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W
HEN
one hears the
word “affordable”,
the symbol ($)
automatically comes to
mind. Without having to think
much, money registers and one
considers saving costs, budget
lifestyles, modest living areas and
being thrifty. But affordable living
does not necessarily have to always
correspondwithmoney
predominantly. There are in fact,
many other ways one can indirectly
“save”, hence, we look at affordable
living froma larger perspective and
scour some property developments,
plus ways andmeans to help one
grow the “reserve or resources
kitty”.
We begin by exploring the
ecosystemof affordable living and
consider some points in an article
written by Jason Lim for iProperty.
com, along with views and
comments of others.
MATURED RESIDENTIAL
TOWNSHIPS
Lim’s idea on affordable living
focuses on a couple of aspects, apart
from the obvious price tag. He asks
one to consider living spaces that
can bring positive benefits and
advantages to the inhabitants and
ultimately save costs. His first point
to consider is living in amatured
residential township appendedwith
good public infrastructure and
convenient amenities that make
every day livingmoremanageable.
There aremany “matured”
housing areas where one can find
some of the “oldest” public spaces
and convenience stores.
Sometimes, these areas that have
stood the test of time become
“tourist attractions”, attracting
people and increasing the economy
and amount of activity in the areas,
for examples Klang, Kajang,
Ampang, Cheras, Rawang, Taman
TunDr Ismail and Subang.
This writer recalls a friendwho
said she never left her “taman” for
more than a year as she found
everything she neededwithin easy
reach in the township she lived in.
Fromher place of work to her
children’s schools, plus all the
companies, brands and
organisations she needed to engage
and connect with for all her
business, social and daily needs.
Good or bad, it really depends on
one’s perspective. But she saw this
in a positive light, claiming to have
saved a lot of time, money and stress
having to commute farther, daily.
GOOD CONNECTIVITY
Living in a housing area that is easily
accessible via highways and byways
will reduce commuting time, hence,
saves one a lot inmanyways.
Reducing time commuting to and
fromwork plus cutting down on
travel time with the availability of
many entry and exit points to one’s
place of residencemakes sense.
For instance, there have been
many people complaining about the
traffic congestion that sees them
spend a lot of unnecessary time in
their vehicles and on the roads. A
daily occurrence which sometimes
takes the toll out of one’s sanity.
While some housing developments
only come with one entry/exit
point, there are others with direct
access to highways and byways,
Choosing affordable homes
>Other means andways to ‘save’ apart fromconsidering the price tag
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BY
ALYSSA J. OON
some that are also linked to public
transport facilities that connect
easily to other townships and cities.
Living in an area with good
connectivity does save a lot of time,
money and stress indeed especially
with the heavy traffic and increasing
amount of vehicles, not tomention
the rising population.
AVAILABILITY OF
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
While having easy access in and out
of one’s residential locationwith
good connectivity to places one
often visits – family, relatives and
friends’ homes, activity pursuit
locations, major towns, etc – would
be ideal, the availability and easy
accessibility of public transport
would help tremendously.
Especially in cases of vehicle
breakdown, sudden requirement of
two people having to use the family
vehicle, or even in terms of
tightening one’s belt and resorting
to cheaper means of daily
commuting alternatives (if it works
out cheaper than using one’s car).
Having an option or plan B in terms
of your daily commuting
arrangement is always good.
Depending onwhichmode of
transport one uses, time andmoney
can be conserved and spent in
better ways. Moreover, using public
transport usually requires one to
move or take a few steps more
compared tomoving fromone’s
main door to the car door and into
the office building. This will surely
help one increase “activity”, hence,
improve one’s well being or even
health.
areas as mentioned above and
increase their consumption in
those avenues.
Looking at the choice of
“affordable homes” that were first
introduced, manywere situated in
the “backwoods” or rural outskirts,
or as some call it in “NoMan’s
Land”. Some developers also
trimmed their costs by cutting
down on usingmore expensive
buildingmaterials, to provide the
people withmore affordable homes.
Another waywas to offer smaller
living spaces, some quipped, almost
the size of a “doll’s house”.
No doubt, scaling down on the
size of one’s home, the quality of the
building, and living in themiddle of
nowhere with hardly or no
conveniences (where land prices
are cheaper) would certainly, and in
most cases, come with a lower price
tag. However, it might not be the
wiser choice especially in this time
and age, whenmore developers are
offering affordable homes that come
with all the perks, benefits and
conveniences, and some situated in
the best locations too.
Followour article next week to
learn of some of the areas and
housing developments that tick all
the right boxes for a convenient and
“affordable” lifestyle.
PHOTO: WWW.SKYSCRAPERCITY.COM
PHOTO: WWW.MYRAPID.COM.MY
CLOSE PROXIMITY
These days most residential
townships come complete with
all the necessary facilities and
amenities tomake one’s life a lot
easier. While living close by to
daily conveniences with ample
availability of services makes sense,
there are the odd housing projects
that are situated in rural and remote
areas, probably attracting buyers
looking for “cheaper” homes. It is
true that some consumers may opt
for cheaper housing for a lower
mortgage rate, but their expenses
will peak in other areas.
Today, most housing projects
come facilitatedwith at least a row
or two of shops – some withmalls
and office blocks, high-rise towers
even. Fromneighbourhood
supermarkets and grocery stores to
banks, telecommunication company
outlets, eateries to appease all sorts
of appetites, plus specialty stores,
launderettes, wet markets, fitness
and grooming centres, hawker stalls
andmore – these helpmake life a lot
easier while saving costs, as
residents need not travel far to
make use of these services, which
are so necessary in today’s lifestyle.
Having saved time, petrol and
money – all these “savings” can be
put to better andmore impactful/
meaningful use as in spending
quality time andmoney on one’s
family, loved ones and helping the
community and such.
NEARBYWORK
OPPORTUNITIES
Imagine walking towork
every day or simply having to
PHOTO: WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
ABRT bus at USJ7 BRT-LRT interchange station.
Kelana Jaya LRT station.
Bird’s eye-viewof a renowned andmatured township in the Klang Valley that offers a goodmix of old and newdevelopment projects..
take a five-minute drive up the
main road to arrive at one’s
workplace. While for many, this
would sound like a dreamcome
true, this writer actually knows a
couple of people who havemade
this their prioritywhen taking up
employment. Cutting time
commuting and saving travel
expenses are sure things but life is
not all about money, and in this
case, those who regularly trudge
through the horrendous traffic
might want to re-think andwork
closer to home.
Limon the other hand brings to
light the low-cost labour force who
will be able to save a lot of the little
they earn. He highlights the fact that
living within close proximity to
public transport and one’s place of
workmakes it easy for the
“industry” to provide competitive
salaries without putting their staff
under wage pressure. He also brings
attention to the employers who
subsidise or provide living quarters
for their staff, which help hugely in
manyways andmeans.
AFFORDABLE PRICE
ANDGOOD SIZE
Ultimately, when one talks about
affordable living, the price of one’s
property is questioned. While Lim
states that buying a “cheaper”
propertywill help consumers
reduce their mortgage arrears and
debts, theymight have to forgo
benefits and conveniences in other
22
theSun ON FRIDAY
|
DECEMBER 9, 2016