When you have kids, choosing a rental is about more than monthly rent. The space your family lives in shapes your daily routine — how mornings go, where kids play, whether you have room to work from home, and how well everyone sleeps at night.
In Edmonton, the choice for families usually comes down to a townhouse or an apartment. Here is an honest comparison based on what actually matters when you have children.
Space: The Most Obvious Difference
Apartments
A typical 2 bedroom apartment in Edmonton ranges from 700 to 1,000 sq ft. A 3 bedroom apartment (rare) might reach 1,200 sq ft. For a family of four, this means:
- Shared bedrooms for children
- No dedicated play area
- Limited storage for strollers, car seats, winter gear
- One bathroom for the entire family in many units
Townhouses
A 3 bedroom townhouse ranges from 1,000 to 1,600 sq ft, spread across two or three levels. This means:
- Separate bedrooms for each child
- Living space on a different floor from sleeping space (kids asleep, parents still have a living room)
- Storage in the garage and throughout the home
- Multiple bathrooms
Cherry Hills townhomes are 1,544 sq ft with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a ground-floor den, and a private balcony. The den alone adds a flex space that apartments cannot match — playroom, home office, or guest space.
Noise: A Family Reality
In an Apartment
Kids run. Kids jump. Kids drop things. In an apartment, your downstairs neighbours hear all of it. You hear your upstairs neighbours too. This creates stress for parents who feel like they are constantly managing noise levels, especially with toddlers who do not understand “quiet feet.”
In a Townhouse
Townhouses share side walls, not floors and ceilings. Your kids can run between floors without generating complaints from below. Noise from neighbours is significantly reduced because the shared wall area is smaller and there is no one directly above or below you.
For families, this is one of the single biggest quality-of-life differences between the two options.
Outdoor Access
Apartments
Getting outside with kids from an apartment means loading into an elevator, walking through a lobby, and reaching a common area or parking lot. There is no private outdoor space. Spontaneous “go play outside for 20 minutes” is not simple.
Townhouses
Most townhomes have a ground-floor entrance and direct access to the neighbourhood. Many include a balcony or patio. Letting kids play outside or taking the dog out is as simple as opening the door.
Cherry Hills townhomes include a private balcony and are located in The Orchards, which has 98 acres of park space, a splash park, walking trails, tennis courts, and playgrounds — all accessible by foot from your front door.
School Proximity
For families, school access is a daily logistics question. Living within walking distance of a school eliminates one car trip per day and gives older children independence.
What to Check
- Catchment boundaries — your designated school is based on address, not just distance
- Walking safety — sidewalks, crosswalks, crossing guards, speed zones
- Before/after school care — availability at the nearest school
Cherry Hills in The Orchards is within walking distance of Jan Reimer K-9 School (public) and Divine Mercy K-6 Catholic School. This eliminates the daily school commute for families with children in these age ranges.
Winter Practicality with Kids
Edmonton’s winter adds a layer to every family decision. Loading kids into car seats in a surface parking lot at minus 25 is a fundamentally different experience than loading them in an attached garage.
| Winter Task | Apartment | Townhouse with Garage |
|---|---|---|
| Morning car routine | Walk to outdoor lot, scrape ice, warm car, load kids outside | Walk to attached garage, load kids inside, drive |
| Grocery trips | Carry bags through lobby, elevator, hallway | Pull into garage, unload directly |
| Stroller/bike storage | Closet or storage locker (if available) | Garage |
| Winter gear drying | Entryway pile-up | Mudroom setup in den or garage entry |
For families, the attached garage is not about cars. It is about managing the daily logistics of getting kids in and out of the house during six months of cold weather.
Monthly Cost Comparison for Families
| 2-Bed Apartment | 3-Bed Townhouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,400 - $1,800 | $1,800 - $2,500 |
| Parking | $50 - $150 extra | Usually included |
| Storage locker | $50 - $100 extra | Garage included |
| Laundry | Shared ($50-$80/mo) or in-unit | In-unit |
| Tenant insurance | ~$30 | ~$40 |
| Effective total | $1,530 - $2,130 | $1,840 - $2,540 |
The gap between an apartment and a townhouse is smaller than the headline rent suggests once you factor in parking, storage, and laundry costs that apartments charge separately.
Cherry Hills: $2,125/month includes the garage, in-unit laundry, and all the space a family needs. With 1 month free on a 13-month lease, the effective cost drops to approximately $1,962/month.
Which Is Right for Your Family?
Choose an Apartment If:
- Your family is one or two people and space is sufficient
- You need to be downtown or near a specific LRT station
- Budget is the primary constraint and you need to stay under $1,500/month
Choose a Townhouse If:
- You have children who need separate bedrooms
- Noise from kids is a concern (above and below neighbours)
- You need a garage for winter practicality
- You want walking-distance schools and parks
- You need space for a home office, playroom, or flex room
- You have pets
Tour a Family-Friendly Townhome
Bring the kids. Walk the trails. See the splash park and the schools nearby. The best way to decide is to experience the space and the neighbourhood together.
Book a tour at Cherry Hills or call (587) 409-9635. Email [email protected] for any questions. Tours are available 7 days a week by appointment.
Ready to See Cherry Hills?
Experience our spacious 3-bedroom townhomes in Edmonton's Orchards neighbourhood.
