In the United States, more than 16 million households live in apartments, according to the latest data from the National Multifamily Housing Council. The popularity of renting does not seem to be going down anytime soon. With the number of advantages it offers, it is easy to see why. Apartment life is simpler, cheaper, and relatively worry-free. You don’t have to trouble yourself with menial tasks such as fixing your roofing shingles. It removes the burden of owning a home, with the only caveat of being more limited space and rent.
Choosing Simpler Living
Apartment life generally has you restricted to a few hundred square feet. With that little space, you are forced to become more minimalist and really put thought into the items you keep in your home. The simpler apartment lifestyle frees you from the stress of housekeeping, allowing you to focus on the things that matter most to you. This minimizes clutter, and thus you will not have to clean as much. Since you do not have to do as much work around the house, you can spend your free time on relaxation and leisure. One of the biggest attractions to apartment living is this freedom from the obligations of a homeowner, which can be overwhelming at times.
Less Worry About Maintenance
In a regular home, if an appliance stopped working, you would have to figure out your own way to fix it. Whether it be through DIY repairs or calling a repair service, the burden of solving that dilemma falls on you. That is not the case in apartment life. You only need to call up your landlord and report the issue. You don’t even have to be home to oversee the repair work. Professional landlords see the prompt resolution of maintenance work as a point of pride, as it shows their commitment to taking care of their tenants. They usually employ a repairman or have contractors that they know well. Otherwise, they just repair damaged things themselves. So you don’t have to worry about the people entering your home to do repairs. You can get to know them and grow to trust them eventually. Plus, unlike with home ownership, you do not have to go through the trouble of finding a contractor that is reliable and has competitive rates.
No Yard Upkeep
Keeping a tidy home often means having to give attention to the yard as well. Lawns need to be mown, gardens need to be tended, and shrubbery needs landscaping. Even if your yard is fully concrete, you will still have to keep it clean. If you don’t have the time or skill to do it yourself, you will have to hire professionals if you want more pleasant-looking surroundings. Maintenance and upkeep are also necessary to maintain property value, to ensure you don’t sell the property at a loss when you decide to move. All these worries are nonexistent in apartment life. Whatever greenery adorns the complex is tended by the management. Your garage and driveway are the apartment parking lot. Care and upkeep for these amenities are all included in the rent. The quality of the apartment’s surroundings, property value, and rating are all the concerns of the landlord. As a tenant, all you have to do is enjoy it.
Safety and Security
When it comes to home security, it’s up to the homeowner to decide how best to protect his home. This entails where to set up cameras, what kind of locks and alarms to get, and others. It will all depend on how the homeowner assesses the threats in his neighborhood and beyond, and how best to counter them. Budget is also a major factor. These are not your concerns when you are a tenant. The landlord has a vested interest in ensuring the complex is as secure as possible. Even a single break-in can bring down his trust rating and property value.
As a tenant, your safety concerns only extend to small things like keeping your door locked and safely hiding your spare apartment key. You also have a better safety support structure in the form of your neighbors. Because they are so close by, they can detect and report criminal activity much faster than your neighbors in a suburban neighborhood. Most complexes are also gated and have minimal access points. In some cases, they are even guarded. The proximity of apartment units is a fire hazard, but this means that it is practically mandatory for landlords to invest in stringent fire protection systems. With this many buffers between you and danger, you can more easily find peace of mind and security living in an apartment than a house.
Tight-Knit Communities
It is much easier to make friends with your neighbors when you live so close that you share a wall with them. Depending on the quality of the apartment complex, there might be communal amenities that you would not be able to afford on your own, such as a gym or pool. There is also usually a place within the premises or nearby where you can socialize. These friendships can foster a strong sense of community with far less effort than it would take in a neighborhood of single-family homes. You can quickly and easily build relationships with people of all ages and walks of life that live in your apartment complex. With that much companionship so close by, it is unlikely that you will ever feel isolated or lonely.
More Financial Flexibility
Owning a home comes with a whole host of sudden expenses and financial obligations. There is always something that needs repairing or improving in a home. Utilities and maintenance are the most prominent examples. Savings also often go towards fixing things up around the house more than anything else. You could take months to save for amenities that you can easily access in an apartment. When you are a tenant, all you have to worry about money-wise are rent and utilities, unless you rent at an all bills paid apartment. It’s up to the landlord how best to manage funds for property improvement and such.
This gives you more financial flexibility than you would if you were a homeowner. When you have extra cash as a homeowner, you think about projects or repairs that those funds could go to before anything else. Savings can go to things like vacations, a new computer, going to see your family if you live far away, treating them to a nice dinner, and so on. Apartment living frees you from the many financial burdens of home ownership and lets you direct your money towards more meaningful things.
Apartment living has much to offer you if you choose it. However, it is certainly not without its disadvantages like the lack of space and awkwardness of pet ownership in apartments may be discouraging to some. But if you find a more compact, minimalist lifestyle appealing, it may just be the type of living arrangement for you.