I once thought I was “upgrading” my life when I sold my apartment to move into a landed house in a small alley.
My old apartment measured 68 square meters in western Hanoi. When I sold it for VND3.5 billion, I was thrilled, thinking I had escaped the nuisances of apartment living such as chairs scraping overhead, drilling on weekend mornings, hallways occasionally cluttered with trash, and elevators that required a long wait during rush hour.
After selling the apartment, I bought a three-story house in an alley for VND4 billion, borrowing around 10% of that value from the bank. The house was more than 15 years old, so I knew renovations were inevitable.
I had initially expected to spend just VND200 million for waterproofing, repainting and replacing the electrical and plumbing systems. But once the work began, a plethora of other items “needed replacing.” In the end, I spent nearly VND400 million on the upgrade.
When it was finished, and the house looked bright and refreshed, I still believed I had made the right decision. But only a few months later, I began to feel disillusioned.
I used to be annoyed by noise in the apartment. However, the landed house was not as quiet as I had imagined. The narrow alley meant that whenever a neighbor renovated their home, the sound echoed everywhere. Early mornings came with street vendors’ shouting and motorbikes’ engine roar. At night, nearby houses would play loud music.
Cleanliness was no better. Garbage was collected at the alley’s entrance and whenever the trash truck came late, the smell would spread throughout the alley. When it rained, water would carry the trash everywhere, and there was no management board to help handle the situation.
After nearly half a year of living in constant frustration over these issues, I decided to sell the property. By then, the market was no longer as lively as when I had bought it, so I accepted a VND300 million loss to quickly get rid of it. After selling, I moved into another apartment.
It turns out that apartments are not perfect, but landed houses are not the “paradise” I once imagined them to be, either.
Every choice comes with a price. I lost more than VND300 million learning a lesson about expectations. This time, as I stood in the elevator waiting to reach my floor, I finally understood what kind of place truly suits me.
*This opinion was submitted by a reader. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.
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