Apartment ramblings

(Baonghean) - Two years ago, one day my wife's parents called me and said: "We have decided, we will not live here anymore, we will sell the house and land to move to an apartment". And no matter how much my wife and I tried to dissuade them, we could not change their determination to move from a house to an apartment.

My wife’s parents’ only reason was that they were old, their children lived far away, and both of them had high blood pressure and diabetes. So they moved to an apartment to be “closer to the neighbors”, to have someone to talk to, to run around…

Last week’s announcement, the following week my grandparents moved the first belongings to the 5th floor of the newly built apartment building in the area. It turned out that the plan to give up the house and land to move to an apartment had been secretly surveyed and researched by my father-in-law and mother-in-law for a long time before that. Knowing that their children would definitely stop them, the two old people made all their plans a “fait accompli”.

As for my wife and I, and my brother-in-law, who worked in the South, at first we thought that our parents' decision was hasty. Now we feel troubled and worried about the new life of two old people. What about traveling and shopping for our parents, in normal times, but what about when they have a stroke, especially when they live on the 5th floor...

A corner of Vinh Tan new urban area (Vinh City). Photo: Duc Anh

Contrary to all our worries and doubts about our parents’ new place, they seemed very satisfied even though the space was not as spacious and airy as before and was filled with noisy children all day long. “It was fun, with the sounds of children and people, very happy. Everyone visited each other, went to each other’s houses simply and affectionately…” - my mother-in-law excitedly shared.

At first, we felt a little inconvenient when taking the children to visit their grandparents, inconvenient from parking, waiting for the elevator, not like before when we could just drive right to the front door. But then it seems that when people are forced to adapt, everything becomes simple and easy. It is true that my wife's parents have a "modern" mindset, not inferior to today's youth. The proof is that in the apartment complex where my grandparents moved, more than 90% of them are young people.

The model of living in an apartment after marriage seems to be the desire and aspiration of many young couples in the current context. It is understandable that compared to buying land and building a house, owning an apartment is much cheaper, on average at this time it is only half, or even lower. Besides, industrial life also sets out requirements for eating, dressing, and living in accordance with conditions and contexts, and nothing is more suitable than an apartment. The living space is moderate and neat, suitable for the "model" of a family of 4, so an apartment is the dream of many young couples.

Since my parents-in-law settled down in their new home, I have often wondered which apartment complex in Vinh was built first after the Quang Trung apartment complex (1974)? Those were the Doi Cung apartment complex (Doi Cung ward) and Nam Nguyen Sy Sach (Hung Dung ward).

The households in these two apartment buildings were moved from C1 - Quang Trung apartment building after it had to be demolished due to deterioration, and here two other 17-storey apartment buildings belonging to Tecco Company were formed. It can be said that after 2000, the two Tecco apartment buildings on Quang Trung Street were considered the "roof" of Vinh. People were amazed and even a bit bewildered every time they passed by and looked up at those high-rise rooms.

Compared to the Doi Cung or Nam Nguyen Sy Sach apartment buildings built according to the social housing model, the Tecco apartment building has an industrial, modern appearance. At that time, for the first time, country bumpkins like me knew about elevators, and in a flash, we were on the top floor of a nearly 20-storey building, both scared and excited. The development trend is no different. Vinh City is gradually realizing and concretizing the goal of being the economic and cultural center of the North Central region, so the convergence of all fields such as: trade, science and technology, education and training, capital, finance... so the increase in the mechanical population in this urban area of ​​more than 100 km2 is natural.

To solve the housing problem in the context of increasingly narrowing urban land area, a series of apartment complexes have been established. Up to now, in Vinh, there are about 60 apartment complexes in operation, more than 100 projects to build other apartment complexes have also been formed and are being implemented.

The new place has created a new way of life, I personally still think that it is "apartment culture". Simply put, as my father-in-law said, "apartment culture" is that using the elevator also requires patience and tolerance. Each apartment floor is often united by households to form a group or cluster of households.

My wife's parents are truly far-sighted people. The people in the neighborhood where they live are very united and close-knit. From the joys and sorrows of the surrounding households, everyone joins hands, contributes their efforts, and takes on the burden. Their house has almost become a daycare center.

Whenever the neighbors had an emergency, they would send their children to my wife’s parents’ house. For the two old people, it seemed like a joy because their children and grandchildren rarely came to visit. Then, when there was something delicious or sweet, the two of them would bring it over to share with the neighbors. On holidays such as Children’s Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Lunar New Year, etc., the inter-family group would organize fun activities and give gifts to the children, the funds also coming from the contributions of the households. My children also received gifts many times thanks to the close solidarity of my grandparents and the neighboring families.

The space of the apartments is very suitable for young families in the industrial lifestyle. Photo: Thuy Vinh

But there is another reality that apartment residents cannot change even if they want to. That is the satisfaction of conditions other than housing needs. When selling apartments to customers, according to the design, almost every apartment complex has green space and auxiliary works, including entertainment areas, commercial areas, kindergartens, parking lots, etc., but in reality, no project meets this requirement. Many buildings even become a lucrative target for thieves.

Not long ago, a friend who works in the police called me and complained: "You come back here and write me an article, I'm so upset." Calming down, over the phone, my friend told me that the apartment building where her family lives had a power outage all day and it wasn't the first time this had happened. However, what's worth mentioning, according to her, is that there was no backup generator. So anyone who wanted to go up or down had to climb the stairs. "There was a pregnant woman on the 10th floor, every time there was a power outage, she had to "sit still" and didn't dare to go up or down" - my friend said resentfully. My friend was even more unlucky because her house was on the top floor, and every time it rained heavily, family members took turns covering it with tarps to catch the leaks, but when she first bought it, she thought that living high up would be more airy.

These are just a few incidents related to apartment buildings, but in general, up to now, most residents living in apartment buildings have expressed satisfaction with their "high-rise living space". However, the planning of too many apartment buildings in Vinh's inner city can easily cause overload for the urban infrastructure. Wherever you go in Vinh, you will see apartment buildings springing up in a hurry. It seems that a very different Vinh is taking shape - Vinh of high-rise buildings and the lifestyle of new residential areas.

Quoc Son