The place you’ll raise your kids can affect how they’ll grow up. The challenge of finding the ideal place for starting a family isn’t the lack of options, but rather the abundance of it. With many choices in the market, how do you pick “the one”?
The truth is, there’s no one “perfect” place for raising kids, but you can ensure that you’ll have a home environment conducive for developing your children’s potential if you consider these things:
Location
Under this, you have two things to pay attention to — accessibility and neighborhood. For the former, you want your home to be particularly near schools. With the ever-worsening traffic situation in Manila, it’s best to be minutes away from your child’s campus to avoid stress and wasted time. On the other hand, in considering the neighborhood, you would want a close-knit, safe community where your kids can socialize, run around, and just be kids.
With these two considerations, Rockwell Corporate and real estate agents noted that some parents go for a Manila condo, so they can make the most of being near key establishments and enjoying social spaces offered by such property developments.
Home Features
What an actual home offers, of course, should fit your young family’s needs. Write your nonnegotiable when it comes to home features, especially the number of bedrooms, the layout, the size of the kitchen, and the availability of outdoor spaces. You should be able to consider here not just your present lifestyle needs, but also what you’ll need in five to six years’ time. If you’re planning to have more kids during this period, that should largely influence your home choice.
Take note that a bigger house with more features isn’t always good. You may find yourself just being preoccupied with cleaning the house and your yard, instead of actually spending quality time with your growing family. For this reason, condos are still a good choice. Depending on your family size, you can choose a studio type, a two-bedroom, or a three-bedroom space and not worry about the maintenance of outdoor spaces.
Budget
Raising kids isn’t cheap — just their tuition fee takes a huge slice from your budget. When looking for a home, you have to get the most competitive deal in the market. Establish a budget before looking at homes, considering the home features list you came up with. From there, shop around for a mortgage and see how you can keep up with monthly payments.
Again, your home environment affects the way your children will grow up. Be smart in choosing and finding “the one.”
