https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 05 May 2026 05:53:03 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1890543 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 14:22:43 +0000 plantains 1890543@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsjazz: the second bathroom is so great, I didn't realize I needed it in my life until I had it. If only I had a balcony...I would be in heaven. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1890482 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:49:35 +0000 mrsjazz 1890482@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@plantains: Jealous! I want a 2.5 br/2 bath! Our last apartment was a 2 br/1.5 bath and I miss that place so much. I wish I could move it to our current neighborhood. But I love our location. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1890431 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:27:11 +0000 plantains 1890431@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travelgirl1: get a flat in London :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1890418 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:22:42 +0000 travelgirl1 1890418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in a small apartment in Toronto and while I do wish we had much more space - and really miss having a garden - I love how I can take my LO to the museums, aquariums, parks etc in the same day, all without even setting foot in a car or public transit. I think city living is fabulous for kids. I am genuinely worried about how to provide the same level of stimulation she gets now if we end up moving back to UK village life next year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889959 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:50:55 +0000 plantains 1889959@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love this article. It makes me feel good about my choices. We live in a 2.5 bdr/2bathroom apt and we have worried a little about what that means for another LO, but I think we'll be fine. I love NYC living. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889719 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 06:52:36 +0000 looch 1889719@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When I was living in NYC, I overheard a little girl and her family having a conversation about moving out of NYC. She was so upset that she wouldn't have access to Central Park any more. I thought that was the cutest thing ever. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889718 Mon, 06 Oct 2014 06:50:01 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1889718@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>:heart: this reinforces 1) the house we have is the right size for us, 2) formal living rooms are a waste of space, and 3) there'there's nothing like NYC. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889601 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:14:11 +0000 Ginabean3 1889601@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skibobrown: totally agree with the upkeep part...my whole adult life I've lived in apartments until about a year ago when we bought our first house. It's 1900 sq ft with a nice backyard but now....there are spiders! The dishwasher is broken! There is so much hardwood to clean!Etc etc....all things that I never dealt with before. When we lived in an apt it would take me 10 min everyday to do quick maintenance cleaning. Now I have to mentally prepare myself to dive into it! Don't get me wrong, I love the space, but it's a lot of work! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889586 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 21:46:19 +0000 LovelyPlum 1889586@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for sharing! I grew up in a small house, but there were definitely a few things that we all would have liked to change. The biggest thing we've decided is that layout is key. If you have a good layout, that will make the biggest difference. Also, if we have a small place, it is important to have the right kind of furniture; bulky furniture is no good. DH and I have said for a while that we would rather make a small space really nice than have a huge space that we can't make the way we want it to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889567 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 21:11:12 +0000 skibobrown 1889567@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We now own a 2,000 square foot house in the midwest, but previously we lived in big cities on the coasts, where apartments were the only viable option for us. We love our house, but it's definitely on the large end of what we need to be comfortable, even if we expand our family to two kids. It's also a ton of work to keep up a house of this size. I can't imagine the upkeep of a larger house on a larger property. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889437 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 19:19:02 +0000 luckypenny 1889437@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love apartment living. But I also grew up in a big house so I could live happily either way. But for now, NYC living is the only way for me :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889429 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 19:13:56 +0000 BKCaribBaby 1889429@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As a practically life-long NYer, I love this. I've never lived in a house, and I don't feel like I've missed very much. DH's friends and family have often made "interesting" remarks to us because we live in a 950 sq. ft apartment with LO, but I love our small manageable space which keeps us honest about accumulating things and doesn't require us to spend lots of time maintaining it. </p> <p>I will say that the whole "call and set up a play date" thing seems a little weird (and very specific to her generation). My childhood best friend lived on my floor, and we'd just pick up the phone and call each other. </p> <p>Anyhoo, thanks for this. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889396 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 18:42:41 +0000 ShootingStar 1889396@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That was a really interesting article. It's great to hear a kid's point of view; so often as parents we question whether the choices we make about living environment are the right ones. I could totally see how living in a city like NYC can make up for the fact that you have less living space than the average American does.