Our "hotel"

A few weeks ago, Dan's parents as well as his brother's family stayed with us for a weekend. It was great fun. We visited the aquarium, took the kids to the playground near our home, enjoyed gelato at Paciugo, and visited a few fun restaurants, including our favorite BBQ place, Q.

One afternoon we were walking home and were just a few buildings away from where we live. Our niece Olivia asked me "are we almost to your hotel?" It was so funny! I just responded with "we're almost home" but it did make me stop to think about her comment. Most children do not grow up in an urban environment where people live in mid- or high-rise buildings. Houses with a yard are the standard childhood experience. That was the experience Dan and I had as children, too. I suppose for her buildings are associated with offices or hotels, not homes. But as I thought more about her comment, I realize (and am grateful!) that we do have some hotel-like amenities in our building. Our trash is picked up daily from our back hallway. Our mail and packages are delivered to our front door. The grounds, building maintenance, and common area issues are handled for us. If the basement floods, or when it snows, our on-site engineers take care of everything. Of course, we pay for it with our monthly assessment, but still, overall, it's a nice way to live. I never thought that I would one day be a "condo person". I always envisioned myself living in a cute house with a big backyard, and someday I'm sure we'll move to a house with a yard, but for now, I couldn't be happier.

There was an article in today's Chicago Tribune about how increasingly homeowners don't want to deal with the hassle of yard work, shoveling snow, etc and that developers are starting to build communities of single family homes that offer condo-like amenities to take care of the grounds, paid through an association fee. I think it's an idea that will only grow in popularity.