Apartment Living with kids?

Im currently searching for a rental property in Sydney. I think Im going to have buckleys chance of getting a house in the suburbs I want so I am having to consider an apartment.

Could possibly only be a 2 bedroom with 3 small kids but we rarely spend tons of time at home and if they want outside play we usually head to a park.

Just wondering if anyone has anything to say about apartment living with kids?

Hi Anna
I live in Syndey and until a year or so ago was in an Apartment. I only had one child at the time and although the space was ok I did miss having a backyard and proper clothesline (electricity bvill was bigger due to use of dryer).
Have you looked aroung Greystanes?Blacktown or Seven Hills? I live around these areas and have done in the past. i am not sure how much rent you can afford but these areas are pretty cheap.

I think you can make it work if you want to make it work. Lets face it, it is the norm for people who live in European cities and places like New York and Tokyo. They've been making it work for decades.

For me personally, it's far more important to quality of life to live in a suburb you want to live in, than move a long way out from where you want to be so you can have a house.

For me its more $$$ wise. I can get a nice 2 bedroom apartment for less than what Id get a dodgy house for in the suburb I want to live in.

Ugh I hate house hunting.

what about a townhouse or duplex? I suppose it depends on the area you live in as to whether or not you could afford one?
I move into my duplex tomorrow as a single mummy of 2 small children & I managed to get a 3 bedroom duplex. For what I'm paying for this duplex, in Sydney (where I came from) I'd be lucky to be able to get a 1 bedroom appt... (no I'm not over-exaggerating!)
I say search around to see all the suburbs in the area you're interested in, check out the schools, parks etc & go from there :) You may get a pleasant surprise & get a townhouse or something similar about 10 mins from somewhere you'd have to settle on a 2 bedroom appt? You never know!

Wishing you all the luck in the World to get a good place
xoxo

:hug: House hunting can be exhausting hey! Well, we pretty much live in an apartment, even though it's a house, because it's small and we can't use the backyard. :p

To be honest, I really crave a backyard, with 3 boys you might value having a yard that you can kick 3 active boys into and they can tear around and kick a footy or whatever. If there's no yard, will there be enough room for them to burn some energy? Will there be a nook you can hide away in for a cuppa while they amuse themselves?
And with 2 bedrooms, if you're looking to save money and not tumble dry everything, is there room for a few clotheshorses?

As Miss excited points out, many people in over the world do apartments, and whatever you have, you make work. I'm just pointing out some things that factor in my love or otherwise of where I live now. xo

Im kind of stuck because I need to live close by ex-DH but alot of the immediate suburbs are a bit iffy. And there arent alot of rentals but alot of interested potential tenants so Im definately NOT going to be the one theyll want to pick.

But in say.....Cronulla I could get a 2 bedroom unit and there are TONS of rentals so I wouldnt be fighting 10 other people with jobs and no kids/1 kid for the one suitable house in my preferred suburb. Plus Cronulla isnt too far from ex-DH and my sister lives there.

I only have the older 2 boys 5 nights a week, they spend weekends with their Dad. Eventually Ds3 will as well so space isnt always a big issue. If downsizing to a 2 bedder Unit means I get a property without fuss then Im willing to sacrifice. Theyll be able to use their outdoor play equipment at their dads.

If it manages to get you in, and you are not stressed about where you are going to live then go for it- no one says you have to stay there forever. Sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do ;) Your a resourceful woman, I am sure you will make it work.

My best friend rents a unit with her 2 little girls in Sutherland and loves it. Her girls go to childcare 2 days a week and there is a park not to far from where they live.
There are many other suburbs in the shire you could live in which are cheaper and still nice area's. I have lived all over the shire before and was born & raised in Bundeena (which is across the water from Cronulla)
Places like Loftus, Kirrawee, Gymea etc are just a quick train ride to Cronulla and in the cheaper rental areas. I agree that you could be applying with loads of others, but that doesn't mean you won't get it. I have many single mum friends who are on benefits that live in rentals in the shire.
I hope you find something real soon.

:wall:We're currently living in a 3br townhouse with 2 kids (7 and 3) and we're ttc #3.

We made the move from the suburbs to the city due to work and while we would have like a house nothing was around at the time.

It's doable, we're lucky we have HUGE bedrooms so all the kids stuff fits! Invest in good storage to pack things away and you'll be fine!

We're lucky enough to have parks/school/etc within a very very short walk!

We might be moving very shortly...not looking forward to house hunting again!