Somebody in the downsizing thread brought up living in a high rise or mid rise condo. I have always lived in houses (never apartments even). When I see beautiful high rise condos on house hunters on TV I think they look great but wonder what it is like. Anybody who can share their experiences - do you miss having a garden, how is it needing to use an elevator, are the view worth it, anything else?
My folks had neighbors who tried renting out a condo/apartment BEFORE selling their single family home and make a permanent change. It was a good thing they did as they really didn’t like condo life as much as they had hoped and were happy to return to their home. I suspect it’s similar to living in an apartment but there are likely more long-term politics among the long term residents, since they live in close proximity for so many years.
The condo board has rules and some power to force owners to follow rules & regs. They can adopt and enforce policies about pets, tobacco use, and other things, as well as parking. If you are inclined, you can run to be on the condo board and be part of the decision-making process.
I lived in an apartment for 9 years (when I was single and for the first 5 years of our marriage). There is good and bad of having an elevator to get to your unit. The nice thing of living in an apartment is that when anything breaks, you can just contact the manager and it will be repaired or looked after. It’s also easier to lock and go than if you have a yard to maintain. Having common walls and a ceiling/floor shared is OK as long as neighbors are reasonably considerate and it helps if the walls are thicker poured concrete or insulated to help reduce the noise transmission. You may or may not have street and parking lot noise to contend with as well.
Our S lives in a condo in Arlington and is thinking of buying it, so for him, condo life works and allows him to live near the metro and he’s able to lock things up and leave without worrying about anything. He has a concierge and a delivery person who delivers things into his unit.
I think it boils down to convenience vs loss of control.
In the convenience category: no exterior maintenance to worry about, often a building handyman to help you with interior home maintenance, amenities such as a pool and fitness center.
Loss of contol: board decisions and rules you may not like, noise from residents above or beside you, damage - such as water leaks - from units above you.
DH and I both work in condo related fields, so we see it all, good and bad.
I think a newish well-built well-run condo with attractive grounds and amenities would be a joy. But you have to do your homework - read the condo docs - bylaws, rules and regs, budget, etc. Know before you own.
We sold our five-bedroom house last year and moved into a two-bedroom condo. DS was off to college, we didn’t need the space, and we wanted to downsize and live right on the beach. All has gone well, except:
- As a condo owner, you have no control over the upkeep of the common grounds. The cleaning staff at our upscale condo is paid minimum wage and there is huge turnover, which of course leads to lousy service.
- Building managers come and go. This condo has a new one every year or so. Our current building manager is obsessed with rules - not just enforcing existing ones, but creating unnecessary new ones. If you don't like rules, don't buy a condo.
- Meetings of the condo owners always involve gripes. And there is little agreement about what is needed to improve the building.
On the plus side, we have magnificent views, and can travel at a moment’s notice. And, no, we don’t miss having a garden.
If your downstairs neighbor decides to remodel by knocking out a wall… Watch out!
I have lived in a condo or coop for 20+ years and 15 years in a house. For me, I like apartment living more than large home and yard. I feel a lot safer in an apartment - the only way to my apartment is through my front door and my doorman. I always have someone to receive my packages and help me with my bags/luggage, etc. The handyman will fix almost anything in my apartment with a tip (even change my light bulbs).
I live in a coop now, which has more rules than condos, but I find them to be quite reasonable. The flip side is if my neighbor is being loud, all I have to do is ask the doorman to ask them to keep it down. My apartment has an outdoor garden with lounge chairs and tables, but I don’t always use it.
Last year, my upstairs neighbor remodeled his bathroom and created a leak to my ceiling. I contacted the management agent and they got the neighbor to pay for it.
You guys are scaring me a little - I was thinking that when we downsize we would want a townhouse/condo so we don’t have to worry about outside maintenance anymore. I was more curious about life in a big building vs.a house or townhouse.
It’s best to be forewarned so you can make an informed choice. It’s also best to live at your intended place for maybe 6 - 12 or more months before making a final decision. All living situations have pros and cons.
I would prefer a high rise to a 2-3 story condo complex. The walls are usually sturdier and more soundproof so you don’t hear your neighbors as much… One big minus for me would be inability to grill…
We are currently in a short term apartment rental as our house sold quickly and we had not decided where we wanted to live, and still don’t know! I have found apartment life better than I thought, mainly as these are well made. Either I have very quiet neighbors or no one lives next door. The above neighbors I can hear when they are in bathroom, but it doesn’t bother me.
