You\u2019re doing well if you have laundry facilities in your apartment building. You really have it made when you have a washer and dryer in your apartment. Life is different here. You carry your shopping home by hand rather than load a week\u2019s worth into the back of your car in a spacious car park. An elevator is definitely a bonus when you\u2019re living a few floors up. I never knew what the term \u2018walk-up\u2019 meant before living in New York city. It is a nice way of saying your building does not have an elevator and if you live on the 5th<\/sup> floor\u2026. well let\u2019s just say you will have strong calves!<\/p>\n After looking at numerous apartments in the city, we visited an open house just a short drive away. It made me feel a little ill. The contrast was stark. Here was a monstrosity of a house.<\/p>\n It had a dramatic double stairway in the front entrance hall leading up to a balcony and then an upper mezzanine decked out with wing chairs and windows looking out over the lawn and trees. There were four or five sitting rooms. A massive deck at the back had a full outdoor kitchen and space to seat about 40 people. There was a lawn and a pool. The basement could fit about three New York City apartments in it. The house was so big that the realtor showing us around couldn\u2019t even find the entrance to the basement! The master bedroom was just ridiculous with a Jacuzzi bath, balcony and walk-in closets. I actually think the master bedroom had walk-in bedrooms off it\u2026that\u2019s how ridiculous this place was!<\/p>\n A washing machine in your own kitchen or a home that can double as a wedding venue? Or just the simple pleasure of a place to take off dirty boots and hang your jacket when you come in from an afternoon\u2019s gardening?<\/p>\n The city is a crazy place where people pay high prices for small spaces crammed together in high-rise buildings. But as our friend put it \u2013 if you are living in the city and spending time in your apartment, you\u2019re doing it wrong. City life needs to be lived in the parks and cafes and bowling alleys of the city \u2013 not in your small pokey apartment, whether or not you have your own personal washing machine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So what do you look for when you want a new place to live?<\/h4>\n