Apartment or Individual house?

[bangalg]

I know this is a matter of personal choice but I wanted to know specific views of people already in Australia. Is it more of a hassle living in an independent unit as compared to an apartment? How about security? Of course, an independent unit gives a lot of freedom and space...

[amraj1982]

I always wanted to know the answer for this. !!!!

[_shel]

Apartments are cheaper and security depends on location and what you can afford. If you can only afford somewhere very cheap some of your neighbours may not be too desirable. But my in laws live in appartments and have always had lovely neighbours and a secure building.

But if you have a small child a house is the way to go if you can afford it. You and your child will have exclusive access to outdoor play space with your own garden. Very important if you have kids and your wife does not have to walk to the park every day.

[AussieFemmeInFrance]

I live in an apartment because of security and proximity to work (I hate to commute!). Don't have kids yet, so we would have to upgrade when that happens but for now, I go to the park (5mins) for exercising.... No need to maintain the lawn, as a result!

[_shel]

Ahhh yes, mowing the lawn, my husband hates it lol but if renting it must be maintained along with anything else specified in your rental agreement.

[V2S4R]

Guyz,
Apartments and Individual Houses have their own Advantages and Dis-advantages.
New migrants better bet is Apartments. Once you settle down and research through different localities and facilities, you can start thinking about different options.

I lived almost 2 years in Apartments with little space and other convenience such as Gym, Swimming pool, Sauna and Security.

Recently, I moved to an individual house, which is very spacious (4bedrooms for 3 ppl). It has plenty of space to fill up with different furniture and utensils. This house is with big open space with backyard and front garden. Obviously, my son is enjoying very much than apartment. Little skeptical about security and my wife always complain about it. I do not require hitting the Gym as gardening in the weekends tumbles your belly to flat.

As far as my opinion Individual house takes into major consideration than apartment living (35:65 (Apt:House)).

This is just my experience and thoughts.
It is all depends up on the individual tastes and life styles.

Enjoy the Aussie life whereever you live....

[mpp]

I am sure most of us would have gone through a similar dilemma when renting a house.
Both has its advantages as well as disadvantages.As someone new to the place when we were looking for a rental place we were very much tempted by the individual houses.But our experience in US and singapore taught us one thing when moving to a new place start with a smaller place get used to the surrounding ,see other neighborhoods which you may like, see what your monthly expenses are coming to and then after a year or so once you have a fair idea of your expenses if you can afford move to an individual house in a neighborhood of your choice. Till then stay light with minimal furniture. Staying in a smaller house for the first 1 year also helps you save some money and since you are going to be here for a longtime you can always move to a bigger house after a year or so.
One of the things with individual houses is the maintenance of the lawns , initially you will like it but trying doing it during the winter season and this is when it requires more frequent mowing because of the rains. Also the bigger the house the more heating it will require and so on. There are so many things which you will realize later on as the months go by. Like do you wanted a bus stop near by, do you want grocery shops or shopping strip at walkable distance as it will be easy for your wife to go grocery shopping's alone in the morning.We are currently staying in a 2 bed unit which is something in between an apartment and individual houses. 3 small houses inside a compound.It has a very small cemented background so now lawn mowing and you do not feel all alone. Again it all depends on individual choices and preferences.