Downsizing and the high rise condo

[ShortInSeattle]

We did the whole downsize-move-to-the-city in 2008. We love it for a lot of the reasons described by others. I agree about trying it out first, but you don't have to keep your old place for long unless you want to. We rented a furnished corporate apartment for a few months to try the whole thing out. Planned a 3 month trial run but we were hooked after 3 weeks.

You need to feel comfortable without a yard, although in the right places there are plenty of parks. Parks don't need to be mowed by you! We no longer own a lawnmower, ladder, or backup generator. We bought a nicely sound proofed condo and don't hear neighbors, although there are some siren noises that you get used to. We don't have parking for guests, but they still come see us.

Mostly city life is easy. Anything you need is just a walk away, you get spoiled by not driving. This morning we took a walk to a nearby waffle place for brunch, wandered along the waterfront, making dinner tonight with veggies from our local market.

SIS

 

[bbbamI]

I suppose there is a possibility we may sell our home and live in a condo one day... But for now, the chance seems slim.

DH enjoys tinkering in the garage and I love to work with my flowers. I don't know about the rest of the folks on this forum, but DH and I need our own space. I'm not sure living in a condo would work well for us.

But who knows....you/we won't know unless we try it and see if it's a good fit.

 

[Khufu]

Another reason to abandon the suburbs for the city in retirement is that eventually you won't be able to drive. And then you are stranded. I saw this with my parents when they aged.

I lived for 35 years in NYC until we retired to Bangkok. It's hard for me to see any advantages in suburban living. I would recommend that the OP sell both cars and the house to rent in a place where they want to live. If they want to live in NYC, they should go there. Once you are free of the baggage of the cars and house-that-must-be-maintained you can experience a different kind of life.

Basically, suburban living is about having while city living is about doing. Seems like no contest to me.

 

[donheff]

Another reason to abandon the suburbs for the city in retirement is that eventually you won't be able to drive. And then you are stranded. I saw this with my parents when they aged.

I have mentioned it here before but another aspect related to aging is that many urban neighborhoods are forming "villages," membership based non-profit organizations that provide support and social activities designed to help seniors age in place. I am both a member and a volunteer in our village and hope the community and services it offers will enable DW and I to stay here unless we become extremely ill.

 

[lhamo]

We live in a 30th floor highrise condo in Beijing that we bought about 3.5 years ago. For the most part we are very happy with it. Didn't really have a lot of choices other than apartment living, as we can't afford villa prices. But we pretty much knew the minute we walked in (after having seen close to 30 other apartments on that particular search) that this was going to be "home" for us.

On the downside, I agree with many of the cautions Nords raised. Our flat has floor to ceiling windows on the west side (living room) and while the views are great it gets extremely hot in the summer and cold in the winter. So we have pretty high AC bills. On the plus side, we have windows on three sides of the building and also porches on north and south, so after the sun goes down we can open things up and get a good cross ventilation, which cools things down pretty well except during the hottest weeks of summer. The layout of our building is such that we are the only unit on our side, which reduces noise from other tenants coming and going. There is a slight noise from the elevator that we can hear in the master bedroom (elevator shaft on the other side of the bedroom wall), but I have mostly gotten used to it. Our development is along one of the big "ring roads" in Beijing (circular freeways that are a major transit route) and we did notice real noise and dust problems in units close to the road. We hear the noise when the windows/doors are open, but it is kind of a dull sound so not too disturbing. Know from living in a coop in NYC that it is MUCH better than living in the middle of the block right where people can see the traffic light turning green and the cars not moving (recipe for regular honking outside your window at all hours of the day and night....).

The one thing I dislike about our neighborhood is that it isn't quite as walkable as I'd like, but its getting better. I've made some compromises with shopping, etc. and don't try to get the best prices, but instead do a little route with a pull along shopping cart from Ikea once a week and stock up. A big mall has just gone in about a 10 minute walk away, and that will eventually have a big supermarket that will increase our options. We have already started enjoying the restaurants there, including a decent food court that has very affordable selections of a wide variety of regional Chinese cuisines -- had lunch there with DS on Sunday for about $6 for the two of us, and we were stuffed. there will be a subway stop in the mall in about another 2 years, which will make the rest of Beijing much easier to access (currently use taxis, which are plentiful and relatively cheap).

All in all I have found apartment living to be fine, even with two young kids. We do have a nice secure compound where they can go out to play, and a gym with a pool that we use several times a week.

