Decision on the building site?

Unexpectedly, things are now moving quickly with the development plan area we originally targeted, so we now have the following 2 options to choose from:

Option a)
- rural suburban area
- regional bus in 12 minutes to the city center
- by bike via "secluded" edge paths along the federal highway and over the motorway in about 20 minutes to the city center (no problem for me, but what about the kids?)
- primary school in the village, but the federal highway with a traffic light must be crossed

Option b)
- urban new development area on the outermost city edge
- city bus, same fare zone, about 20 minutes to the center
- by bike in about 25 minutes to the city center, but basically only through "busy" areas, through the large city park or along the edge of the city park
- school bus to the primary school less than 200m from the front door

Shopping facilities (each with supermarket and discount store), bakery, etc. all very close to both locations. Motorway also very close in both cases (max. 5 minutes each). Daycare centers also within walking distance in each case, but the question is always whether you get a place there or if you have to go to a daycare far away. Prices similar.

Both places are basically and legally "quiet". Through the rural location a) a federal highway runs 200m away from the building site (closed to truck through traffic and in practice almost no trucks ever drive there). Between is a 6-meter noise barrier and buildings. The motorway is 1.1 km away as the crow flies and can be heard in otherwise absolute silence (i.e. if you focus on it). In the urban area b) there is a motorway feeder road 500 meters away as the crow flies, also "damped" by various noise protection measures (houses partly directly next to it) and the motorway is hidden 1.0 km behind dense block development and hills. There is no direct line-of-sight relationship to the motorway in either of the areas. In the urban area you tend to hear the general city noise during the day, in the rural area I haven’t really noticed it yet, I’d have to check. There I rather hear the federal highway and the motorway, depending on the wind direction. But in both cases not disturbing, rather noticeable if you pay attention.

Development in both areas with 2 full floors possible. Plot sizes similar. Orientation southward is possible in both areas, so basically the floor plan wouldn’t change.

In the urban area b) there is a nice old tree stock. I like that, as long as it’s not directly on your own plot or in the sunlight line (but it isn’t). In area a) the greening basically starts from scratch in the nearby surroundings.

District park at b) or a real forest at a) would each be within walking distance.

Any ideas? What else have you included in your decision-making?

Another decision-making aid: What kind of neighborhood is important to you? We consciously decided against a building plot (possibly a gap site or existing property) in an established settlement because we wanted to have a joint start with other families (who usually also have more or less children of the same age). Our last house taught us this. We moved in about 3-4 years after the settlement with around 140 houses was completed, neighbors had children, we had none yet. When we had children, the neighbors' children were already grown up. Unfortunately, good contacts never developed. One consequence, among other reasons, was that we built a new house (with another "new" child). Now we are satisfied with the neighborhood and are no longer "strangers." Especially in rural areas, it can be difficult to make connections.

Being able to reach the [Kita] and elementary school on foot gives me a great part of my quality of life. I would never want it any other way.

: Both development areas include about 60 single-family house plots each, which will be developed in the coming months. In the rural area, there have been new development areas adjacent here and there and a few hundred meters away from time to time. In the urban area, a district for approximately 4,000 people has virtually emerged over the last 20 years, with the last construction phase completed a few years ago. But as I said, now there are again 2 new development areas, both relatively large with about 60 single-family house plots each.

Then it will be a difficult decision, you will probably have to listen to your gut feeling. There really are no negative points with either option. I would prefer the rural area because a) rural = cozy and close to nature and b) still close to the city.

There is one point I would still like to address :)

Regarding the point about no building gaps because there are young families in the new development area.
This does not always have to be true, as in our case with the current search. We initially wanted to move into the new development area, but then we found out that out of 12 plots, 3 are being remodeled into an apartment block, 4 are bought and built on by older people, one belongs to the local church, one is for a playground, so there isn’t much left.
In the end, we decided on a gap because of the nicer location (but that is always a matter of personal taste) and with the background knowledge of who already lives around it. (additionally, the price per m² was lower)

But this decision always has to be made by yourself… as nordanney already wrote, "gut feeling".