Living in third floor tenament flat with a one-year-old?

[AlbertaWildRose]

Hi there, I'm looking for advice! DH and I and our one-year-old DS are going to be moving house shortly, just letting, not buying. Many of the properties available here are in tenament buildings, on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Am I mad to consider living on anything above the 1st floor with a one-year-old (and hopefully 2nd baby at some point)? I am willing to go look at flats on upper floors, but DH thinks it is a waste of time, and can't imagine me lugging shopping, DS, and eventually a pregnant bump and small baby up 3 flights of stairs. Does anyone have any positive stories to tell about life with small children on upper floors? Thanks.

I know that further out of Edinburgh we can get bigger flats for cheaper, but we don't have a car and really would like to stay within the city. DH and I both walk to work, which is great, and DH consequently gets to spend a lot of time with DS, because he's not spending ages commuting every day.

Honestly, I'd look at renting in Currie, Balerno, Musselburgh, even Penicuik (easy bus ride into town) for something on a lower floor than live like that. I really would.

The ceilings in traditional tenements tend to be very high, consequently, there are a lot of steps between floors.

Well, looks like you're going to be doing the hike up if you want to stay that central unless you can hopefully find something lower down.

We're outta here because after years of living like this, it's gotten us down.

Expat: where are you from?

The US.

Despite my relatively positive experience, I do have to say that right now I wouldn't like to be higher than the first floor. It's ideal, in fact, because the ground floor would probably make me pretty nervous of burglars/intruders (have lived in flats in Germany so long that I'm no longer used to the idea of ground-floor access).

Friends of ours live on the second floor. They have a ds who is unlikely to walk before 4 or 5 (has DS) and have had real battles with the neighbours to be able to leave their pram in the hallway.

Ah, a fellow North American. We're going back eventually because we know we'll be able to buy a detached house, with a huge backyard, for the same price as a flat in Edinburgh. The thing is that we are still enjoying living here, and all the travel opportunities, so are not yet ready to leave. Can I ask how long you've been here?

I think second floor would be ok. It's that last flight that's the killer. Downstairs storage would be a huge plus if you don't have a car - unless you're lucky enough to live in an area where buggies, chained or not, aren't fair game.

When ds was tiny I did use a sling or carrier most of the time just to save having to run down the stairs with the base of the pram and then run back up and go back down again with ds in the carrycot. Now imagine trying that with a toddler as well. Yikes!

Almost 6 years.

We're moving to Argyll in Western Scotland in September to rent a friend's house whilst they work abroad for a couple of years.

Beyond that, I don't know, just playing it day by day.

Wow, thanks everyone for all the advice. I'll keep searching for something lower down.

We've been here 5 years so far, one more year and we can become citizens, so we might as well do that since we can be dual Canadian/British.

i lived i na 2nd floor flat when dd1 was born. stayed there till she was almost 2.

i loved it. yes it was a PITA getting a buggy up and down the stairs, but we had a locked storgae cupboard downstairs for the big buggy. i was a lot fitter then and dh wasnt ill so wasnt a big deal.

plus you didnt get kids playing knock down ginger as they couldnt be arsed to climb the stairs lol!

My husband and children are Scottish.

I am a naturalised British citizen.

I know that we have been spoiled living in central Edinburgh on the ground floor with our own front door, and I will be really sorry to leave it, but I am literally going mad living in such a tiny place with a crawling/cruising DS. He has so little room to play, and the weather has been such crap this year that we've barely been able to be in the garden at all, so we're stuck inside.

Space here is very, very expensive.

If you want to live centrally, but still want the space, you do have to make some serious compromises.

Expat: you're right, which is why we're renting, not buying, as I think we have a bit more flexibility that way, but it is still difficult.

Rents are anything but cheap here.

But you should still be able to get something central on the first floor for around £700/month or so.

Yep, that's exactly what we're thinking. We have a couple of months to find something, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

If I had a couple of months I wouldn't bother looking at those ones higher than the first floor at all.

You're echoing exactly what DH has been saying... I hate it when he's so obviously right!

I found it REALLY lame being this high up when I was pregnant and had DD1 to get up as well.

When we first moved here we lived on the 3rd floor of a tenement, and I think I've forgotten what a pain it was to lug shopping, luggage, etc. up the stairs. And that was before children, so I do realise it would be a million times worse now.

i am in second floor in edinburgh tenement and I hate it - we bought just as I found out i was pregnant (unexpectedly) so werent thinking baby, DS is now 17 months and we are trying to move but cant afford house in central edinburgh- i was going to suggest a lower colony flat if you know were they are cos you are on ground floor and also have a wee garden thats what i would like