Owning a house is the Australian dream, but I miss my apartment

It’s the Australian dream to own a home, and I’m living the dream in a big, five-bedroom house in Sydney’s bushier outer suburbs. But, is owning a house overrated?

Apartment living is certainly on the rise. At the last census, 10 per cent of Australians spent census night in an apartment. Sometimes, I like to reminisce about my small, two-bedroom apartment that I used to own and the lifestyle I left behind.

Like many apartments, mine was close to public transport in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, an area I could never afford to buy a house. I could catch a bus to the city, the beaches or inner west and not have to wait an eternity for one to arrive.

I walked to work every day, and at the end of my street I could get a coffee or choose from a variety of food to eat. Everything was close by.

You could say a lot of people also lived close by, but a lot of people in a small area attracts transport and business. I felt safe at night getting off the bus and walking the short distance home because there were people about.

I also felt safe living in an apartment. If a burglar wanted to climb up four sets of stairs to steal my TV, good luck to them. Often apartment buildings have an intercom, locked gates to get through and lifts that will only take you to your floor, so getting burgled is not something that is often contemplated.

I also didn’t have to worry about bin night, the garden or stairwell because strata would look after those things.

Now in my house, the lawn and the weeds in my garden are the bane of my existence. I pull one weed up and another one replaces it the next day. Taking care of the outside of a property is something you don’t consider when living in an apartment. Light bulbs and vacuuming stairwells were all done by the strata fairy.

I still had to clean inside the apartment though, but it was a lot quicker to clean a small apartment than my house. I renovated the bathroom, which only took a couple of weeks. We are currently renovating the house and it has taken over a year. With more space, there is more to do.

The electricity bill was less in the small apartment. It was double-bricked and better insulated than the breezy, tent-like house we are in now. Sometimes I slept with a fan on, but I rarely used a heater.

I would still be in that apartment, if a husband and child didn’t come along. And while apartments were once really just a financial choice, today they offer a certain lifestyle that is different and, for some, better than living in a house.