Shifting from a house to a new apartment can provide you with a good start. But it might also come with various changes that can feel foreign or strange; although change does not have to be scary. The move involves reworking and re-imagining your lifestyle. You will need to make yourself mentally as well as practically to live full-time in a flat, particularly if you have never experienced it before.
Shifting from a House to an Apartment
The following are some of the top lifestyle changes you may have to experience when you make the leap from a house to an apartment:
- Smaller Living area
- Other Storage Solutions
- Shortage of Outdoor Areas
- Closeness to Neighbors
- Shared Facilities
If you are thinking to downsize and move to an apartment, you probably have a valid reason for doing so. You may have a house that is too big for your family now; you might not be able to afford the maintenance or rent of a house due to financial hardships, or maybe it’s because the kids have moved out. Both ways, you firstly need to plan ahead and make yourself mentally for the move.
Commence the search for a flat early and while you search, get yourself accustomed to some of the changes we have mentioned above.
Smaller Living Area
It does not matter how grand and luxurious your apartment is. You cannot compare it with living in a house over two floors. Thus, the first thing that will strike you hard is the small amount of area, not just for storage, but also for your furnishings, your mobility inside the home, and so on. Make sure to correctly measure your furniture before you pack it up and take it to the new apartment because it is going to become especially inconvenient to see your king-sized bed not going through the door or properly adjusting in the bedroom.
Most of the apartments will offer smaller square footage overall, and unless if you are moving into a penthouse, be ready for a single floor plan living area. While you may still need to climb the stairs or take a lift up to your apartment, the flat itself will all be on the same level, which can feel like an invasion of privacy to many people.
Other Storage Solutions
If you have got less space for your things, you will hardly have any for your storage. So, one of the significant lifestyle changes that come with downsizing is that you will have to sort through your collections and determine what is worth keeping and getting to the new place.
Apart from lessening the amount of stuff you own, the move from a house to an apartment also means looking into alternate storage solutions, such as below the bed storage, floor to wall shelving, wall hooks and hangings, and multi-purpose furniture to name a few. You can even look for a flat that comes with a separate storage area or an additional room that you can transform into a storage area for your belongings.
Shortage of outdoor areas
If you like spending quality time in the garden in the evening, then moving from a house to a flat will be quite a shocker. There is barely any space in apartment buildings for outdoor areas, and even apartments with terraces hardly provide breathing room at times.
Under the conditions that your new flat offers a vast balcony, you can set it up with a couple of chairs and some plants to compliment your evening routine. Though, that may take up the space to hang your clothes to dry, meaning you will miss seeing the setting sun. Apartment complexes that offer a large park or garden are an excellent option for people who want an outdoor place but cannot afford or care for a house anymore.
Further, if you own any pets, they will drive up the walls at the loss of outdoor space, so be sure you at least have a park area nearby for swift short walks. Also, the building should be pet-friendly to support your furry friend.
The shortage of outdoor space will also be troublesome for avid gardeners who love growing produce since there is limited to no sunlight coming into most flats and no space to grow trees, fruits, and bushes.
Closeness of Neighbors
Most homeowners prefer their privacy and security. The feeling or sense of being in your own world within your walls is fantastic but short-lived, mainly if you are about to move to an apartment. Surely, flats give you that added layer of security with CCTV surveillance of the complete complex, a guarded lobby, and helpful neighbors who will keep an eye on your apartment in your absence. Though, if you are not used to sharing walls with your neighbors, you are in for a rollercoaster ride.
While apartment living gives that new sense of living within a community, where everyone knows one another and people are always there to care for you in bad times, having an annoying or nosy neighbor can also be a nightmare.
Shared Facilities
Modern apartments constructed nowadays don’t just offer you a roof over your head. They give a complete luxury living lifestyle, along with a range of shared facilities, like a play area, a swimming pool, a garden, and gym, covered floors dedicated to car parking, high-speed lifts, and more. So, you should choose your apartment quite carefully and consider the perks that come along with an apartment before you make your choice.
An essential thing to keep in mind is that residents of the apartment building share all of these facilities and amenities. Be sure that the building and its premises are well-maintained before you move in, so you do not end up investing your money into the wrong project.
Eventually, you need to decide whether you are ready for the lifestyle changes you need to make before moving from a house to an apartment/flat. But if you choose to make a move, you will have to keep an open mind about the whole experience and embrace it to the fullest.