For many of us, after we get out of college, we start looking for places to live long-term while we start our careers. In some cases, it may seem like the next step is buying a house with a white picket fence and a yard. But you might be surprised to learn that in many cases, you’ll be better off finding an apartment you love.

Apartment living comes with a ton of benefits that you don’t get when you own a house. From a smaller workload on chores to improved security, read on to learn the perks of staying a renter for the time being.

Less to Clean

One of the best things about living in an apartment (and the worst things about owning a home) is there’s less cleaning to do in an apartment. In a house, you have to clean the kitchen, the living room, multiple bedrooms, the laundry room, and any other space. Not to mention that if you live on your own, you won’t have anyone to help out with the chores.

In an apartment, you’ll have way less to clean than you will in a house. You’ll only need to deal with one, maybe two, bedrooms, and the living areas will be smaller. Depending on your unit, you may not have to worry about a laundry room, and you might also have a roommate to share the workload with.

Easier to Update

If you’re someone whose style changes every month or two, an apartment is an ideal space for you. With a house, you’re dealing with a lot more furniture, wall colors, flooring options, and more. In an apartment, there are a lot fewer things you need to change to give your space a makeover.

For one thing, in an apartment you generally aren’t allowed to change the wall colors (which will probably be a neutral shade) or the flooring. These make for a great backdrop to set up your changing styles against. Get a new couch cover, change the art you have on the walls, and voila – you have a whole new space!

Forces You to Downscale

Now this next thing may not seem like a perk of apartment living. Not very many people like being forced to have less stuff because of the size of their living space. But being limited in the space you have can force you to focus on what you need and eliminate unnecessary clutter.

In the age where Marie Kondo rules all our hearts, decluttering can be a really awesome thing. When you have a small space, stuff piles up faster, so it’s easier to focus on keeping only what you need. Cut it down to the basics, and you’ll find your life – and your home – is much less complicated.

You Have a Community

If you’re a young adult, you may have already found out how hard it can be to make new friends. You’re at work for so much of the day that getting out and meeting new people can seem impossible. If you live alone and have a pet, this can be even harder, since you don’t want to leave them alone for too long each day.

In an apartment, you have something of a built-in community in a way not a lot of houses do. Your complex may offer fitness classes or various events throughout the year you can go to. And if they don’t, you can set up a floor party to meet your neighbors and connect with your fellow renters.

Less Lawn Care

There are few things worse than waking up on a hot summer day and knowing you have to go outside and mow the lawn. And not only that, but you may have to weed-eat, edge, trim the bushes, and on and on. Lawn care can seem like a huge chore, and you may not be able to afford to hire someone to do it for you.

In an apartment, keeping the lawn and flowerbeds in order is not your concern. That’s on your landlord’s list of responsibilities, so you can take that off your list. Instead, chill out inside this summer with a glass of something cool to drink, daydreaming about how to makeover your apartment for the fall.

More Sustainable

If you’re focused on living sustainably, you probably know how inefficient owning a house can be. Especially if you live by yourself, you’re using a lot of resources to maintain a space that not many people are using. There are the costs associated with heating and cooling, washing dishes and laundry, and more, not to mention the materials used to build the house

Apartment living is a lot more green-friendly and sustainable, a factor that is important to many people.

More Secure

Depending on where you live, the likelihood that you’re going to have a break-in is pretty slim. But when it comes to playing those odds, most of us would rather play it safe than sorry. And in general, apartments are harder to break into than houses are.

For one thing, many apartments these days have security measures in place that most houses don’t. These include passcode-protected gates, security guards, cameras, alarms, and more. Even if you put a security system in your house, you’re unlikely to be able to get the same level of protection that apartment living offers.

Learn More About Apartment Living

Apartment living comes with a lot of benefits that you don’t get when you buy a house. We would love to give you a tour and show you these benefits in person. Come experience the difference for yourself!

If you’d like to learn more about creating a better way to live, visit the rest of our site at Norhart. We have tons of articles about various ways to improve your life, from dealing with bad bosses to making more days count. Check out our article on believing in yourself today.