The no grills allow is a huge negative, but short term we can live without. The complex actually has two gas grills on site, but it is a hike and hard to be there and inside cooking at the same time.
The other silly thing that bothers me is it takes me 5 minutes to leave my unit, walk to the garage and get out of the gate; yes, I have timed it 
I sure do miss walking out to my garage and just driving away, especially on days I run errands and might come home in between to unload groceries or to let the dogs out and then leave again.
We downsized from a ~5000 sq ft house with pool, extensive patios, fire pit, play yard, basketball court–the whole nine yards–to a 2 bedroom high rise condo, and we couldn’t be happier.
We are in a terrific building, with a longtime building manager, doormen/valets who have worked here for 20 years, great housekeeping/maintenance staff, etc. We like the people in our building, and the board is quite responsive.
The building is extremely well built, and we never hear our neighbors. We have access to a pool, a lovely club room (which we have used for everything from our civic organization board meetings to parties for over 100 people), a very large patio with a grill, a nice dog yard, and a well equipped fitness center. We have a balcony that is pretty private, with a container garden, which is plenty for me. Really, the place has everything we need. We love the ease and security of a “lock and leave” home base.
It’s Dallas, so no gorgeous mountain or beach views. But we are in a nice park-like setting with miles of pleasant walkways along a creek. At the same time we are walking distance from work, restaurants, a movie theatre, and the arts district for concerts, lectures, and plays.
The only thing we miss about our house is that we had more flexibility to entertain there. This place isn’t great for having groups with lots of kiddos, for example. And some of the groups we hosted at our house (e.g. low income immigrants who don’t speak English) are not comfortable coming to our building, where the staff and residents might find their presence…surprising. That makes us sad.
We did a lot of due diligence before we chose this building. In Dallas, the real estate agents who deal in high rises know the scoop on all of these buildings, so you can find out what you need to know about the quality of construction, noise, parking, the heating and cooling system, the staff, etc. Our building is not the most glamorous, but it has a great reputation in the areas that mattered most to us.
I should add: although we are happy with our decision, I’m pretty sure we would not have made this move, had we thought that we would have grandkids in Dallas. We don’t think that will happen, and our plan is to spend time with the grandkids (if we are lucky enough to have any!) in California, where they will most likely live, or in favorite family vacation spots, rather than having a lot of time with them here in our condo. It’s not a great place for little kids. But when our young adult kids are here, they love the proximity to dining, nightlife, etc.
I downsized from a 2 story house with extensive landscape maintenance to a 2 bedroom mid-rise condo in the heart of the city and I love my lock and go lifestyle here. There are different building codes for condos here that require more sound insulation than apartments. I never hear anything. I had a neighbor who was a musician who played various instruments and was often working on his music, but I never heard him unless I was walking by his door on the way to the elevator. There are some drawbacks, but the benefits far outweigh them for me.
Drawbacks
- Not being able to pull into the garage and walk right into the house. Instead, I park in a subterranean garage, use a key to get into the elevator and then have to walk down a long hallway. It’s a pain if you have a lot to unload from the car.
- Many condos here have size limits on dogs that range from 25 to 35 pounds, so that may limit your options if you have or want a larger dog. (I had to find a building that would accept my Golden Retriever.)
- No grilling.
- Unique to my building, but a reality TV "star” moved in about a year ago, so the film crew has been here occasionally filming and using the same elevator I do to bring equipment up and down. They are nice enough, but I’d prefer not to have to deal with waiting for the elevator or wondering if I’m going to get caught on camera.
- Much less closet/storage space
Benefits
- No doorman, but we do have an office that’s open during business hours to sign for packages and hold them when we’re not there, so you never have to wait for a delivery or worry about one getting stolen.
- Maintenance staff is on site that we can pay on the side for plumbing or electrical work. They are happy to make extra money, don’t charge much, and it’s always faster than calling a plumber or electrician.
- We have a pool, small gym, and a library/club room we can use any time we want. If you want to use it for a party or meeting at the exclusion of everyone else, you just need to reserve it.
- Locked security building and gated garage, so no worries of break-ins. Who is going to break into a garage or building, go up the elevator and burglarize a random condo when there are so many easier targets? Whether you’re going to dinner or away for a week or two, just lock the front door and go.
