Joy in Apartment Living

Have you learned things about yourself that you had no idea existed until you've tried something over and over again?  Well, that's me and the way I feel about apartment living.   Before marrying I lived in an apartment.  After I moved to be with my husband, we lived in a duplex.  We made a cross country move and lived in an apartment.  While in the Midwest, we were bitten by the "buy an house" bug.  For that season it was okay, but now that it is over I am content to be back to apartment living.

Before I share my thoughts about apartment living, I will admit that it is not perfect.  There are days were I become annoyed by the upstairs neighbor. I really do not like that the other dog owners do not pick up after their pets.

I don't if it is just me or if anyone else can relate, but I found living in a house overwhelming. With the responsibilities of being a wife, mother, entrepreneur, pet mother, and the list goes on,  being a homeowner was another big responsibility.   I often felt like there was always something to do, and on some days I dreaded being in our house.  I did not like having those feelings especially since being appreciative is a state I try to remain in at most times. 

The simplicity of apartment living has always spoken to me.  The reduction of responsibility is also something that I definitely needed in this season.

Is living in an apartment ideal for everyone? No.  Is it the best financial decision?  Depends on the person.  But for me and my family, apartment living frees us from having to tend to all things included in home ownership so it makes it worth it for us.  I don't see renting an apartment the same as renting a house; I would rather buy again versus renting a house. 

Some of my favorite reasons for living in an apartment includes being able to keep our space relatively clean.  I am not totally against messes, but I do like for our space to be comfortable.  When everything is right there, it is easier to maintain the space.  There aren't any extra rooms or closets for me to hide the mess.  I like the closeness that we experience because there is less space.  Our apartment is about 1,100 square feet which I think is a decent size.  Most of the space is in our bedrooms.  The closeness keeps up from getting into moods for too long.  Again, there's nowhere to hide so while we can go to a different room to get some alone time we can't hide forever since we all share a room with someone (this part isn't much different from when we lived in our house).  I am able to dedicate my time to other parts of homemaking that I enjoy.  I didn't necessarily despise tending to my flowerbed, but I enjoy baking more.  I didn't necessarily dislike cleaning the garage, but I enjoy relaxing with my family more.  

For us, apartment living makes our lives simpler.  We are freer to pick up our mats and go, if needed.  We are less likely to buy unnecessary items because we do not have the space to store things we do not need.  Apartment living helps us to be more intentional. 

What is your favorite part of home ownership?  Are you an apartment dweller? Share your thoughts about apartment living in the comments.