I prefer living near amenitites Grocery store, post office, schools, parks, beach, shopping, etc.

I have not lived out in the country, but I have lived in a residential suburb. I HATED having to drive everywhere. I felt like I spent all of my time in my car, it was horrible.

I moved back into the "city" with a little apartment right downtown. I had a longer commute to work, but once I was home I never needed to get in the car again.

DH thought he preferred the having acreage and living in the country. I was adamant that I wanted to live in town, we finally found a house we agreed on. It's hard to explain, but the front of the house is in the city and the back of the house has a country feeling (no neighbors behind us, just a hill and a lake).

DH has been converted to city living. He enjoys that its a nice place to run at night with lighted streets/sidewalks, everything is close and within walking and biking distance, friendly neighbors that help out when you need it . . .

For the kids, they have neighbor kids to play with. They can walk to school, friends houses, to the convenience store for a snack. There are 4 playgrounds within a mile radius.

We are fortunate to live in a unique location, a bit of city and then less than 5 miles away are the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan and a state park with miles of hiking.

Specifically on the car issue--I like having my car but I like living in a location where we are not dependent on it