There is surely a spectrum between small apartment with asbestos and 5m$ house.
replyI read on HN all the time that once you have kid it is unavoidable to spend 300k$ a year. But yet 99.9% of the world and the US manages to raise kids with a fraction of that income and they turn out mostly fine. (Before you ask, yes I have kids and yes we still live simply)
The mental gymnastics I've seen kids enable is Olympic level. Need to upgrade to a bigger house, need to upgrade the car to a SUV, need keep traveling 2-3 times a year, need to sign up for some crazy sports league and coach which means domestic flights and hotels every other week.
replyHave seen that as well. Kids is the convenient excuse to go spending. Marketers have well understood that for multiple decades.
replyMeanwhile I would bet there is an inverse correlation between spending for the kids and kids happiness.
Many of the homes in the world were built when lead and/or asbestos were in use. Asbestos isn't much of a concern if you don't disturb it - don't let your kids play in the attic or tear out the drywall, and you should be fine. Don't let them lick the paint, and you're probably good. Or paint over it / get it remediated - it doesn't have to be a deal killer.
replyI certainly agree that it'd be hard to have kids in a small space though, I definitely appreciate having more room - especially with a WFH setup.