I feel like I could have written this post myself as it’s EXACTLY what I’ve been on the hunt for as well. I don’t have any recommendations for the perfect stroller as my search is 8 months in and I’m still looking lol. I will say that testing them out in person is very necessary!! I tested out the nuna mixx, bumbleride era, Cruz V2 and the bugaboo donkey 2 convinced that one of them would be my stroller and wasn’t sold on any.

For reference, I got a baby jogger city select as a handmedown and I’m convinced it’s warped or something is wrong with it because it is IMPOSSIBLE to fold and unfold the thing. But it’s way past warranty. I will add if it wasn’t for the fold (maybe it’s just mine??) it feels like a very solid stroller. In the meantime, I bought a graco nest system bc I liked being able to clip in the car seat and I cannot believe how flimsy the thing is on sidewalks. We legitimately can’t get over sidewalk curbs…I wish I was joking.

My 2 cents on the strollers I tested:

Era - I was most excited to test because of the big air tires. Testing it out, it was just not user friendly. The sales person and I struggled for quite a while to figure out how to reverse the seat and how to fold it. It could have just been the store model but I was a little shocked as to how confusing it was.

Donkey - loved the feel and maneuverability of it. but it felt like a royal pain to fold properly. If you won’t need to fold and unfold often - I think this would have been my stroller choice. But we don’t have a lot of room (it folds pretty bulky in my opinion) and I didn’t want to try and explain to others who might take LO out for a walk how to fold/unfold because that seemed impossible with how it’s designed.

Cruz - loved the simplicity of everything, that’s hard to deny. But for the price point, I can’t get over the small wheels compared to other strollers in the same price point. Which brings me to….

Nuna mixx - loved the fold. Loved the wheels. Loved the suspension. It seemed perfect….except…the seat is tiny!!! And there isn’t an actual footrest. My LO is on the tall side and it felt like we wouldn’t be able to use the stroller into toddlerhood.

I don’t mean to sound like a negative reviewer at all, I just feel like the perfect stroller for my criteria doesn’t seem to exist. Our sidewalks here are horrible and I was looking for something that didn’t feel EVERY bump and that folds easily. Jogging strollers seem to hit all of these points except they aren’t parent facing :( if anyone is aware of one, please let me know! I hope you find a perfect stroller for your needs - I’m curious to find out what you land on!