i DID give up a window adjacent to the sink, it allowed us to add a room on the back of the house.

there used to be a window where the doorless cabinets are. i don't miss it a bit. just make sure you have a lot of space in front of your face and you'll be satisfied.

about that garage... we dont have one (boston suburb) and even tho we have to clean the snow off of our cars, we can park closer to the street and not have to clear so much driveway..... hahahah.

Can the garage be offset backward (or forward) to avoid the window? Or can the garage be accessed through an enclosed breezeway which would miss the window?

When I was younger I had to shovel snow off my car in apartment parking lots in upstate NY. Too old for that now, but now I'm picky about my windows and views too.
I was thinking about an enclosed breezeway like this?

Tricky dilemma this.
I'm a daylight fiend so I feel your pain.
But I also live where winters can be fierce and long and I LOVE parking my car inside in the winters. Warm, dry, no snow to clear off.
I vote for the garage.