I was 18 when I moved into my first apartment. I was excited to be an adult with my own space, but I quickly realized that apartment complex living wasn’t for me. I grew up with my mom owning her home and having a large yard. My dad opted to rent, and moved around throughout my childhood but he always had a yard as well.
My sister (right) and I (left) playing in our back yard as little kids.
I was not prepared for having neighbors sharing walls with me. We had a balcony that we would sit on to get some fresh air, but our neighbors had a balcony a few feet away and were often out there. Sometimes it was fun to chat with them, but it was frustrating if we wanted to have a private conversation and others came outside just feet away from us.
That was 7 years ago. Now I rent a house that sits on an acre of land well outside of city limits. I am so much happier here than I was when we rented in town or in apartment buildings. There are so many benefits to having a hard to call your own, even if you’re renting! As is common with many rural home rental situations, we take responsibility for taking care of the yard. We are even allowed to paint the walls and make minor changes or repairs on our own. In general, we feel much more like this house is our own than we did in past apartments.
My top reasons for choosing a house with a yard:
1. Outdoor living. I absolutely love relaxing out in the yard or on the patio with dinner in the spring, summer or early fall. We bought a little grill, so we can have dinner without the kitchen getting overheated from the stove or oven. Around dinner time the temperature drops a bit and it’s nice to just sit and talk about our day while getting some fresh air. Or sometimes I take my laptop outside to enjoy the weather while working!
2. Privacy. I love being able to go outside without stepping into other people’s space. Our dogs have good recall and our neighbors and the road are both far away so we let them run loose while keeping a close eye on them. This gets them exercise and it’s nice to not worry about other dogs unexpectedly showing up. It’s also nice to know that we can have personal or private conversations outside without risk of being overheard.
3. Wildlife. We chose a house that has a pond in the yard so we have all kinds of wildlife here. We have been here about a year and a half and we have seen geese, ducks, a muskrat, birds, snakes, chipmunks, frogs, toads, turtles, rabbits, and cranes. I’m probably forgetting some! Plus, the geese, ducks and birds have all had babies in our yard so we have been able to watch them grow up which is really fun.
4. Playing outside. When kids are around I love being able to take them out in the yard to play with chalk, bubbles, our t-ball set or to see if we can find any frogs or turtles near the lake. Sometimes I take my laptop outside to work outside just to get some fresh air and vitamin D!
5. Having a beautiful yard. I love being able to plant flowers, to garden and just to take care of the yard for the sake of curb appeal. It’s so nice to pull into the house and visually enjoy the appearance of the yard.
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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 8 responses.
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hannah
Ugh I’m so jealous of your country property! we have a house with a yard, but we don’t use it much more than we would if we had none. It is a lousy shape, mostly a hill, there are dogs in all the yard around it that bark and growl when we’re outside. Also, the houses are close together so no privacy, either in conversation or in just hanging out not being stared at. Also what is up with no trees?!
I can’t wait for a house with real trees, some privacy, and no dogs barking at me through a fence! -
Peggy Nunn
I agree with all your reasons. That is why we even moved from a suburb neighborhood to out in the country where is it hard to see your closest house. We had deer born in our way back part of the yard.
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Cynthia R
I’ve done apartment living and house with a yard (albeit a small one) and I couldn’t imagine going back to an apartment. Between noisy neighbors, not even space, not being able to make the place your own, etc. Although when something breaks or needs some kind of maintenance, I feel so lost.
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Lauryn R
I couldn’t agree more about apartment living! I always felt so claustrophobic when I lived in an apartment, and not having a yard is terrible. I am big on nature and being outdoors as well, and now that I have three kids I couldn’t see ever living without a yard again. It can be again lot of work to keep nice though, so I can see why TruGreen is a great product to use. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Susan Hartman
I spent a few years in an apartment when I first got married many moons ago. I totally love my yard and wouldn’t do without it. My family including my dogs agree.
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ellen beck
I have only lived in an apartment briefly. To me apartments arent the norm they feel like a motel or something. I like piddling around the yard a whole lot. I garden and love to plant things. I have to agree on all your reasons to have a yard.
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Dorothy Boucher
I agree 100%, I think its so much better to have a yard then no yard. To think of all the fun and memories you can make with family and friends.
@tisonlyme143
We’ve always had a yard since hubby and I have been together. We’ve always had dogs so it’s really important to have a yard to play in but also a quick way for them to go potty, fenced of course!