Is it so bad living in a townhouse when you have kids?

[Anonymous]

I will be the voice of dissent.
We just sold our four level townhome for a house. I hated the stairs. I hated we couldn't actually run around in a backyard alone without ALL the neighbors too. I hated not being able to have a garden.
To each their own.

[Anonymous]

Rowhouses in DC only work for families if your neighbors aren't loud and inconsiderate, which unfortunately cannot be said in many EOTP areas.

[Anonymous]

I think having been raised in a rowhouse on Capitol Hill, and having bought one later in life with a child, that moving to the suburbs with a yard, and away from mass transit, would be difficult to handle. The biggest issue would be the car culture. I like walking, biking, and going to the restaurants on 8th street with my wife and kid. I like the culture. The crime I could do without, but I am used to it. But if was to be offered a 5 bedroom SFH in Cleveland Park though, I would jump. So yes, a row house is manageable. I never needed a 5,000sqft rambler in fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think having been raised in a rowhouse on Capitol Hill, and having bought one later in life with a child, that moving to the suburbs with a yard, and away from mass transit, would be difficult to handle. The biggest issue would be the car culture. I like walking, biking, and going to the restaurants on 8th street with my wife and kid. I like the culture. The crime I could do without, but I am used to it. But if was to be offered a 5 bedroom SFH in Cleveland Park though, I would jump. So yes, a row house is manageable. I never needed a 5,000sqft rambler in fairfax.

A 5,000 SF rambler? That's funny. You really should avoid the comparisons until you actually know what you're comparing.

[Anonymous]

heh. it will be fine, OP. you do you.

I liked being in a rowhouse (with NO yard but <1 block to a playground) when my kids are little. we are upgrading to a place with a yard soon, but not solely because of the yard! and we will very much miss the close-by amenities we have here. I will enjoy the storage space and having a garden. so there's that.

[Anonymous]

I dont think kids NEED a SFH. I was raised in a townhouse and had no problems making friends and playing outside all the time. We now live in a SFH on a cul-de-sac and i think it's ideal, but my kids wouldnt know any better if we lived in. TH. I personally could not STAND living in a condo oe apartment. Thatbwoyld be hell. My kids are outside, unsupervised all the time. I would not atnall feel comfortable living in the city and sending myb5yr old out tje front dooor, down the elevator, and out onto the street to ride his bike. As it is now, both my boys have a good .5 mile range they can go out biking or on their scooter. No waybin hell would i let my 5yr old go to a city park, unless i was trailing behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sold the SFH and moved to a TH with 2 kids. Best decision ever. Kids are now 6 and 9. During the school year, they have after school activities that don't get us home until 6 or 7. During the summer, they go to camp all day and the pool in the evening and weekends.

Now we have no yard work for a yard we never used.

+1.

Same here. Best thing ever. The whole neighborhood is their playground.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rowhouses in DC only work for families if your neighbors aren't loud and inconsiderate, which unfortunately cannot be said in many EOTP areas.

Solution: try WOTP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parks and playgrounds are so much better than yards anyway.

I agree!

You can't dig a hole at a playground or plant a garden. I get that playgrounds are nice. But there are neighborhood (like mine) where kids play outside all the time (sfh) or we all walk to school (where there are play structures) and there are side walks and pick up soccer games and everything else. I sometimes think fondly of not having a yard to rAke or mow, but really, there is no replacement for having your own space. Kids outgrow playgrounds. Unless they are using them to sneak cigarettes after curfew.

Like hell you can't dig a hole at a playground. Our kids dig small holes with sticks in just about every patch of dirt they come across. Given the other little holes I see around in public parks, I'm guessing a lot of kids are doing the same. Also... kids eventually do outgrow playgrounds, but they don't grow into a yard. Kids are more likely to outgrow a yard and want a playground or park, rather than the other way around.

[Anonymous]

We have a small backyard in our TH and the house is surrounded by a large common area. When we bought the TH three years ago I kept grass in the backyard thinking my DS would play there. He never does and I should have turned it into a patio which we will probably do. We are on a cul-de-sac with a lot of kids so they want to play together in the common areas or playgrounds.

My neighbor, who has twin toddlers, does use her backyard though. I am sure as her kids gets older she will have a similar situation as I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a toddler and an infant in a mid-sized 3-storey townhouse in Petworth. Tiny front yard, rear deck. So far so good. Two keys to making this work. First, keep your house free of unnecessary junk and furniture. Our living room and basement are quite open (for example, no coffee table in the living room), and this adds to the overall sense of space and gives the toddler room to play in. Second, spend time outside when weather permits. We go to our neighborhood pocket park and nearby playground frequently, and sometimes just take a walk around the block. Young kids get absorbed pretty easily - it doesn't take anything fancy to keep them entertained for at least a little while. One last thing: Young kids need parental attention and care more than they need a large backyard, so if a townhome means a shorter commute and more family time than a SFH, then I think the trade-off is worth it.

Yes but schools and poor people. Has your son met the dope fiends and thugs that live in your hood?

PP here. My son has met several friends of lower SES. (And higher SES - Petworth is still changing rapidly.) We know numerous families on our street and surrounding blocks, our children play together. I'm around for this and know it to be safe and innocent. They're good people, and your characterization of them just for being poor is actually pretty disgusting. As for the crime element, sure it's there, but like virtually every other family, we steer clear of that element and they steer clear of us. We'll see what the future holds, but we're still a decade away from middle school. It's been fine and we love this neighborhood waaaay more than where we used to live in NOVA.

[Anonymous]

Do not worry about what your co-workers think. I agree with the PP who said that the kids will be fine as long as (safe and age appropriate) fun can be had. Mine are still in preschool but we find lots of safe and age appropriate fun stuff to do in and out of our townhome.

[Anonymous]

I dont get the people complaining about stairs...unless you live in one of those weird really narrow town homes it has more or less the same amount of stairs as a SFH. Both have 3 levels, both have the same height ceilings. And they usually aren't that different in terms of square footage unless you live in the burbs.

[Anonymous]

We're raising two kids (now 10 and 13) in a townhouse. We thought about moving but the kids love the house and neighborhood. They play outside often and have tons of friends. We like the minimal upkeep and how low our mortgage is. We're very happy here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dont get the people complaining about stairs...unless you live in one of those weird really narrow town homes it has more or less the same amount of stairs as a SFH. Both have 3 levels, both have the same height ceilings. And they usually aren't that different in terms of square footage unless you live in the burbs.

The new townhomes (think EYA) are four full levels with four full flights of stairs. Considering all bedrooms are not located on the same floor it's a lot of fucking stairs with two kids.