Apartments offer friendly living too<\/p>\n
T. Sima Gunawan
\nContributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
A baby usually brings joy to the parents and makes the house
\nwarm. As for Maya Carpenter, a resident of Four Seasons
\nApartments in Jakarta, having a baby also means having new
\nfriends.<\/p>\n
\"After I had my baby, I made new friends, as I often meet
\nother tenants when I take my baby to the swimming pool,\" Maya
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A swimming pool is among the facilities commonly found in an
\napartment building that allow the tenants to socialize with each
\nother. They can also meet at the gym, in the coffee shop, at the
\nbusiness center or at the mini market, which may also be found in
\nmost upmarket apartments.<\/p>\n
Maya said that living in an apartment is just as friendly as
\nliving in an ordinary housing complex. \"The residents in the
\napartments are friendly and helpful. So I think there is no
\nproblem with socialization,\" she added.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, there were only a few apartment buildings and
\nmost of the tenants were expatriates. But today many Indonesians
\nalso live in apartments. They enjoy the new lifestyle because it
\noffers comfort and they do not have to worry about the city's
\nhigh crime rate because most have 24-hour security systems.<\/p>\n
In addition, some people prefer to live in an apartment
\nbecause it is located near their offices; they can save time and
\nenergy as they don't have to experience terrible traffic jams as
\nmuch.<\/p>\n
Some say that living in a house allows people to know the
\nneighbors better. They have more of a chance to see others, chit-
\nchat or just say hello, while those who live in an apartment
\nbuilding may lead an exclusive life, barely socializing with the
\nothers and tend to be individualists.<\/p>\n
Such an idea, however, is not entirely true. People become
\nunsociable not because they live in an apartment. Snobbish
\npersons can be found everywhere, especially in a big bustling
\ncity like Jakarta, where most residents are busy with their work
\nand must struggle to survive.<\/p>\n
\"The is a different attitude among the people. This happens
\nbecause of the changing culture,\" Ryan Adrian, General Manager of
\nPT Jakarta Setiabudi International Tbk, said.<\/p>\n
People now enjoy practicality, and this is reflected in the
\ndesign of their place: living rooms become smaller and people no
\nlonger consider a verandah as an important part of the house, he
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
His company is now constructing Setiabudi Residence in South
\nJakarta. The construction began in January this year and is
\nscheduled to be completed in December 2006. There will be two
\ntowers with a total of 300 units that cost between Rp 800 million
\n(about US$80,000) and Rp 4 billion each, and 80 percent of them
\nhave been sold.<\/p>\n
A sky lounge measuring about 1,000 square meters, located on
\nthe top floor or the 28-story second tower will serve as a
\nmeeting place for tenants.<\/p>\n
There will also be other facilities, which they can share like
\na gym, a sauna and a meeting room.<\/p>\n
\"We also plan to have a small garden, which consists of
\nvarious kinds of plants,\" Adrian said.<\/p>\n
Merry Utami, General Manager of The Pearl, said that even
\nthough people who live in an apartment might have a different way
\nof meeting others, this does not necessarily mean that they do
\nnot socialize.<\/p>\n
The Pearl, which is located on Jl. Gatot Subroto, is under
\nconstruction. The construction of the building, which will have
\n200 units, began in January 2005 also and will be completed in
\nAugust 2006. So far, half of the units have been sold.<\/p>\n
It will have jogging tracks and other sports facilities, as
\nwell as a playground and a laundry service, which allow the
\ntenants to meet each other.<\/p>\n
\"They can also have a garden party together,\" Merry said.<\/p>\n
While such parties are usually held by the tenants themselves,
\nthe apartment management company might organize it so that they
\nhave the chance to get to know each other better, as is regularly
\ndone by the company that manages the Garden Wing Apartments,
\nwhich is part of Hotel Borobudur.<\/p>\n
Most of the tenants are expatriates, who stay for an average
\nof four or five years, Fika Kansil, a public relations manager
\nwith the hotel, said. A program called the \"long-stay guest
\nparty\" is often held for the tenants, who enthusiastically come
\nto enjoy themselves and meet others.<\/p>\n
The number of high-rise apartment buildings here continues to
\nmushroom, not only in the center of the city but also in suburban
\nareas. There are more than 110 apartment buildings throughout
\nJakarta at present.<\/p>\n
People prefer to live in an apartment also because it allows
\nthem to have their own privacy. That, however, might be
\nmistakenly taken as being individualist, according to Maya.<\/p>\n
\"This depends of the person. You can live in an apartment and
\nsocialize a lot, but you can also live in a house and become an
\nunsociable,\",\" she said.<\/p>\n
Maya, who used to live in the elite neighborhood of Jl.
\nPakubuwono, South Jakarta, said that she has more friends now
\ncompared to when she lived in a house.<\/p>\n
\"Frankly speaking, when I lived there, I didn't know my
\nneighbors. If we met, we would smile at each other, but that's
\nall,\" she said.<\/p>\n
At the beginning, when she moved to the Four Seasons early in
\n2004, she did not know the other tenants. But she did not have
\nany problem as the staff were quite helpful and extended their
\nhospitality.<\/p>\n
\"Now we often invite each other over. On the 29th, we will
\nbreak the fast together at my place,\" she said, adding that
\nsometimes they had a party by the swimming pool.<\/p>",
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