https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:20:43 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space/page/2#post-2107767 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:38:35 +0000 mrsjazz 2107767@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in a 700 sq. ft. apartment and would like to buy in our neighborhood. The layout of our apartment sucks, we'd like the next place to be at least 800 sq. ft. </p> <p>DH grew up in a house and loves the fact that he doesn't have to do any maintenance outside of changing lightbulbs. We have a great super and management program. </p> <p>Pros: No maintenance, our management company handles repairs. Living in the apartment means we're living in a great walkable neighborhood. Hate not having any outdoor space.</p> <p>Cons: Hearing my neighbors argue, have sex, and snore. Oh, and hearing the sound of the dogs nails as it walks across the floor! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space/page/2#post-2107728 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:18:13 +0000 chopstixwife 2107728@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've been in the same two bedroom, 1 bath apartment, less than 900 sf for the last 7 years. It was plenty big when it was just the two of us, then along came my husband's aunt after a year of marriage, then kid 1, then kid 2, then kid 3. So yes, there's six of us here. It's clean but messy. Whenever my sister in law visits, she starts cleaning and throwing stuff away. =P We do rent a garage downstairs for storage at $100/month. My husband is a hoarder. Shared laundry is $1.50/wash and $1.25 to dry. We've had chances to upgrade to a three bedroom but we rather save the money. Current market rental rate for a 2 bedroom is around $1700-$2200. Current market price for single family 3 bedroom/1 bath can range from low end of $650K up to $900K. I keep telling myself, eventually, we'll move out or purchase a house when the eldest gets bigger. We'll see how long that take us! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space/page/2#post-2107667 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:17:54 +0000 Kimberlybee 2107667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh here's another perk of condo living, our pool area that is maintained with our HOA dues. It has 2 separate hot tubs. Can't wait for summer.</p> <p>[attach=394/15/nl631u.600x450.image.jpg] </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space/page/2#post-2107318 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:57:27 +0000 daisyfay 2107318@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in a two bedroom, one bathroom rental that is somewhere between 700 and 800 square feet. We like small space living and think it'll be perfectly sufficient for the two of us and the baby girl who will be joining us in May.</p> <p>We love living right in the middle of the city and having just about everything we could want within walking distance. We don't have a parking space, but street parking is easy in our neighborhood so it's not much of a concern. We do have a hookup for a washer and dryer and are REALLY looking forward to installing those before baby arrives. It's a small space to keep clean, which is fantastic, and it forces us not to be packrats, which is...not my forte but definitely something I am getting better at (admittedly we do have a small storage unit). Probably the biggest pro for us is that because we are subleasing from family members who have a multi-unit lease in the building, our rent is significantly below market due to rent control, so it enables us to save a lot more money than we would be able to otherwise.</p> <p>There are a lot of cons, but most of them are random things related to our specific situation, not small space living in general. We wind up fixing a lot of things that a landlord would normally be responsible, because it's almost impossible to get our landlord to do anything for us due to the aforementioned well below market rent. The lease extends back to the early 1970s, so there haven't been any improvements whatsoever made during that time - all our fixtures are ancient, the paint was peeling off the walls in sheets when we moved in, things like that. We're very limited in our furniture purchases because the stairwell is too narrow to move in anything large, and there are a lot of (beautiful but odd) built-ins that limit how we can set up the furniture that does fit. We don't have any outdoor space at all - not even a patch of grass. The pilot in the heater burns out almost as soon as it's lit, and I'm not convinced the back stairwell would survive an earthquake.</p> <p>We're definitely happy there for now, and hope to stay for a couple more years, but once we are ready to have a second child, we'll probably look for something more in the 1500-1800 square foot range, which will likely entail leaving the Bay Area, since we could never afford that in SF and we aren't big on the suburbs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space/page/2#post-2106976 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 06:02:15 +0000 regberadaisy 2106976@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Never mind :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2106962 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 05:14:27 +0000 ElbieKay 2106962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love living in an apartment because it means I can live in a walkable community with a short commute and don't have to spend lots of time maintaining a big house. Also, I already think we own too much stuff. More space would just make that worse.