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Living in a Condo: One persons perspective, a great Australian article, that makes sense in Calgary too !
Apartments are not just the domain of singles, young couples and downsizers they’re also home to growing families, an increasing number of whom have no intention of “upgrading” to a house.
I’m raising my kids in a flat (or Apartment in Canada), as are many of my friends. But when our second child arrived the questions about when we were moving to a house came more often. The quarter acre block remains in the psyche of Australian families.
Just this morning I bumped into one of my neighbour’s visitors in the stairwell. When she saw my children she told me “you need a house!” My neighbor immediately disagreed – she raised her now grown up son in her flat.
While it’s always been more common to live in an apartment in Europe or Asia, the cultural “norm” in Australia has been towards raising kids in houses.
So what are the ups, downs and compromises of raising your family in an apartment? We spoke to four families about their experiences.
Why live in a flat or Apartment?
Some families live in apartments to get a foot on the property ladder, some are shunning the suburban family home for an inner city lifestyle, some simply love apartments, and others are priced out of houses altogether.
In my own case, we live in a flat because we couldn’t afford a house this close to the city. And a shorter work commute means more family time. Our spacious 1960s 3 bedder is bigger than many houses and the park opposite is our back yard.
Kate Williams and her husband are in a similar situation. They both grew up in big houses with large backyards, but since leaving home have always lived in apartments, and are raising their three children aged 1, 3 and 4, in a 3 bedroom Sydney flat.
“We bought our apartment when we were engaged to be married and had no children,” Kate explains. “The main motivation was proximity to work.”
“Every time I have become pregnant people always say “you’ll need to move into a house won’t you?” to which I have always replied ‘Why?’” Kate says.
Melissa Perry has a 20 year old daughter and they live together in a 2 bedroom flat. She also respite fosters a 7 year old girl who stays over once a month. Melissa is pragmatic about her reasons for living in an apartment, saying “I live in a flat as I choose to live in the eastern suburbs of Sydney and that is all we can afford to rent”.
Cultural shift
Raising a family in a unit is certainly not new, but has been relatively uncommon in Australia because we simply don’t have as many apartments.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics* the “average” Australian lives in a freestanding house, and freestanding houses make up almost three quarters of private dwellings. The remaining homes include apartments, townhouses, terraces, semi detached houses, and other dwellings. But over the past 20 years high rise apartments (with more than 4 floors) have increased from 2% to 4% of the housing stock perhaps accounting for some of the increase in apartment living.
While some immigrants are lured by Australia’s larger spaces, perhaps the fact that many are accustomed to apartment living is also contributing to changing the Australian dream.
Andrea Griffin grew up in an apartment in Germany, with her parents, brother and grandmother. “My brother and I used to share a bedroom (with bunk beds) for many years and loved it,” Andrea says.
Andrea now lives in a Sydney apartment with her partner and 11 month old son. “Pretty much everybody I know lives in a unit – and most of them have kids too”.
Like many Sydneysiders, Andrea has chosen location over space. “I consider myself lucky that we are able to live in a 3 bedroom unit with a nice terrace at the back compared to some of my friends who are squeezing into a one bedroom unit!”
Annina Warner, another German ex-pat, grew up in a large five bedroom apartment in Berlin and now lives with her 3 year old daughter and husband in a Sydney apartment she loves.
“We are outside most of the time but we also love to have friends over for dinner and lots of playdates at our place,” Annina says. “Raising a child has nothing to do with where we live.”
The highs
The benefits of apartments are the same for everyone – low maintenance, easy, compact living – and they’re often more affordable than houses.
“Apartments are an affordable way to live in a nice suburb close to the city. Security is great too.” Kate Williams says. Less cleaning, gardening and chores means Kate’s weekends are freer for family time.
“Generally people think we do very well in a small space,” Kate says, “But often comments are along the lines of ‘I don’t know how you manage with no backyard’ or ‘how on earth do you manage your washing?’ and people are surprised that all three children share a room”.
Melissa Perry says there are actually family benefits to living in a small space: “In an apartment there is a smaller living space so you have no choice but to be ‘involved’ in each other’s lives. There is no bedroom for a kid to escape to for hours on end on a different level of the house,” she says.
The lows
Apartment living with a growing family is not without its small challenges. Heaving everyone and everything up the stairs, for instance, plus negotiating a shared laundry/drying area with neighbours and protocols on who can use what, when. It is also harder to have pets in an apartment, and there’s the all important issue of child safety with stairs, elevated windows and balconies, and the hazards of communal driveways.
Depending on your space, everyday chores can become logistical feats. “We have a very small laundry (no balcony) and all washing needs to be dried inside the house. With a family of 5 there is always a lot of washing!” Kate Williams says.
Melissa Perry says she tends to entertain less than she’d like due to the size of her apartment.
“Nothing makes me happier than a house full of children, but it is often difficult when there is little room for them to all hang out and play without being on top of each other,” Melissa says.
Melissa says privacy is also difficult in a two bedroom flat, particularly with a teenager. Growing up, her daughter felt the squeeze on space as well: “In her teenage years she became more aware that she was the only one of her friends who lived in a flat, not a house. With that came peer pressure.”new apartment street scene
The compromises
Do families love flat dwelling? Not always.
An acquaintance of mine recently had her lease terminated because her three small kids disturbed the elderly neighbour in the flat downstairs. It’s one extreme example, but apartment living means close proximity to neighbours and there is no doubt the kids will annoy the neighbours at some point – try keeping a boisterous 2 year old quiet when they wake up at 5am each morning. Controlled crying isn’t an option when your neighbours are so close, neither are teenage parties.
It’s a two-way street. The usual irritations of apartment living can be invasive on family life, like noise from neighbours, loud music and smoking on balconies.
Do I worry about my kids growing up too much “inside”? Yes, of course, it’s in stark contrast to everything I loved about my own childhood – running wild in the suburbs. We overcompensate by taking the kids outside rain, hail or shine to run around in local parks.
Kate Williams agrees that is more difficult not having an outdoor space where kids can play unsupervised and do messy things. “The constant need to go on “outings” with small children and babies means a lot more effort than simply stepping outside in bare feet without needing to pack food and supervise constantly,” Kate says.
A changing Australian dream
What do the kids think? Well, home is where the heart is, according to Kate Williams. “The girls love their home and frequently say they hope we never move”.
“Occasional house envy occurs but up until recently I have been very satisfied in our apartment. We are planning to move to Perth in a few years and we are certainly looking forward to having an extra room or two and a backyard. We may lament the extra cleaning and gardening though…” Kate says.
Melissa Perry is more resigned. “I often – or maybe even always – have house envy and would love to upgrade at some point, although this isn’t a reality unless we want to move further afield”.
Regardless of whether the Australian dream is changing, town planners (as in Calgary) are pushing us towards higher density living. So as our housing stock in cities changes, and the cost of property continues to rise, raising a family in an apartment will only become more common with Apartment Condos for sale Calgary.
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