I was recently pondering the future and started thinking about living spaces. Personally I've always lived in an apartment for different reasons, houses are very expensive here so it is in large part for economical reasons, can't and probably won't be able to afford living in one for quite some time, even if I wanted to. However  I've also realized an apartment becomes a lot more convenient because of its location in particular since no one in my close family owns a drivers license. I've considered what it would be like to live in a house, more so since I changed schools as most of my current classmates live in houses. Personally however I think I would still prefer living in an apartment. I say that mainly because of the previously mentioned convenience, they're typically a lot more centrally located meaning it's easy to get around when you want or need to go somewhere and because of their smaller size making them easier to keep organized and clean (ideal for lazy people like me ).

This lead me onto the thought of how it would be interesting to see what kind of environment most people on vizzed live in, their preferences and experiences and any other alternatives aside from these two that you might prefer. I expect I'm in the minority about liking apartment life.

I have lived in both houses and apartments and from where I'm standing, houses are completely superior. I get to do what I want, I'm building equity with a house, it's my property, and we have the space and room and silence that is not afforded in an apartment building. You end up knowing everyone else's business in apartment buildings. You may have to share common laundry, which is terrible. You have to rely on others to be respectful and appropriate and the screaming kid down the hall is never a good time.

I have a garage for my stuff. I have space to spread out. I know when I put something somewhere, it's going to stay there the next five, ten, or fifteen years or more. I have a deck and I can grill on it and it has plenty of space. I can park on of my two vehicles and I'm never competing for parking spaces.

Houses. Apartments are fine when you're young and figuring life out. Houses are for the grown adults who are ready to relax, sit back, make some money, and enjoy the sunlight on their deck. My house, my rules, my life.

Ghostbear1111 : I'm of course talking from the perspective of someone who does not live with a big family. Obviously if I did my stance would probably change as I might want the extra space and freedom a house offers or at the very least I would want to live in a larger apartment than the one I live in right now. I definitely prefer the convenience of apartments particularly in my case since I live very centrally. Any service I could want is usually within short walking distance and when it isn't I can just get there through the nearby buss station in stead. 

For the most part neighbors haven't been a problem here. I don't necessarily agree with the statement that you end up knowing everyone else's business, I've found that people here mostly mind their own business despite living in quite a crowded neighborhood. I would say the one thing that is really annoying is that there is reconstruction taking place which means having to put up with the sound of drilling and hammering during certain hours of the day even if that's typically during the time where most people are at school or work. This is somewhat specific to my case since it is due to there being a dentist office two floors below of where I live.

 Looking past changing circumstances in life and potential noise disturbances I prefer living in an apartment though I'm biased in terms of preferring the bustle of inner city life. An up side is that you have a lot more freedom in terms of location with apartments meaning a lot of potential problems can be avoided. On the topic of laundry you can usually get your own washing machine if you find it particularly annoying having to use a shared laundry room. It has rarely bothered me however since they're typically pretty strict about cleanliness around here.

Actually the cleaning aspect works both ways here. Apartments mean less space to clean, but more frequent cleaning since larger spaces don't get dirty as quickly, or rather, you can get away with not cleaning longer before it becomes as noticeable due to the amount of space.

Personally I've lived in both, and I prefer houses. Houses are more spacious, quieter, easier to maintain, and feel more like your own place than your part of a shared complex. Also bear in mind that I like to be as alone as possible usually, so this probably affects my decision.


Apartments have their upsides I suppose, but I'm not social enough to really appreciate anything except their affordability.

Growing up I've lived in both houses and apartments, and I'm now in a condominium that I own (basically like a townhouse).

I'm in a smaller "city" with a population of about 13,000 maybe, and ironically my mortgage is cheaper than the cost of an apartment building (some of the ones here are double what my monthly mortgage payments are - it's incredible).

Owning a house can sometimes be a pain - responsibility sucks lol. In an apartment, you're not liable if anything goes such as the hot water tank. But with apartments, you're obviously in close proximity which could be a problem if the tenants above you are loud (which I've heard horror stories of). or, if you have to share a laundry area, you're at risk of having someone take your stuff out mid-cycle (or just take it and run, which i've also heard of lol).

I'd still go with house. There are times where I seriously hate being a homeowner, but I love having my own space.

I have lived in a few locations, and, I have to say, it depends on your own preferences and needs.

Me personally, I'd like to live in a studio flat, as it means less space to get messy - as I tend to make a mess of sorts through dumping clothes and such.

I have always lived in social housing all my life and no you cannot do what you like with those but that doesn't mean it is very restrictive either (you don't own the house as it is either your local council or housing association that owns it) however if something breaks then it is the council/house association that has to fix it.


I would probably start off living in a apartment at first then possibly a house if I decide to have a family. I can't really say which one I prefer as I have never lived in an apartment.

There's good and bad with both.

Apartments:
I've lived in an apartment for 14 of my almost 21 years and there were sooooooooooo many things that were awful about it... We lived on the bottom floor, which was good in the event of a bad storm or in case there was a fire or something along those lines, but then the apartment above our's flooded while we were sleeping and we lost almost all of our things. We moved into another apartment and we lived there for almost 10 years. We saw all kinds of people come and go. Every time someone else moved in upstairs, they brought some of the most horrible cockroach infestations I've ever seen with them... We bug bombed that apartment four times. You don't have to pay for the water and, sometimes, the electricity is included in the rent, as well. You don't have to hire a plumber or HVAC guy if the shower or AC unit breaks, but at the same time, you have to rely on the maintenance crew, and absolutely nothing ever got fixed around that place. We spent a couple summers without AC as a result. There's little privacy because of how thin the walls and ceilings are. Your neighbors can hear everything you do, and vice versa. And, depending on where you live, rent is absolutely insane. In Nashville, these days, you're fortunate to find anywhere that'll rent you an 700 sq foot one bedroom apartment for less than $900 a month that's not in a neighborhood where you're worried about your door being kicked in overnight and your family being raped and murdered.

Houses:
We now live in a house that we inherited from our late grandmother. We own the property. We can make whatever modifications we see fit and have to answer to no one about it. The only problem is that the faucet in the bath tub is broken and runs hot water full blast with our only way of shutting it off being the valve in the front yard, our toilet no longer flushes as intended and we have to manually pour buckets of water we fill up in the tub into the bowl to flush it, the pilot light in the gas water heater won't stay lit, the heater in the kitchen doesn't work, the AC in the kitchen and the living room no longer function as intended and the one in the living room almost caught fire, it rains through the kitchen ceiling if the wind blows just right during a storm, there are holes in the floor going straight to the ground under the house because there's no foundation, and we're too broke to hire anyone to fix it for us.


So what it really boils down to is what's convenient, what's important to you and how you're willing to compromise. I believe in castle doctrine and, despite living in a run down, half rotten cabin, I appreciate it for what it is: our property.