</p> <p>My husband does not share my sentiments and would love to have a big house. He would also love to maintain a big house because he likes those kinds of projects.</p> <p>I hope we can stay in this community and eventually get a weekend house. But it depends on whether of not the schools improve here. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2106941 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 03:23:50 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2106941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had DD1 in an apartment around 900sf. It was perfect until she was mobile and got into everything.<br /> We're now in a house around 1500sf plus basement. Having the basement (and laundry) make so much difference. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2106931 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 02:44:44 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 2106931@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My first house was 1,000 sq ft. They called it a 2/1, but the second bedroom was really a loft without a door. It was cozy for our small family of 3 and super cute, but we really did all live on top of each other and there wasn't enough room for a bouncy chair or exersaucer. The living room was filled just with the yoga ball, swing and car seat while we were home. We had to leave the stroller outside on the porch which we always felt sketchy about.</p> <p>The saving grace was our 7,000 sq ft yard. That made it so we spent a lot of time outdoors when the weather was good (July-September). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2106907 Fri, 13 Mar 2015 00:26:25 +0000 Kimberlybee 2106907@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a 2 story condo that occupies the 2nd and 3rd floor of the building. It's a 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom in a great location. It's really cozy and cute and was perfect for us for a long time. Now it seems really small with all of DD's baby gear (that's in storage now) and now toddler toys. The problem is me though, I have major hoarder tendencies but I have improved a lot. We bought it based on location and it will be investment property once we buy a house. </p> <p>I hate condos now after going through so much hell with our HOA regarding high monthly dues. I do LOVE our location though so overall, I am happy with small space living. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105828 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 12:51:14 +0000 miramira 2105828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bunnylove08: yep, 2 bedrooms of a decent size. DS is only 5 months, so he's in our room right now. We had planned on moving him into the 2nd bedroom eventually but it turns out that second-hand smoke from the neighbour seeps in there somehow!! Disgusting. We're planning in moving to be closer to family this year anyway (hopefully to a small house or ground floor apartment).</p> <p>I see your predicament with one bedroom. There are some great ideas on ApartmentTherapy.com for dividing small spaces. It sounds like you've got a good plan though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105798 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 12:43:34 +0000 Greentea 2105798@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I like less space to clean, less space to fill, less utilities. I love being able to walk everywhere for everything. I like to get out a lot and spend 0 time in a car. 2/2, 1100 sf. I only miss a yard, but a zillion outdoor things are right outside the door- parks, lakes, campfire fireplaces, stocked campfire pits, nature trails, pools, outdoor mall and outdoor restaurants, sledding hills, overlooks.</p> <p>Our layout is great for having kids. The laundry is in french doors between both bedrooms at the end of the great room. I can keep an eye on LO no matter where I am or what I'm doing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105791 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 12:39:00 +0000 namaste 2105791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Celebration, FL. It's a special (amazing) but special place. Renting in Central Florida is becoming expensive as well and the housing market in certain places is only becoming more expensive as well. I really don't want to live where homes are more "affordable" so we'll keep renting while we live here. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105697 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:55:22 +0000 loveisstrange 2105697@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in a 2bed/1bath house. We do have a den that I think used to be used as a bedroom, though. It's about 1200 sq ft. Its totally functional for 3 people. I mean, I grew up with 5 people in a 2b/1b 900 sq ft house. My brothers shared the unfinished basement with all the extra crap my parents had. </p> <p>I like that it inspires me to get rid of shit we dont need, since we have minimal space to store it. The only thing that sucks is our kitchen. It's TINY and there is zero storage or counter space. It forces us to keep what counters we do have cleared off, to be even able to cook. