Is it better to rent a property in the suburb or the city?

City life and architecture

Life in the suburbs and in the city can be very different from each other. Where you choose to live needs to reflect the lifestyle that you want to live out and accordingly buy the house suited for you which is up for sale by the owner. When it comes to choosing where to live then you need to know there are many factors that can weigh down on your decision. There are factors like school systems, proximity to attractions, commute time and neighbourhood demographics.

Here are a few points to help you decide if you want to rent in the city or the suburbs:

Your daily commute

The time it takes you to travel to and from your work, school and family can add up fast. A long commute can be the final decision as to whether you say yes or no to the job. If your workplace is in the city then living in the city close by will make for shorter travel time and saving you more on fuel costs. Living in the city is also ideal for those who do not drive and rely on public transport as well as those too young to drive will need access to transport for school. If you have a reliable modern car then you might not worry about travelling to and from the city each day. This means people can have the best of both worlds. They are getting a sense of the city life working and a sense of the suburbs when they head home.

Living space types and sizes

Before you go ahead and choose where to live to try to visualise what best suits your lifestyle and take into consideration your future plans. Do you have a large family that all need to get to places or are you solo with hardly any obligations? Are you wanting plenty of open space land or are you happy with no backyard that you need to worry about maintaining which is what many people without kids like to consider? Are you planning for a long term stay or to sell your property soon?

Ariel view of architecture

Apartments come with less maintenance and yard work and if you do require parts living in the city won’t require you to take half the day to get there and back. If you are happy with small spaces apartments are good but if you want pets, then the suburbs are better for furry life. If you are on a strict budget, then consider the fact that living in the suburbs means your dollar will stretch further. If you want a large home and thinking about getting into renovation then the suburbs is better suited, you have the potential to expand if you need to and you can alter the space for many more years in the future.

Demographics

The suburbs have been home to the middle class but now we are seeing more and more people moving to the suburbs. The financial demographics have gone from being a higher income to populations that are more diverse. Those in the millennial generation have decided to reside in the suburbs that are surrounding the major cities which are changing the average age of the population.

Close to attraction

What do you enjoy doing with the spare time you have? Do you socialise a lot then you need to be close to those that make you happy? Suburbs are filled with recreation centres and parks while the cities are full of concerts, nightclubs and restaurants. 

There is no right or wrong answer, but it merely comes down to what suits you and your family’s needs and wants. It is an individual decision that should have a lot of consideration and time taken into it before making a final decision.

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