Building land in the middle of nowhere with the house prices?!

Those who prefer to spice up their lives with exotic courses and events like "Chinese for Beginners" or "French Cinema with German Subtitles," who find mantra exercises in the office district more beneficial than a yoga class in a sports hall, or who find the sushi from delivery services boring, the country is not for them.
We have found that gardening replaces the disco, homemade sushi tastes very good, and the bathing pond replaces the expensive leisure pool. And yes, otherwise you can sometimes look star-shaped at what else is offered outside your circle of acquaintances. Yes, you have to travel, you do get around instead of always just seeing the city limits from the inside.
In the village, cheese is made by hand, there are Om gatherings in the forest, and the next inn serves homemade kale and smelt aplenty, but it only costs half as much as the gourmet palace with the convenience products.

We have also noticed that, but when I was 16, I definitely had different interests than gardening, making cheese myself, and eating kale at the inn.
And a few cultural offerings that go beyond Low German theater (without wanting to belittle it) should not be underestimated either. Of course, you can go to the city for that, provided it’s not too far away.

And, as I said, it depends on the village. Some villages have zero, absolutely nothing to offer, others surprisingly much. So maybe one should check that beforehand, so one doesn’t regret it later because one expected idyllic togetherness.

when I was 16, I definitely had different interests

The original poster is 40, hehe… it’s about the age of building a house and some 16-year-olds who don’t want/have to supplement their allowance with gardening work might feel like joining a club or biking to school. For example, many parents see it as their duty to raise their children more down-to-earth than the status-driven lifestyle modeled elsewhere.

In the big city or rather in a residential neighborhood where you don’t really experience much of the “city” in everyday life?

Around 150,000 inhabitants, so it depends on what you understand by "big city." Although it’s a residential neighborhood, it’s only 1.5 km to the central meeting point downtown. Right now, while the renovation is ongoing, we live even closer to the city (just a few minutes on foot with the 3-year-old) and really enjoy that. Quickly to the weekly market or to the swimming pool before work or now in the summer after work to the ice cream parlor. My wife has been to concerts 5-6 times in the evenings for work in the last few weeks. She got there everywhere on foot or by bike.

It’s also significant for me, for example, when I do have to go to the office: by bike and at the train station in 10 minutes. If we had moved to the village: 15 minutes by car, looking for a parking space or paying expensive in the parking garage, risk of traffic jams in the morning when driving in, definitely traffic jams in the afternoon when driving out. This is not the case for the OR, so I didn’t say anything about that.

And the topic of (then eventually older) children and mobility we haven’t even touched on yet, that was a main reason against the village for us. Of course, there are disadvantages in the city as well, but for us the advantages clearly outweigh them – at least as of now – so much so that we invested several hundred thousand euros more to live here. To us, the gain in time that we don’t spend sitting in the car is simply worth it.

I was recently at friends’ who live in a village near Hanover. There it’s about 5 minutes to the S-Bahn, then 20 minutes to the central station, at least once an hour around the clock. That would be okay for me too, but unfortunately it’s not available here. Other friends of ours bought a house in a secluded location – for them it’s perfectly fine to drive everywhere by car. Also good and they live very nicely and spaciously, but not for us :) As I said, everyone has to set their own priorities and make their own decision.

I think the stress factor of driving and the next traffic jam does not come behind the train.

I didn’t say that either? Only that commuting by train should not be underestimated?

The OP is 40, hehe… it’s about the age for building a house and some 16-year-olds who don’t want/have to earn pocket money with gardening work might be interested in clubs or biking to school. For example, many parents see it as their duty to raise their children more down-to-earth than what is modeled elsewhere in a status-conscious way.

It was about the children and what one might want to offer them.

If you want a house, but can only afford one further out, you have to consider what is more important to you. The house with the disadvantages of commuting and therefore less free time, or the city with everything right on your doorstep, but cramped living conditions and expensive.

In Munich it is quite normal for people from Lower Bavaria, the Allgäu, etc. to commute to Munich, and from Augsburg and Rosenheim with about 1 hour travel time anyway. Due to the possibility of working from home beyond Corona, even more people have moved further out and accept the commuting for the remaining days.

But if you are not convinced of the village already and it is basically just an emergency solution because nothing better can be found right now, then I find that concerning. If this feeling "adore ist eigentlich doof" remains, commuting afterwards will not be more bearable.

The most beautiful house is worthless if you don't have the time to enjoy it because of commuting. And the children don't benefit much either if mom and dad lie tired in bed every Sunday after 2 years and only come home during the week to say goodnight...

Anyone can try it themselves for a week. Don't drive straight to work, but take a route on the way there and back that takes about 90 minutes. Really driving, not just sitting in the parking lot with your eyes closed. Then you'll have a rough idea of what it means to drive 3 hours a day... plus working hours. Madness...