Country Mice? City Mice?

We're looking for a house, and the question keeps nagging us. I really do feel that we'd be happy being in either category, but if anybody has life-changing stories that have to do with this kind of question, please feel free to email, post a comment or call and tell us all about it, whether the story is negative or positive or whathaveyou.

Just fyi, so you know where we're coming from: We live in the city centre, but for the past eight years we've always had either a wee garden or a terrace. We definitely need an outside-space, whichever it is and however large. But would it make a big difference to have a real garden? And would it be worth it, with the longer commute to work and to cultural events, and without the plethora of commodities that we presently have within a 0.5 - 5 minutes' walk? And do people really use their gardens enough to justify the amount of work that's needed to keep them up? These are only a few of the questions we're asking ourselves at the moment, but they're a good start...