• My American family of five, two adults and three children, lives in an apartment in Germany.
• Living small keeps us minimalist when it comes to the things we own.
• We have a strong community with our neighbors in our building.

Our family of five, two adults and three childrenlives in an apartment in Germany. Apartment living is the norm – most of our friends who have kids also live in apartments.

Many of my American friends who live in houses with their children and are more used to doing this find it hard to understand, but in general I honestly prefer apartment life with children.

It keeps us more minimalistic when it comes to possessions

We have had to move several times since having children, which like anyone who has had to move with small children in tow can confess, it is not an easy task.

However, since, by default, apartment life it makes you more minimalist With everything from furniture to toys, this has definitely been helpful in terms of having a lot less boxes to pack.

Having also witnessed how stressful it can be for some of my colleagues to help their elderly parents declutter a large house, I feel like I just don’t have the option to accumulate too much stuff. to be practical in the long term.

Maintenance is low compared to a house

My husband and I work while taking care of our children’s needs and managing the household. To be honest, at this stage in our lives, I can’t imagine having to deal with the extra maintenance and responsibilities that come with living in a bigger house, whether it’s a larger amount of rooms to be furnished and decoratedworrying about attic or basement problems, or the extra cleaning needed for all the space afterwards.

We can barely keep up with our current apartment in terms of cleanliness and daily chores like cleaning the table, raising small children, and work, so I’m honestly happier to have fewer tasks to deal with.

Besides, since we rentlike most apartment dwellers we live in, our landlord is responsible for repairs – so financially and time wise this is another added bonus.

We have more organic access to exercise and socialization

Many of my home-owning friends have backyard space, which many see as a huge perk of owning property. I’m not going to lie, it sure would be great to have an outdoor space where the kids can just run around outside or to host guests outdoors when the weather is nice. Some apartment buildings have the benefit of a shared courtyard complete with a children’s play area, which is potentially the best of both worlds.

However, I am still okay with not owning our own yard and relying on our many local parks and playgrounds. Organically build extra exercise into our days; since we have to walk or bike to get to a park, we move our bodies more than if we just waltzed around a yard. The playgrounds we live in are varied and interesting, so children also have the opportunity to physically try all kinds of new athletic challenges, such as a climbing wall, a skateboard area or an obstacle course.

We met some of our best friends in the neighborhood by meeting people in the green spaces. I love that when I take the kids to the playground, I can choose to be sociable with other parents if I want the company of adults, but it’s fine to be alone if I just want to chill with the kids.

And honestly, I’m glad we don’t spend our free time doing chores and yard maintenance like mowing the lawn and pulling weeds—I love that on the weekends, none of these time-consuming tasks fall on our shoulders. as parents.

Our neighbors are our support system

As a parent of young children without family in the city, we are truly grateful to have a great support system of friends in our city. Apartment living is something that I think contributes to our sense of community.

When my third child was born, it was reassuring to know that we had many neighbors in our building who could easily step in to take over emergency child care if needed, and that’s exactly what happened. My oldest child is old enough to stay at home for short periods of time independently and it gives me a lot more peace of mind that if he were to get into trouble there are enough tenants in the building that he could easily reach in seconds .

While there are certainly elements of living with children that I would appreciate, all things considered, I am very happy with our apartment life and it works well for us and our other friends with children.