We go now to a written question from a listener who writes in and says Joshua I can't call in today

but would love if you would address my question this week. I have three young kids and we're going to be moving

into a rental in a new city for the next year. We're evaluating renting a single family house with a yard

that they can be set out to play by themselves versus a luxury apartment with no yard but a pool.

We value lots of outdoor time, but the appeal of no maintenance for a year is strong.

Can you talk about the various home types and setups you've had as you've moved around the world

for the past few years, what the pros and cons are and what you'd recommend based

on your experiences.

And absolutely I will.

First I want to point out that a yard is not a yard is not a yard. And so the first thing to clarify will be if we're comparing

the two properties, one that has a yard and one that doesn't have a yard, let's start by

understanding what is the definition of yard.

In general, children are not that attracted to a small postage stamp patch of grass.

That does not have a lot of attraction.

On the whole, life as a parent is usually a little bit easier as a parent in the suburbs

than it is in the middle of the city because of having an outdoor space. It's nice

however primarily for the verbal separation where you can send the children

outside where they can be loud, they can yell, they can scream, they can get their

wiggles out and you don't have to be the

one listening to all of that. They can just do it outside where they're not bothering anybody.

But if there's just an empty piece of grass, that in and of itself is not very attractive for children.

I myself think of it like fish.

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