Ask Lemmy

Apartment. I really hate the suburbs

All else being equal, in terms of structure and property itself, I'd rather live in a detached house.

But all else isn't equal. I'll sacrifice my ideal building type in order to live in the specific neighborhood I want to live in, within easy walking distance of amenities like parks, groceries, world class restaurants, bars, and things like that, all while being able to get around by bike, mass transit, or even easy/cheap hailed vehicles like taxis or Ubers. And that means I'm living in a dense urban area, where detached houses are rare and prohibitively expensive.

So I look for neighborhoods where I'd actually like to live, then look for places there with the right number of bedrooms and floor space, and then look to see what is within a feasible budget for myself. The first time I bought a home, I would've preferred to rent, but the building we liked in the neighborhood we liked happened to be condos rather than rentals.

But housing is a package deal. And house versus townhouse/rowhouse/brownstone versus low rise condo versus high rise condo versus apartment versus someone's accessory dwelling unit is only part of that package. And the other parts are more important to me.

House. But not in the suburbs. I've shared houses with lots of roommates, both rented and owned (well, with a mortgage) houses, in town not on the outskirts.

If the choice is apartment in the city or house in the suburbs, then apartment is the only choice because I don't want to commute, want a lot of stuff around me not just miles of houses.

Apartment. Houses feel like prison cells especially in ~~desolate barren primitive wastelands~~ the suburbs where everything requires a car or at least an hour of travel. Anyone with nothing to lose can break into your house and all you can do is make it too much effort. All your neighbors are thieves and will steal your mail, packages, and food orders. They'll also not care if you had an intruder, and they'll care less about how their smoke affects you. Just wear a gas mask if you don't like smoke. It's their property so you'll just need to get over it. Happy and cozy! Let's hope your work schedule doesn't change so you don't need to choose between taking out trash and being able to sleep before work. And definitely get some insurance to replace your replaceable belongings when a high schooler's still-burning joint tossed on your outdated status symbol burns your house and everything in it. Spend every day with your pets and children like it's your last. It's the current year, live like it. You don't need a glorified horse drawn carriage and a happy cozy cottage in the woods. There's no need to maintain a patch of grass to show off you don't need to farm on it. There's no need to live completely alone where no one can help if you're in need. It's unnecessary. If you can't live in a city the problem is you. Go buy an island if you need to live so primitively.