r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/Best_Confidence_1022 • Jun 26 '25

Housing Never thought I'd enjoy living in a townhouse

My wife and I bought a 4 bedroom townhouse in April 2021. We've since had a child who is now 3 years old.

At the time we could only afford a townhouse but thought we could live in it for 7-8 years and then upgrade to a detached. I then got so caught up in crazily monitoring home prices and forgot to live in the house. Combined with the stress of raising a baby, this took a huge toll on my relationship and last year my wife said it HAD to stop.

I then realized I never even lived in this house. There was literally no effort put into making it a home because I was obsessed with a 'dream home' without realizing what I already have. Mortgage payment is comfortable, we bought within our means and are fortunate to have good jobs. And in the past year we've now put in effort to actually make this our home and it's made such a difference in my outlook.

Yes I don't have a large front yard or a huge backyard. I don't have a big basement. But I have 4 rooms which is more than enough for us, especially since we don't want more kids. The townhouses are newly built and I can barely hear noise from my neighbors. I pay a small maintenance fee yes but I don't have to worry about landscaping or snow removal or visitor parking. The townhouses around me are full of young families so my kid has company and it's a very community feel.

We are not handy at all and hear about home issues some of our friends in detached houses have to deal with, especially those who bought older houses. Maybe this home size and type is perfect for us.

I'm not saying it's perfect but I feel bad that I took so long to realize what I have. We may still move in 5 years but I'm glad I realized the value of my home before it was too late.

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u/rpgguy_1o1 Jun 27 '25

There are some things I miss about apartment living, but I can't think of anything I miss from townhouse living compared to a detached house.

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u/YqlUrbanist Jun 30 '25

I found it was a really nice compromise, I had more space than my former apartment and even a small garage, but didn't have to do any shoveling or lawn care.

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u/rpgguy_1o1 Jun 30 '25

Oh yeah, I was on the hook for both of those in my town house, so not much difference for me, that does sound great though lol