# House or apartment? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563 "2013-09-24T03:32:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/1 "2013-09-24T03:32:14Z")
Quite simply, do you (primarily) live in a house or an apartment/condo? Poll options: I own a house I rent a house I own a condo I rent an apartment I own both (a house and a condo and I spend about the same amount of time at each) I share a house (I rent a room, house has common area(s)) I share an apartment I live with my parents I live in a dorm Other ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/2 "2013-09-24T04:09:53Z")
Who wants to know? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/3 "2013-09-24T04:46:51Z")
I voted that I rent an apartment but I don’t actually pay rent; it’s included as a perk of being a complex manager. I have no desire to ever own a house. I never really have. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/4 "2013-09-24T05:24:44Z")
Other—and not quite simply—I own a house and rent a condo. It’s complicated. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/5 "2013-09-24T10:24:42Z")
House(s) for ~30 years now. Haven’t lived in an apartment since 1985. My tolerance for overgrown toddlers with loud stereos/exhausts/etc. has always been minimal. Sharing a wall with one of them never ends well, so it’s best for me to have a standalone dwelling with a sufficient moat surrounding it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/6 "2013-09-24T11:01:47Z")
Home owner. I have dark stormy memories of my time renting an apartment. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/7 "2013-09-24T11:42:06Z")
I voted “other” due to my expat status. We own two homes in the US but rent one here. Rents are quite high here ( ~ USD10,000 per month ) so much of the rental cost is covered by the company. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/8 "2013-09-24T11:45:59Z")
US citizen/resident, own my own single-family home. It’s a pleasure not sharing walls with strangers, having the freedom to make whatever sort of noise I want (indoors), and also not having to deal with noises from the neighbors (except for that one guy who spends every weekend tuning his car in his driveway…:rolleyes:). ---
**Author:** ![bahimes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bahimes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahimes)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/9 "2013-09-24T12:52:48Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Other—and not quite simply—I own a house and rent a condo. It’s complicated. This…sort of. Own a house, but lodging provided as part of my compensation package for employment. House in Spain, I am everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/10 "2013-09-24T12:58:19Z")
Still renting, the plan is to purchase in 12 - 15 months, depending on the housing market. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/11 "2013-09-24T14:08:32Z")
Rent a townhouse. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/12 "2013-09-24T14:08:33Z")
Renting for now. In fact, I just signed a lease on a new apartment. Conceivably, in other circumstances, we could have bought a house now. But I’ll be in grad school for the next 3-4 years, and after that it’s practically guaranteed that the next stage of my career will require moving to another city. At that point, as long as it looks like we’ll settle in one place for 5+ years, we’ll probably buy a house. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/13 "2013-09-24T14:25:14Z")
29 years old - rent the top floor of a house. I chose “rent an apartment.” I feel absolutely no rush to buy a house. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/14 "2013-09-24T14:28:44Z")
Owned a house for about 15 years, moved into an apartment when I left my ex. Planning to move by end of year either into a bigger apartment or maybe rent a house if I can find an affordable one. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/15 "2013-09-24T16:47:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Who wants to know? Just idle curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/16 "2013-09-24T17:30:14Z")
I own a condo. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/17 "2013-09-24T17:53:22Z")
I own a condo, but live in an apartment. Thanks to the crappy economy, I ended up renting out the condo I own in Anchorage when I left, instead of selling it. I rent an apartment near Denver now. However, my homesickness (yesterday was my 3 year anniversary for having finally escaped to “the outside”), is only growing, not dying off, so I have a feeling it may have been a good thing I couldn’t sell it. I may be moving back home 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/18 "2013-09-24T18:23:45Z")
Rent an apartment. The boom here started the year I graduated. House prices have basically doubled in the last 7 years. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/19 "2013-09-24T18:50:29Z")
I currently rent a small, single-family home. I moved in five months ago: before this I spent 10 years renting townhouses, and before _them_ were apartments. (I’m 42, and have always been a renter.) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563/20 "2013-09-24T19:14:13Z")
I own a house, haven’t rented an apartment in over 15 years. As my homeownership record shows, I keep moving farther and farther from other people (not including my family). I can’t imagine going back to living in close quarters with the general population. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-or-apartment/669563.md?page=2)