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105684 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:48:38 +0000 hilsy85 2105684@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in a 2bdrm/2bath, and while it's a decent amount of sq footage (1250sq ft) the layout is not great (a long wasted hallway, enormous master bathroom). We would LOVE a 3bdrm with #2 on the way, but I also kind of just want to stay where we are and try to make it work, and avoid the hassle of moving. I love that there is less space to clean, but I hate that there is very little separation between living/dining/kitchen, and that DH's work stuff has to be in the living room. I also kind of hate having toys always in view...but I would never give up living in the city! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105678 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:45:03 +0000 bunnylove08 2105678@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@miramira: is your flat a 2 bedroom? I'm so curious how you separate your space for a child and adults </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105673 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:43:25 +0000 BKCaribBaby 2105673@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I like it for what others have said. I don’t particularly need a lot of space for the sake of having space. I like that we use all of the space we have. We will be moving to slightly bigger space soon, but it will still be very small by house standards. We also happen to be lucky to have a storage room in the basement of our building also that does help with keeping things as clutter free as possible. In general I love that we are constantly giving things away/choosing not to acquire stuff. I also like the fact that smaller spaces force us outside in the warmer months/ summer time. Once it gets warm I like to spend as much time outside as possible, and we make sure to take LO outside, too. </p> <p>We own our place, so we do have to deal with repairs, etc. While it’s not as much as a house, DH still finds it more than enough sometimes. A house would be so much more work. He works long hours and travels for work, so having to attend to home upkeep is something that neither one of us really wants. </p> <p>I do get concerned about space especially if we have another child, but I will cross that bridge when we come to it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105661 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:39:20 +0000 miramira 2105661@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think our (rented) flat is about 500sq ft. I love the size. The bedrooms are actually really good sizes; just the kitchen and bathroom are teeny. So much less to clean! I hate clutter and acquiring things, so all our rooms are pretty open and airy. The only downside is that it's on the 2nd floor, which can be a pain with a child. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105631 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:28:17 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 2105631@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I like that it's easy to keep clean, the area is walkable and we are close enough to lots of things to do. I dislike not having a yard or at least a small patio to get some fresh air without having to go out to the street, and lugging the stroller up the stoop! It's the bane of my existence, when I have groceries in the stroller and the little one fell asleep and I need to get all of us upstairs! Oh, I also really dislike street parking. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105546 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:01:27 +0000 MrsBucky 2105546@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in what most of our friends consider a nice, big apartment for our area- but by the standards we grew up with, it's definitely small. 2BR/1BA. The things I miss the most are having our own laundry (we have a laundromat across the street) and having a dishwasher. Also, city living has been tough at the end of this pregnancy- the baby is riding LOW and it makes walking really hard for me sometimes. Not having a car makes little things harder, generally (errands, grocery, getting to Drs appts). I also wish we had more room for family to stay, since both of our families are OOT from us. That said, living in this area allows us to both make good salaries and we have a wonderful community of supportive friends within walking distance. Also, as others have mentioned, it's nice that my DH and I can clean the whole place in an hour or two if we put our minds to it. And not being on the hook to fix things that go wrong is a double edged sword- our landlord is good, but sometimes we do have to push him to fix things in a reasonable timeframe! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105521 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:50:46 +0000 avivoca 2105521@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We own an 1100 sq. ft. House, and I like it. I wish we had more closet space and a pantry. It's easier to keep clean and we are close to lots of stuff. My husband wants a huge house though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105504 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:44:07 +0000 MrsMccarthy 2105504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live in pretty small 2 bedroom duplex. Compare to our NYC days its a palace and we have a yard which is awesome but it's still on the smaller side. Keeping messes in check is hard and we can't buy a lot of the bigger toys or furniture items we might otherwise. It's cozy though. We hope to buy a house in the next two to five years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105493 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:38:40 +0000 macintosh 2105493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We own our house now, but it's only 1000 sq ft, 2 bedrooms. I do love it soooo much more than apartment living. I don't mind much that it's small.