responded to this same posting (same language about your park-like yard)...

[Anonymous]

Are you selling your swing set on craigslist?

[Anonymous]

why are you reposting this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you selling your swing set on craigslist?

I love this one!

[Anonymous]

If you're considering downsizing, why would you want a third child?

Or

Why downsize if you want a third?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're considering downsizing, why would you want a third child?

Or

Why downsize if you want a third?

She's getting a much bigger house, but much smaller yard.

OP, I live on a postage stamp. Smaller than a postage stamp. It just means a different lifestyle. More driving or walking kids to places to play, vs. being able to do dishes or something inside while your kids are just in the back yard. But other than that, having a small yard is really freeing of my time to do family stuff. I used to love all the yardwork when I was single and childless, but now not so much.

The other thing to think of, perhaps, is when your kids get older and can/should help with yard work. And it will be less for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're considering downsizing, why would you want a third child?

Or

Why downsize if you want a third?

She's getting a much bigger house, but much smaller yard.

OP, I live on a postage stamp. Smaller than a postage stamp. It just means a different lifestyle. More driving or walking kids to places to play, vs. being able to do dishes or something inside while your kids are just in the back yard. But other than that, having a small yard is really freeing of my time to do family stuff. I used to love all the yardwork when I was single and childless, but now not so much.

The other thing to think of, perhaps, is when your kids get older and can/should help with yard work. And it will be less for you.

OP here. Thank you for getting it. I'm upsizing my house and downsizing my yard. The choice I have here is between a SFH with a small/medium yard or a SFH with a TH size yard. The reason I like the house with the TH size yard is that I get to buy a nicer home with more space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why are you reposting this?

OP here, not sure what you are refering to. Must be someone else.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, even my townhouse lawn requires maintenance. If you have any yard at all, you still have to mow, edge, rake, weed and reseed every year, and maintain any gardens. It still takes time, just less. And even then, after all is said and done, we still end up walking to the neighborhood park because there are swingsets and doggies and other kids there. If you like the house and the neighborhood and the park, you might not miss the lawn at all. (I'm tempted to go yard-free with my next place, but not sure yet where we'll end up living.)

[Anonymous]

Not speaking to the yard issue, but why do you want to live so close to someone else's house that you see in their windows? At least in a townhouse you share a wall but can't see into your neighbor's house (nor they into yours).

I know communities like that (King Farm, Kentlands) and they have a lot going for them, but what I really dislike is the way the SFHs just sit on top of one another.

Anyway, to me that would be a bigger issue than the yard, or lack thereof. Plenty of people live without large yards, and if it's not a priority for you, I see no reason not to move.

[Anonymous]

I live in a stand-alone house in a townhouse community (mix of traditional townhomes and stand-alone houses super close to each other). I long for a big yard whenever I am at a friend's outdoor barbecue.

If I were a stay-at-home mom with kids in school, I would probably want a yard more, as I actually don't mind doing yard work and I'd have the time for it.

BUT...since I work FT and so does DH and we have two kids and hoping for a third soon -- the maintenance is just too much.

So we make do with our small little postage-sized patch of grass and go to parks a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why are you reposting this?

OP here, not sure what you are refering to. Must be someone else.

To the OP: If your posting is not a repost from last week, then please go back and read the archives from last week. Someone posted almost the EXACT same question, including the same language used to describe the "park-like' setting of the yard and the same dilemma, including whether she would regret the sale when the children were older. Several people (me included) gave thoughtful replies discussing pros and cons of moving. I think you're getting some snarkiness because people may feel that they engaged in this conversation last week and are wondering why the OP (whom we all assumed was the same as last week's given the similarity in language and question) wasn't satisfied with the responses.

Hope this clarifies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, even my townhouse lawn requires maintenance. If you have any yard at all, you still have to mow, edge, rake, weed and reseed every year, and maintain any gardens. It still takes time, just less. And even then, after all is said and done, we still end up walking to the neighborhood park because there are swingsets and doggies and other kids there. If you like the house and the neighborhood and the park, you might not miss the lawn at all. (I'm tempted to go yard-free with my next place, but not sure yet where we'll end up living.)

i agree with this. have a tiny yard but it's still work..more than i imagined.