Young family sell Australian dream for apartment living
Rose and David Ung's family thought they were 'crazy' for selling their house and moving into a unit with two young kids and a dog.
'We have always lived in houses when we were growing up with family, then when we got married we bought an apartment, when we had kids we thought we needed more space so we had everything that comes with a suburban house and block' Ms Ung said. 'But It just wasn't the same.'
The couple then decided to switch the narrative and move their young family and dog into an apartment.
'We love being in an apartment,' Ms Ung said. 'Once our family saw what we had, they understood.'
'The community aspect, shops, convenience of things... I've connected with the community and local cafe, built connections and I'm a magician so we've worked together to put on community events,' Mr Ung added.
For Ms Ung the safety aspect was one of the biggest benefits.
'There's CCTV and plenty of people around, Rhodes is a really safe area and the access to public transport as well.'
A big draw card for them was also the facilities for their kids.
'We have seen an up-tick in our own kids' self confidence,' Ms Ung said. 'Since we moved here, we've made friends that live around the area and our kids play with their friends in the park, there's a real sense of community,' Ms Ung said.
On top of the pet-friendly park for their dog, they had access to plenty of family friendly and entertainment facilities including an expansive swimming pool with private cabana's, a children's splash pad, poolside grille, table tennis, cinema and games room.
There was also a library and work-from-home spaces for residents wanting to work or study outside of their apartment but still within the complex.
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'When you're in a house you tend to stay in your house and you only know your neighbours to the left and right,' she said.
'Our weekends look a lot different now, we can hang out as a family instead of me mowing the lawn for half a day,' Mr Ung added.
The couple did consider looking at houses in Rhodes but found they would lose out on plenty of the benefits of apartment living for a premium price.
'There is such a big (price) difference between the houses, a couple million dollar difference … we have a three bed apartment and study, so it's quite generous and works for our family, there wasn't a benefit then forking out a couple extra million,' Ms Ung said.
Billbergia's latest Rhodes development, the Peake and Oasis towers, have now been 95 per cent sold and have a range of one-, two-, three-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses and 'multi-generational' units that feature two living spaces.
Billbergia's development director planning and design Saul Moran said buyers wanted 'liveability, the convenience of living close to amenity and transport'.
On top of the apartment amenity, Billbergia has developed an $85m sports and recreation centre with childcare, multipurpose courts, a gym and swimming pools.
'(Families) realise they don't need the big backyard anymore, and once they try high-density living they tend to love it' he said.
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