We've come to a similar conclusion. We're fairly priced out of our market when it comes to the yard and picket fence situation - with 3 kids, a 4 bdr home would cost us around 1.5M CAD to get something we'd actually enjoy livinh in and reasonably close to work. It would be old - maybe from the 60s or 70s. A similar sizes home we could afford would induce a 1-2 hour daily commute for my wife. Meanwhile, a condo near work that will fit us is around $500k less... Sort of affordable.

When you weigh the pros and cons though, the condo can be alright. It's not my ideal at all but the things like the yuba can make that lifestyle so much more livable. More time with the family, more time to get out of the home if we want to, quick grocery shops, less money on commuting, etc - I think it could be alright. We fortunately live in a small city where you're only an hour drive from nature, so I suppose we could turn that into our "yard".

The last thing I want is my kids sitting in a car for 30-60 minutes every morning on their way to school. Or on a public transit bus, transferring and rushing around so they can sit in school for 6 hours only to bus back the same way. I know plenty of kids do it and they're fine, it's all fine, but it's not what I want for them. I wouldn't want it for myself. There's something to be said about shedding ideals (especially with living situations) but letting my kids be kids is one I don't want to compromise on.