When you are looking for a place to rent, it is easy to feel like you only have two real options to go with: an apartment complex or a house. While these are both fine options with their own specific lists of pros and cons attached to them, they are not your only choices when it comes to renting. A third option is a happy medium between the two—the duplex. As you sift through the benefits and downsides of renting either a house or an apartment, It is possible that you might find yourself in the sweet spot with a duplex.
More Privacy
One of the biggest complaints people tend to have when living in an apartment is how you might end up with people living on all sides of you. You can have upstairs neighbors, downstairs neighbors, and neighbors on both sides of your unit as well. It is possible that all these different people or families are awesome to share walls with, but that is also kind of a gamble. With a duplex, you typically just have one unit to one side of your home, meaning you are only sharing a single wall with other tenants. This totally spares you from the potential issue of the noisy upstairs neighbor… You know, the one that sounds like they have bricks for feet! With a duplex, you still get the benefit of living in a community where you can enjoy neighbors without the overload of feeling like people are on top of you all of the time.
Convenience
Another great reason to consider a duplex is that you are less likely to suffer from some of the woes of apartment living in the sense that you do not have to share a parking lot or garage with hundreds of other people. You will likely have a private driveway that is always open when you pull in. This is very helpful in both the moving process as well as the everyday occurrences like unloading groceries or toting personal belongings back and forth. Plus, duplexes are more likely to have space for washer and dryer units, so you won’t have to share a community laundromat in your complex.
Outdoor space
One of the biggest benefits for those who love to enjoy the outside air in peace is the yard that typically accompanies a duplex. Instead of being limited to a tiny porch in an apartment (if you’re lucky), you will likely have a decent outside space with a duplex. Plus, because you are not surrounded by dozens of other units in your building, you won’t have to share that outside space with a whole bunch of neighbors. So, if you have pets or young kids but do not always feel up to interacting with other people’s pets or kids, then a duplex might be the perfect solution for your situation!
