I occasionally wonder if growing up on my island made me too trusting/assuming that people will say what they mean and that they generally won't lie, but it seems that's just a me problem, as apparently there was some small town syndrome that happened to some other people that completely went over my head XD
I also thought that growing up on said island is what makes me partial to the beach and open spaces with an overwhelming aversion to apartment living (visiting the cbd is fine), but at least one of my friends from that selfsame island thrives in cities, "the bigger the better" in their words.
When we moved to our current house my older kids were 2 and 4 and aside from the adjustments and getting used to being in a different house after moving, there wasn't a lot of difference in how they'd been in the past house and in the current house. I think there would have been a vast difference in how they are now if we'd had to stay in the duplex unit though XD
Anyway I think the space does matter but like with everything else how much is going to depend on the person.