Housing

[satinalien]

As many of you may (or may not know) Carol and I will be moving in the next six months. This got me to thinking in general

Comments

First things that come to mind...

[sueg]

Apartment Pros
Can be cheaper
When renting, someone else is responsible for maintenance
No snow shoveling or lawn mowing

Apartment Cons
Neighbors that smoke
Neighbors that gallop around like elephants upstairs
Neighbors downstairs that claim you are galloping around like elephants when you are tiptoeing around in fuzzy slippers
Neighbors that are obnoxious in other ways; e.g. using your garbage bin, blocking your car in, leaving trash in yard
Maintenance may suck
Pet policies may conflict with your personal desires

House Pros
Usually more space
No shared walls, therefore not much shared noise
Yard for relaxing, gardening, smelly painting projects
If you own your own, you have freedom to paint and decorate how you want

House Cons
Higher utility costs, especially heating
If you own your own, you are responsible for all kinds of maintenance and unexpected expenses

[nytesenvy]

houses are more work, more cleaning and sometimes (only sometimes) more space. houses are more likely to let you have pets.

apartments are smaller, true, but come with less maintenance and less cleaning

[keiran_akuma]

It really seems to boil down to personal freedom versus security. Your house is YOURS, to do what you want with. On the other hand, if something happens with an apartment, its not necessarily your responsibility to fix.

[bexplant]

loud sex. houses all the way.

[ninquark]

With enough resources, owning a house has more freedoms than an apartment by far, and in the long run house ownership affords more freedoms.

Short-term, an apartment tends to allow for more immediate flexibility, so if something goes wrong it's easier to move out and find a new place.

Are you looking to lease/rent, or looking to own a house?

[satinalien]

This is more theoretical than anything else. Carol and I have talked about leasing a house together, but we don't quite have the backing to do that by ourselves. It was more really curiosity from one who doesn't have much experience in houses.