</p> <p>It's funny though because I just moved out of a townhouse we thought was way too small at 1600 sq feet, and into a 3300 sq foot house. Admittedly our townhouse didn't have a floor plan that used the space very effectively. And we definitely don't need quite all the space that we've got now. But man, I really appreciate having it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889263 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 14:27:08 +0000 jedeve 1889263@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think his last point is spot on. If you live in a city like New York, you have access to museums and restaurants and plays and all sorts of culture. If you live in a place like I do, you can have a garden and hike for miles, but give up other stuff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889258 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 14:11:14 +0000 Anagram 1889258@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think people in general just get used to what they know and have a hard time living in very different environments. If a person grew up in a larger home, they probably can't imagine having children in a small space. And if you are used to a small space, you probably can't imagine filling up so much space.</p> <p>I grew up in a 5 bedroom home, that also had 4 bathrooms, 3 living spaces, a music room, and so on. Sounds like a mansion, but this was in the middle of nowhere, west Texas where land and housing is cheap. Also, I'm one of 6 kids. </p> <p>I currently live in a 2 bedroom apartment (family of 3). I have no issues raising 1 or even 2 children in our current apartment. We don't have a lot of closet space, but we have 1260 sq feet and our own entrance and patio so it's great space for our neighborhood. We have tons of parks nearby and a community room and gym in our building, so those features eliminate our needs for extra rooms.</p> <p>The one thing I wish we had is a 3rd bedroom, just because our parents visit us, and stay much longer than the typical American custom. I would happily trade sq footage in every room in our condo for a 3rd bedroom, if I had a magic genie who could make that happen.</p> <p>One thing I've found I really like about small space living is not accumulating so much "stuff". I have friends in Texas who have a crib, bassinet, pack n play, travel crib, swing, rock n play, bouncer, jumperoo, exercauser, walker, doorway jumper, play table, activity cube, tummy time mat, 3 types of ride on toys, 2 or 3 strollers even though they drive everywhere, water table, kitchen helper, any size chairs, every single toy known to man, etc.etc.</p> <p>It's so freeing to not have all that stuff. We've picked maybe 1 baby item in every category and stuck to that and it's been really nice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889240 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 13:35:31 +0000 mrsjazz 1889240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boopers: 1400 sq. ft. seems great! I think I read somewhere that the average American home used to be about 1400-1800 sq. ft. and then in the 90s square footage started going up and up. </p> <p>@californiadreams: We want some place bigger when we have LO #2, too, but we currently live in an apartment that's about 750 sq. ft. so for us that could mean a 3 br or an actual 2br (our current 2br is more like a 1.5 br). A half-bathroom would be nice, too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889233 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 13:11:35 +0000 californiadreams 1889233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>ok, so i am not good at estimating square footage, but i grew up in a suburban home, it wasn't huge like some other homes i have seen, but it was a house. small enough that i shared a bathroom with my parents as our all bedrooms and one bathroom were on the top floor, but big enough that we had 3 floors plus a basement. I liked having the bigger space and we want the same for our kids. Heck we want it for ourselves even if we don't have more kids. We are managing in an apartment now with an almost 2 year old, but are definitely getting a bigger place by the time LO2 rolls around. </p> <p>A bigger place for me could be more to have just one extra floor so when the kids are sleeping, we don't have to tiptoe and worry about the volume of the TV (and maybe vice versa when we have teenagers). And i really like the idea of some private outdoor space like a backyard. It doesn't have to be huge, but we definitely want more space. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889228 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 13:01:08 +0000 Boopers 1889228@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I grew up in suburbia and think that 2500+ sq ft homes are unnecessary for most families as well. </p> <p>We are renting a 1400 sq ft home which is more than we need now, but we have a large dog that loves the yard and a LO on the way, so we eventually will fill more of the space.</p> <p>We have a few friends who own large homes and don't even have enough furniture to fill their homes. I think more of it has to do with who they are trying to keep up with status wise, rather than actually needing the space.</p> <p>In the end, to each their own and if that's how a family wants to spend their money so be it, but for our family we would rather have a smaller home and do other things with the money it would cost to own a large home.</p> <p>ETA: I live in Texas where housing is mostly affordable, especially compared to other parts of the country, and most homes have a backyard. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/for-those-of-us-raising-our-kids-in-apartments#post-1889222 Sun, 05 Oct 2014 12:50:26 +0000 mrsjazz 1889222@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I liked seeing this article written by a 16-year-old who lives in an apartment. DH and I were at a party last night and were talking about buying an apartment or house and how for us it's kind of mind-boggling to have a 2,500 sq. ft. home. But I've been a city dweller my entire life.</p> <p><a href="http://brickunderground.com/blog/2014/09/growing_up_in_a_nyc_apartment" rel="nofollow">http://brickunderground.com/blog/2014/09/growing_up_in_a_nyc_apartment</a> </p>