The Great Debate of Raising a Kid in the City

I have a hot topic for you guys today.  It can be the great debate in life for new parents. The City or the Suburbs?   Regardless of where you live, you are going to want to keep on reading this post because there is an important message at the end for everyone.

There is one statement I hear non-stop these days.   “You can’t raise a kid in the city!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that one, I would be a millionaire.

Questions

Society has a lot of questions but most fall into four main themes.

1. When you are single the question is: when are going to find a boyfriend?
2. When you are dating someone the question is: when are you going to get married?
3. After you get married (literally seconds after) everyone is asking; when are you having a baby?
4. Once that baby arrives the question is: when are you moving to the suburbs?

My answer to the last one is “we’re not.”  Cue all the weird looks and statements like “you can’t raise a kid in the city.”  I’m hear to tell you that you actually can and that raising a kid in the city is not that hard.  I’ll show you what I mean. I’m hear to tell you that regardless of where you choose to raise your baby has zero bearing on actually raising that baby.

Growing Up

I grew up in the suburbs and I had the best childhood.  I wouldn’t change it for the world.  My parents raised me in a beautiful home, with a huge backyard complete with a swing set (built by my dad) and a pool.  I have the best memories of swimming in the pool, playing in the backyard and having neighborhood friends.

I also have memories of Friday nights eating popcorn on a blanket in front of the TV with my family.  We took fun vacations every year and we still talk about our “vacation stories” till this day.  (You can see want I mean by “vacation stories” in this post here.)  My parents really did everything possible to make a wonderful life for our family.

I’m pretty sure we could have lived in a cardboard box and it still would have been wonderful.  Because at the end of the day it’s not the location you choose to raise your family, it’s the values and the morals you have that matters the most.

 

City Life

I’ve been living in the city for 15 years now.  I moved downtown when I bought my first place and had no intentions of ever moving out.  You can see how and why I wanted to buy a home in my post here.

The city has never been a “stop” for me.  It’s where I wanted to live as an adult.  I was never one to follow what everyone else did when they did it.  I had my own lifetime line.  I was married at 35, started a blog at 37 and had a baby at 38.  I think that’s kind of non-conventional.  And now I’m raising a kid in the city.

It’s what works for us and where we are the most comfortable.  I know raising a kid in the city is not for everyone and I know a lot of people don’t understand.  But the beautiful thing is that it takes all sorts of people to make the world go around.  And that includes people raising a kid in the city.  There are four main reasons why city living works so well for us.

 

Space

Yes, space is limited in the city.  We have about 1,800 square feet for all of us.  It may not sound like much, but it’s just the right size for us.  You see, living in a smaller space has taught me to not have a lot of stuff and really think before I buy anything.

It also means that I have less to clean and take care of.  I value my time and would much rather spend the time with Mike and Lizzie.  And I don’t have to take care of the outside of a home.  In fact I don’t even take care of our Urban Oasis and it’s small.

I can also hear everything in our condo from anywhere in our condo.  If Lizzie is crying I can hear here.  She is a few steps from our bedroom and living room.  We actually don’t even use the monitor half the time.  I can hear everything in our place.

 

Accessibility

In the city I walk everywhere.  We own a 7 year old car with 25,000 miles on it.  We never drive.  We walk to the doctor, the store, to work and to daycare.  We pop Lizzie in her stroller and off we go.  In fact, I find it easier than putting her in the car.

When we do drive in the car to Aldi or Kohl’s (because I love those two stores) it’s a huge pain for me to take her in and out of the car multiple times.  It’s a huge workout and it also stinks when she is napping.  I feel so bad taking her out of the car.  I’m sure if I did it more often I wouldn’t mind it as much.

 

Work and Daycare

I walk to work, it’s a 30-minute walk, 15-minute bus ride, or a 7-minute taxi ride.  It’s quick and I have multiple ways to get there.  The same holds true for daycare and we walk there every morning.  I enjoy being able to get to Lizzie in minutes if needed.  It puts my mind at ease.

Yes, taking her to daycare in the rain is a huge pain in the rear end.  Everyone ends up wet and I look like a wet dog by the time I get work.  But it happens so rarely that I usually laugh it off.

 

The Biggest Backyard Ever

No, we don’t have a lush green yard right off the back door.  But we have a huge lake, multiple parks, a zoo, museums and the riverwalk within minutes of walking out our front door.  We have options on activities and I like that.  Did you know there are tons of affordable activites to do in the city?  You can read about them in this REDFIN Blog Post.  You might spy a Later Ever After tip on the list!

The entire city is at our fingertips and there is always something going on. Lizzie loves to go on walks (or walkies as I call them) and the options are endless for where to go.

 

The point of my post is not to convince you that city living is better than the suburbs.  I’ve done both and loved them each for different reasons.  What I want to tell you is it is possible to raise a family in the city and enjoy it.  It’s also possible to appreciate someone else’s lifestyle, even if it isn’t for you.  I can appreciate why some enjoy living in the suburbs.  But city living is for me.