Kids in the City

I was thinking today about the whole kid thing, and the logistics of the issue. By nature, I am a planner, thus even though the decision is ultimately years away, I feel the need to plan my way to it -- to ensure that I've thought through a reasonable number of the issues before I commit to a decision one way or the other. And in today's pondering, I hit upon the issue of housing.

Why is it that so many people, upon realizing that they are soon to be parents, leave their dwellings to inhabit a new abode?

If Dave and I were to have a kid any time in the next few years, we'd be here, in our much-adored little loft. If I were to find myself knocked up, would it be wrong to stay here? Or would I have to move to the 'burbs? If we did stay here, where would a kid go? I mean, we have a nice sized two bedroom, but there are already two of us and Dave, being a lucky self-employed jerk, needs the second for his home office. Clearly then, no, we couldn't stay here. I mean, you can't keep a baby in the living room, right?

Out of curiosity, I went onto MLS. Three bedroom condos are virtually non-existent 'til you hit full-on house prices -- unless you leave downtown.


But I don't want to leave downtown. When I was a kid, I dreamed of living downtown -- of having neat things to do and learn all the time; of museums and science and books and cool stores and things you could never get or do in the country, where I grew up. If I have a kid, I want to do all that cool stuff that my kid self envisioned. I'm curious about how the whole thing works.

I feel like there must be some kind of a market for housing for young families who want to stay in the downtown core. Maybe I just haven't found it yet.