[Essay Writing HW#7] Considerations about between two types of residence; apartment and detached house

Half of Seoul citizens live in an apartment. In other words, the other half of Seoul citizens live in detached houses or in different types of housing. Apartments and detached houses have special features that lead to different benefits. In this essay, an apartment is a form of residence which has more than 5 stories, allows residents to share walls with their neighbors, and has a standardized floor plan. Detached houses are, as the word implies, detached from neighboring houses. Houses have less than 4 stories, and unique floor plans. Also, residential areas in houses do not share walls with neighbors. These different characteristics lead to different values. It is worthwhile to address three considerations related to apartments and detached houses.

First of all, apartments are associated with greater convenience compared to detached houses. Most apartments have amenities such as private playgrounds, security systems and cleaning services for common areas. This makes living in an apartment makes more expensive but more convenient. In contrast, those living in houses have to prepare these facilities on their own, or depend on regional government services. Specifically, they must put forth their own effort to provide security and cleaning.

On the other hand, those living in houses reported greater relationship satisfaction with their neighbors than apartments residents. Apartment residents are less likely to form natural communities as there are few opportunities for neighbors to cooperate. However, people in detached houses have more chances to cooperate. For example, when a delivery arrives at an apartment, it is usually kept in the security guard's office. In contrast, the residents of detached houses help each other by holding on to packages while their next door neighbors are away.

Nonetheless, concerning finance, apartments exhibit financial liquidity compared to detached houses. Apartment units share a standardized floor plan, whereas detached houses have unique floor plans. Naturally, apartments are more measurable in terms of value and accessibility for sellers and buyers, resulting in more liquidity. When the commercial value of housing counts, apartments can be a good form of housing.

Consider one family with a father, a mother, and two little boys. The two little boys are so energetic; they always run, jump and sing songs at home. At the same time, their father and mother are both working during the day, so they have difficulty taking care of house chores. Finally, the parents decided to move to a two-story detached house, leaving their middle floor apartment. This story shows young parents’ decision making process, which leads them to live in an apartment or a detached house. They valued convenience and financial value until the boys needed more space to make noise. There is no definitive answer to the question of where to live. Each family's conditions and benefits should be considered in choosing housing.