city or village-life?

I have moved many times and moving usually means new friends, neighbors and life-changes. We have to choose between living in the city center next door to the schools or in a small village nearby, with the possibility of a garden. That's a tough choice. The city-life will mean theater, bookshops, shopping and other things important to us, but also keeping my smallest one in close boundaries - a highly energetic boy that likes to discover the world and who loves nature - inside. Will that work? The village-life will mean space in and around the house, woods, but always have to use transportation.