- Nice furnished lobby so you can just buzz people in and have them wait there if you don’t want them to come up for some reason.
- Some people fear HOA fees that seem high to them, but I don’t think they realize how much they cover. Water, gas, garbage, all outside maintenance of the grounds and pool, insurance, and even cable TV are covered in mine. The only bills I pay for separately now are for electricity and internet. When I added up all the money I spent for those bills on the house including the gardener, annual tree trimming, etc., it was pretty close to being a wash.
- I can walk to two major grocery stores, Trader Joe’s, drug stores, the post office, the gym, music venues, comedy clubs, and more restaurants than you can count. I don’t do big grocery runs anymore. I go to the gym about 4 times a week, so I just pick up a few things I need when I’m walking home. That has made unloading a car full of groceries (one of my drawbacks) almost a non-issue.
- Less room for entertaining, but I don’t really entertain here the way I used to at the house. It’s much more casual. People want to come here because there's so much going on. Normal for me now, but fun for them, so they come over and we walk to dinner, coffee, drinks, etc.
- A balcony was a must for me and I have a view, but I had a view from the house, too. It’s just a different view now.
- Much less closet/storage space forced me to get rid of TONS of stuff I’d just saved because I had room and probably never would have gotten rid of otherwise.
I think the no grilling is a deal breaker for us - we grill a couple of times a week all year round - so I think we have to stick with a townhouse or real house.
We have lived in a high rise for the past 2.5 years and have really enjoyed it. Before that (we moved here from another state) we lived in a townhouse. My H says he never wants to maintain a yard again! Both places have beautiful grounds we just go outside and enjoy.
Can’t really hear neighbors. We have a doorman and an incredible view. Our place has quite a bit of storage/closets.
We’re now in a large city and when we first moved here the biggest adjustment was grocery shopping. Need to walk a few of blocks, and only purchase what I can carry. And if it’s freezing cold, snowing, raining, or hot, it makes the walk worse. Now I mostly get my groceries delivered using Amazon Fresh and it’s made me much happier.
We lived in a walk up three story apartment in Germany. The walls were concrete block and you never heard neighbors. The last year we moved to the top story and had roof terraces with built in window boxes. It was really just the right amount of gardening for me and lovely to have it all at waist height. I grew flowers in the terrace off the living room and vegetables and herbs off the bedroom.
Back in grad school I lived in NYC apartments. No car. A lot of walking!
In all the apartments it’s really nice to have a super take care of minor repairs.
The lack of an attached garage is a deal breaker for me. Been there, done that, and hopefully never again.
In our area, the cost of a unit in a 55+ community is higher than the value of our home. The unit would be much smaller. We plan to hire people to take care of the maintenance as we age, and figure we’ll still be ahead financially.
We downsized to a 3 bedroom mid-rise condo on the beach, and for the most part, I absolutely love it. Between location and amenities, it feels like I am on vacation every day. I would make the move again in a heartbeat.
Two downsides that haven’t been mentioned in previous posts are:
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All home improvement/remodeling projects, however minor, must be done by a licensed contractor in order to protect the other tenants. This means that we’ve had to pay considerable amounts of money for projects my husband is completely capable of handling.
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Because we have people living below us, we must have carpet in the living room and bedrooms for sound insulation. Yuck! I dream of hardwood floors throughout…
Where are you that there is no grilling?
I recently visited a friend on the 5th floor of 14 and she has a small grill on her deck.
Visited D and FSIL and they have a large deck in Boston and they are not allowed to grill.
Deal breaker for me.
^^^ It can be local laws, but usually depends on HOA rules due to concerns of fires, smoking up the upstairs neighbors place, or whether they junk up the look of visible balconies (see through railing), etc. If you allow one BBQ, you have to allow them all, and some can look terrible. Mine had a rule that nothing could be visible above the railing of the enclosed balconies, so no 5 foot storage cabinets no matter how nice the owner thinks it looks, no leaving brooms out there, or generally using your balcony as your storage area, etc. Rarely an issue in a nicer building, but there’s always THAT neighbor.
From the money side, make sure the condo association has a sufficient reserve for major repairs. If there is deferred maintenance, you may end up with a large assessment to cover needed building repairs.