Apartment living with kids isn’t exactly a conventional setup. Most people would think that a family is better off living in a single-family home. One would be surprised at the many benefits a family living in an apartment enjoy. Raising children is stressful and expensive as it is. Save yourself some time for the family and use money otherwise set for a 30-year mortgage on something more beneficial to you and your family and enjoy other benefits when you choose apartment living with kids.
Everything is closer to you when you live in an apartment. Getting to different parts of the unit would not take much time; a few steps from the living room you’d make it to the bedroom that also faces the bathroom, for example. Depending on where your apartment is, you would have easy access to basic needs and services. A supermarket for your family’s daily needs, a hospital for emergencies, a park for your leisure, and maybe even a pool for the kids could be just a few blocks away. Getting things around the house and getting to places for different purposes is undeniably easier when you live in an apartment.
Owning a single-family house means spending some time cleaning and doing maintenance work. When you live in an apartment, the time you spend doing these drastically decreases. Having a smaller living space means having less ground to cover when you clean. The hours you would spend mowing the lawn, cleaning the different rooms of the house, and fixing the back yard as a homeowner could be used as bonding time for you and the family or downtime for relaxing after a long day of work.
Along with maintenance comes maintenance expense; money spent on tools and materials you use as well as service charges for when you hire a professional to do the job for you. Also, a homeowner pays higher utility bills compared to apartment tenants. Apartment living gives you the opportunity to allocate your budget to things that benefit your family. You could take them on a vacation twice a year or start saving for your children’s college fund instead of having your living room remodeled. The money you save from paying cheaper power and water bills can be used on buying healthier food. Indeed, apartment living is more affordable compared to the traditional single-family home.
It would be easier for you to make friends with your neighbors when you live in an apartment. A simple smile, nod, or wave is a good start at befriending the people that live next door. Apartments are full of people who would unexpectedly extend an act of kindness. Alternately, you could be the neighbor that randomly does a gesture of good faith. Your kids would have no problem with finding a playmate, too. A kid living next door almost always ends up befriending yet another kid who lives in the same apartment building.
Here are some tips that could help you make the most out of apartment living with kids.
An apartment comes with a small space, so you would have to let go of everything extra. Lots of clothing, shoes, toys, and books would unnecessarily use up space in your apartment. A cluttered apartment is both stressful to look at and a hassle to clean. Save yourself from this predicament by keeping only the essentials.
Make the most out of the space you have in your apartment. Every inch of your built-in storage that you use must be labeled properly. You could also invest in portable storage that you could place on top of cupboards. Cabinets can be modified by adding hooks that could support container lids or saucers. Under your cupboard, you could add a rack for spice and other ingredients you use when cooking. Remember, when you run out of horizontal space, use vertical space especially if your apartment has high ceilings.
Connections are what make apartment communities thrive. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to push yourself from being introverted. Rather, a simple ‘Hi’ or any form of acknowledgment helps. Apartment communities look out for each other, and your close proximity to each other naturally makes them the first people to go to when you need someone to take care of the kids or when you feel like having a conversation without having to go far.
If you have moved out from a house into your new apartment, don’t belittle that decision. Your apartment’s layout can be more modern and open, giving you the chance to plan the space you use compared to having to make do with a typical house floor plan.
Once you dim the lights, it would be easier for your kids to fall asleep knowing that you are only a few feet away from them. It would generally take only one heater to make the entire apartment warm and cozy enough for everyone, too. The soft noise a car passing by makes as well as the faint hum of your neighbors’ appliances add to the variety of ambient sounds that would lull you to sleep.