Condo living

I've often been asked, "Why don't you buy a landed property?"

Pro-landed property people are usually of the opinion that a house on solid ground is worth more than a unit in the air.

Growing up, I lived in several bungalow houses all over the country. We moved a lot. But it was always in a huge bungalow with lots of running space. In fact, when we were living in Raub, our bungalow was perched on top of a small hill within a school compound and we had the whole school field as our playground. In Penang, we had the entire church compound and that was where we learnt to drive.

But now that we live in the big city, we simply do not print...oops! I mean make enough money to live in a bungalow with a huge compound.

Having lived in a condo for the last 8 years or so, I've come to like it! Let me tell you why.

First off, I like sleeping with the windows wide open and letting the cool breeze blow in all night long. The room is really fresh and cool in the morning. There is no need for air-conditioning. I wouldn't feel safe with the windows all open in a landed property.

the view from my bedroom window at 7am this morning.

2. I like not having to climb stairs up and down in the same house. Especially when you have young kids. There is no need to worry about kids going up and down. You don't need to go up and down and up and down everytime you forget something. And there's no need for baby monitors and double of everything e.g. baby cot upstairs, playpen downstairs.

3. The kids can go swimming anytime they like. I don't have to drive out to a club or a public pool. No need to pack shampoo, soap etc. We just wrap them up in a towel after their swim and walk up for their shower.

Joseph is now much more brave in the water. When younger, he would cling to us like a koala.
Now he will 'swim' the entire length and breadth of the pool with us on the side.

He also has a lot of fun with his father, pretending that his father is an orca chasing him. And he now has the guts to leap into the pool by himself. No more fuss about water getting into his eyes.

Joy is still quite timid in the water. Her idea of swimming is to sit in the pool, soaking her butt.
Her hair can be all dry after her 'swim'.

4. I like being able to go to the gym in a flash. Out the door, 2km run and back all in 30 minutes flat. No need to get into the car, drive to a gym, look for parking, pay for parking and get all stressed out with the traffic jam back and forth. This is so economical when 30 minutes is all you have.

Some people say that "But you have to pay maintenance fee!". True. At 20sen per sq ft, our maintenance fees comes up to about RM260 per month. I think. But calculate the cost of gym membership (for 3 persons), club membership (for kids to swim), cost of travelling, parking and all that time and I say it's worth every sen I pay.

5. The kids can have a workout at the playground without us having to drive to the park. When time and traffic does not permit, the playground downstairs is a life saver. Even though it's small and simple, it's good enough for the kids.

6. I also do enjoy the occasional morning poolside walks with the kids. They see birds flying, watch the LRT go by and just enjoy observing the traffic below.

So even when there's a need to move to a bigger place, I would still look for a condo.