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We do plan on eventually buying a house, but for now the benefits of a condo in the city outweighs the benefits of a house in the suburbs for us. We planned to rent for a few more years before moving further out, but we ended up buying the condo we were renting when our landlord decided to sell. The biggest downside to renting, for us, was that we couldn't control when we would have to move. So we like that we own our condo and move when we want now. We don't like that now we are responsible for maintenance, but so far we've been pretty lucky.

I see nothing wrong with staying in an apartment/ condo for the long haul! We would need to be a lot better about organization and streamlining though.

@hotchildinthecity: yeah it worked out well for us- he offered us a fair price, slightly below market since we wouldn't have to pay realtors, and we already knew we liked the building and neighborhood. But we never planned to own a two bedroom since we knew we'd want the 3rd bedroom soon, and now the kids will have to share for a little while before we move again. But at least we didn't have to move!

@hotchildinthecity: as long as everyone can have their personal space and everyone is happy in the apartment, I see nothing wrong with it! I'm a city girl myself. In an apartment now, but moving to a larger one before our LO is born.

@hotchildinthecity: it is large, but has a lot of wasted space (like a super and narrow entry hallway). But yes we can definitely fit 2 kids in here (and will be doing that) for at least a few years!

We're in a 2 bed/2 bath condo with 4 people. We're ready to move to the burbs. In our city, there are a number of factors pushing us that direction. Big one is that our current place just can't hold all of us anymore.

We've lived in our 2 bedroom condo for a long time and I love the location! We would never sell our condo because it could easily be our retirement home many years from now. We occupy the 2nd and 3rd level but the building has elevators for those that need it. When we buy a house in the suburbs, we'll just rent it out. My niece and nephew lived with us for almost 5 years and it never seemed small at all.

The one downside is we really can't entertain a big group or throw big parties. I wish our condo had a clubhouse for private renting and that would make this place perfect! Amazingly, we did host 2 families at the same time during the Hurricane Rita evacuation a few years ago and it was quite fun. 1 family slept in our spare bedroom ( 2 adults with 1 kid) and the other family slept in the living room area (2 adults with 2 kids).

I think apartment living can work out nicely with the right organizational skills.

I could never live in an apt, not for space reasons (our home is 1200 sqft) but because I love having a huge yard. In the summer we literally spend ALL DAY in the backyard.

What do you do for outdoor play if you live in an apt? I take it there are lots of nearby parks?

@Rainbow Sprinkles: parks! there are 4 within a 10 minute walk, and a huge city park with sandboxes, playing fields, sprinklers, etc within a 15 minute walk. I LOVE never having to get in the car.

It's always funny to me when people say you can't raise a family in an apartment. Weird. So, all the families living in apartments throughout the world, what are they doing?

Anyway, I'm a native New Yorker and I've always lived in apartments, some in houses, some in buildings. If we won the lottery we'd buy a condo or townhouse. DH grew up in Georgia and lived in houses with a lot of space. He doesn't want to own a house because of the upkeep. If we do buy in NYC it would be a co-op in our price range, so apartment dwelling is definitely in our plan for the long haul.

I think about this all of the time! We're in a condo and honestly, I don't mind owning a townhouse or a bigger condo. A house in the South just seems like a lot

@Rainbow Sprinkles: we have literally countless parks within a 5-10 minute walk, and not just parks- extensive hiking trails, several beaches and lakes, community gardens, campfire pits you can reserve at no cost, the zoo, several libraries- all within walking distance! I would like a large yard, but in all honesty, without one I am forced, every single day, to find an outdoor adventure- it forces me to get out of the "house" (or in this case, property), and it is actually really healthy for me. I meet new people, run into acquaintances, it is a different adventure everyday. There is a place on the lake we can walk to where there is live music 4 nights a week, kids everywhere, food, ice cream, beer, and stairs (LOs current obsession). I would totally love to hang out in my backyard and have a drink, but this way I am forced to get exercise and adventure.

I love the convenience of an apartment- everything in mine is new, solar heating (I like it at 80 and this supplementation keeps the cost really low!), super low utilities, heated parking a few floors down- quick ride down the elevator... I could go on- but I especially love that I don't have to fix anything should something go wrong. We have looked into houses, and I am not sure I want to have to deal with all of that- the yard work (we spend that time outside together), the oldness of the houses in the areas I would consider (lead and mold and having to update), all of it. The one thing I don't want to give up (though I am negotiable) is 2 bathrooms! The houses in locations I would consider here are either 1950s with one bathroom or they are 2mil. I live in my ideal location (in this city) and the houses here are 1.5-2mil... so it is that or an apartment.

I know everything has positives and negatives- like the noise in my specific location.

Love apartment living...15 min commute, not a lot of cleaning or maintenance, everything within walking distance. I used to think about moving to the burbs for space but now i am pretty sure we will be in NYC for the foreseeable future. The only thing i worry about is the schools. Paying for Private school from kindergarten thru college is daunting.

My family is from Seoul, Korea where its pretty common for people to live their whole lives in apartments so I don't really see it as that unusual (although I've lived most of my life in California and love my suburban house). My uncle had 3 kids and raised them all in his 3 bedroom apartment. My other 2 uncles have 2 kids and raised them all in 2-3 bedroom places. Its tight and there's no privacy, but that's just what's normal. Every apartment complex has a park with a playground and people just buy groceries every few days. And you can get just about anything delivered. As long as it works for you, I don't see why not.