</p> <p>Pros:<br /> Less space to keep clean<br /> Always within earshot of DH<br /> Short walk to the bathroom<br /> Affordable to heat and cool</p> <p>Cons:<br /> Only 1 bathroom<br /> No guest bedroom once LO arrives<br /> Every wall is covered in bookshelves<br /> Storage space is limited, so closets are packed full </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105467 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:29:49 +0000 Anagram 2105467@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@namaste: there's a city HOA? that's crazy...What city is this? As much as the property tax + maintenance fee on top of our mortgage is, we still save about $250-300/month compared to renting a place of similar size. Renting here is super expensive, but if interest rates weren't so low it would have been more expensive to own I think. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105432 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:19:14 +0000 catlady 2105432@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are in a smallish 2 bed townhouse in the city. I like it because we don't have too much to clean, don't have too much yard work or shoveling to do, and I don't feel like there are any wasted rooms. We can walk to all sorts of things and we have a nice back patio but no grass to mow. Cons are that we don't have a parking spot so we always have to find spots on the street which is tricky, we don't really have any storage for things like strollers or bikes, and our kitchen is really small. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105420 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:16:11 +0000 bunnylove08 2105420@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hotchildinthecity: I'm with you. I'm a city girl all the way but DH is a suburban guy. he longs to mow lawns and clean up the yard. I tell him to go to his parent's house and help them LOL </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105405 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:12:14 +0000 bunnylove08 2105405@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we just purchased a 700 sq ft 1 br and we have a 2 year old DD. I know we're crazy but i know we can make it work. We're going to split the living room and make that into a bedroom and the current bedroom into a living room. Once she gets bigger (we're not planning on staying for a long time) we're going to give her the current bedroom and split the living room as our bedroom and living room. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105366 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:02:21 +0000 namaste 2105366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Ugh I'm so cheap :/ Our HOA went up last year as well. Owners have to pay the community HOA + city's HOA so owning a condo/townhouse here is awful. We rent from an owner and he's ready to sell so we're out of here in July to rent from another owner, I'm sure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105308 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:50:23 +0000 Anagram 2105308@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@namaste: yeeeeah....ours is $300 to rent with a $500 deposit and insurance required if you serve alcohol. But for a big party (like baby's first birthday), it's still cheaper than our local places. And for more casual things--like just getting 10 mom friends together, I don't rent it, we just use it, haha. ETA: I should add that this year, both our monthly maintenance fee AND the rental rates were raised so I was pretty :bummed: about that. We've had an influx of people moving from Manhattan and two of them made it onto the HOA board this year and to *them* the previous prices were "so cheap"--but I'm like...um, you moved here to get away from Manhattan prices, so quit raising the prices on everything saying it's so cheap! Grrr. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105297 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:47:49 +0000 Ginabean3 2105297@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We now live in a house but lived in a one bedroom apartment in the city for 10 years. </p> <p>The pros: little maintenance, being in an urban environment (good food, stuff to do). Not having to worry about property taxes, etc.</p> <p>The cons: parking in a parking garage and then having to go up in an elevator to the apartment (so annoying when you have groceries and a little baby), no storage space, being a little too close to the neighbors, not building equity! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-lives-in-an-apartmentsmall-space#post-2105277 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:42:11 +0000 Mrs. Skateboard 2105277@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do. approx. 1000 sq ft.<br /> My pediatrician said that the benefit of apt. living with a family is that, in her experience, city kids have a very strong bond because they are always together and there are very few little place to sulk off to after fights. They have to figure out how to get along.<br /> I also like that I can pretty much see what my boys are up to from any place in the apt. lol</p> <p>Cons, of course, I'd LOVE a bigger kitchen, guest room for visitors and a second bathroom would be a dream. Our place is always messy because you just don't have places for everything and you learn that you can't be that sentimental about ever little thing that your LO draws, makes or wears. You just don't have space. </p>