Rodeo Jive: Apartment Life Makes Sense

I have been renting an apartment in Beverly Hills since 2003 when my wife and I first got married. Since that time, we've had two daughters and are still living in the same two-bedroom apartment that we moved into as newlyweds.

We love the neighborhood, the proximity of many great stores and services that are within walking distance, the tree-lined streets that all have sidewalks, and the recreational advantages of living near and , where I run on the track every day.

This is a great neighborhood for families. With our daughters, now 5 and 3 years old, we spend a lot of quality time outdoors and dining on South Beverly Drive at family-friendly restaurants like , , and —one of Beverly Hills' best kept . My wife and I compare Beverly Hills to a European village because everything you need is .

To make their children eligible for Beverly Hills public schools, many families opt to live in apartments due to the high cost of houses. A student must to attend our schools, so it's no surprise that "60 percent of the city's population is made up of renters in multi-family dwellings," according to Therese Kosterman, a spokeswoman for Beverly Hills.

My eldest daughter is about to enter this fall. It will be 15 years before my youngest is done with high school. My family will be renting in Beverly Hills for a long time, and I have never been happier in my life.

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