Quote:
Originally Posted by SHOFEAR
After having so many acquaintances move out of downtown after having a kid, my wife I and really thought we could be one of the few who could raise a kid downtown (at least for a couple years and move when the second would be a toddler). We had a two bedroom 930ish sq feet condo and thought it would be big enough and the kids could share a room.
The second we got home from the hospital we realized we had made a terrible mistake.
The front hallway would be unpassable due to the stroller and car seat. It was impossible for my wife to haul groceries from the parkade...Our parents would normally need to pay for parking to come visit their grandchild. Complete disaster.
We moved into a house in a neighborhood from the late 1970's era...two story, huge pie lot, attached front garage. life is better. I just built a bed for my daughter from scratch on the driveway, and currently finishing up designs on a playhouse/swing set that I will start building this weekend. cant do that downtown.
Looking back on it now, it was incredibly selfish of us to think we could raise a kid downtown. The things that our daughter enjoys the most....we would have never of had room. Her inside playhouse, the inflatable pool in the backyard...etc. The house is big enough where if our daughters toys are spread out in the family room after we put her to sleep, my wife and I can go watch TV and unwind in the living room without being surrounded by a mess.
If kids are in your future.....do yourself a favor and get into a house with a backyard asap. Moving with a toddler/baby sucks....don't do what we did and think you can get by.
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If you were raised in a suburb that might seem to be the natural order of things, yet millions more people around the world raise their kids in apartments just fine. It's hardly child abuse.
Keep in mind that your child's needs are going to change over time as well. A backyard might be nice when they're 5, but priorities change and access to amenities might matter more when they're 15. Having to act as one's teenager's personal chauffeur is never great for the parents either. At some point you just have to make a decision between which trade-offs are worse - unless you're either rich or like Steely and lucky enough to live in a city where traditional mid-density urban neighbourhoods are readily and affordably available.