Do agree with the suggestions to rent before you buy, though. We had been living in apartments in China for almost 10 years before we decided to buy this one, and our past rental experiences had taught us a LOT about what was important to look for.

 

[haha]

Another reason to abandon the suburbs for the city in retirement is that eventually you won't be able to drive. And then you are stranded. I saw this with my parents when they aged.

I saw the positive and negative of this aspect, with my parents living in city on bus routes near shopping, library, doctors, dentists and hospitals, and my former wife's parents living in a no sidewalks suburb. Big difference.

Ha

 

[Texas Proud]

That's another good point. We're way out at the end of a cul-de-sac, a mile away from the nearest bus stop. However it's only 1.4 miles to the local shopping center, and even when I'm 82 years old I hope to be able to stagger that round trip for my daily constitutional.

Or have a jazzy with a large battery....

 

[Texas Proud]

As others have pointed out.... Nords first post has a lot of the issued covered... but be aware of the monthly fee as >$400 might be very low in some areas and even some buildings...

It was paid for by my mega when I worked for them, but I think the fee was >$1,000 for a 1BR in NYC.... and there was not a lot in the building such as gym or pool... but we did have 24HR doorman, maintenance etc.... I think this was only on the floors my mega owned, but I also had free washer and dryer....

My mom lives in a highrise that is not walkable, but has pool, tennis, gym etc. with 24HR doorman... and her 1BR fee is $450.... it covers water, but not electricity...

 

[Khufu]

We live in a 30th floor highrise condo in Beijing that we bought about 3.5 years ago. For the most part we are very happy with it. Didn't really have a lot of choices other than apartment living, as we can't afford villa prices. But we pretty much knew the minute we walked in (after having seen close to 30 other apartments on that particular search) that this was going to be "home" for us.

Very interesting to hear about Beijing first-hand. We looked at close to 35 apartments here in Bangkok before we chose our current place, which is a rental. Although Bangkok is a noisy town, our place is very quiet and we never get direct sunlight. Interestingly, here in Bangkok we hear that landlords don't raise the rent at renewal time. Indeed, when our place came up for renewal the landlord offered the same rent.

Would be interested to read a fuller account of your life in Beijing.

 

[Brat]

We live in a high rise co-op in a large urban area, downsized from a large home in a larger metro area. Our unit is 2 bedroom, 1,640 square feet. We are in our early 70s. Most of the residents in our building are 55+ professionals. Many of the men continue their professions late in life because they are very good at what they do and IMHO like the socialization. My husband would go nuts if he didn't have our son's property to maintain.

There are lots of lifestyle options out there, not all mean forgoing gardening.

I have a dear friend who purchased a condo in a medium-rise development locally. He has gotten involved in his HOA and is now their President. He is active in a local canoe club.. and doesn't need to walk a block to do that. Bored? Not on your life!

 

[obgyn65]

I also live in a high rise condo in a large city and love it. I like the convenience of having the grocery store next door.

We live in a high rise co-op in a large urban area, downsized from a large home in a larger metro area.

 

[Koogie]

We sold the suburban mcmansion two years ago and downsized to a rental bungalow back in the city. Also moved the work office from the airport to the same neighborhood. Wouldn't change anything for the world. We now live 250 metres from the lake, 500 metres from the grocery store, 1 km to the library and about 2.5KM from work. I most often walk or bike to all of them. Quality and pace of life are very important. I also now know 8 neighbors on my street. Something suburban living most definitely did not lend itself to. When we sell or shutter the business, the intent is to move to a rural town with the same sort of amenities at the same sort of distances.

 

[Meadbh]

We are going to make the move to a small urban environment on the island of Cozumel. We'll have two grocery/department stores are within a block plus many good restaurants and most other services within an easy 10 minute walk out the front door of the condo. And we are both fed up with taking care of a house and are looking forward to letting the condo management deal with cleaning and maintenance. It can be a little noisy but, thankfully, it's gets fairly quiet by 10 PM most nights.

You might consider Vancouver. Wonderful large city option with a ton of positives. Not sure on the pricing but I would guess somewhat expensive.

Vancouver and LBYM do not mix!

 

[BTravlin]

Vancouver and LBYM do not mix!

I guess that depends upon what your "means" are but, yes, I would guess the cost of living there is somewhat on the high side.

 

[LakeTravis]

Austin has really begun to embrace the concept of downtown condo living in the last few years. While it's not something I'm interested in (yet), I have noticed how it's getting all the favorable attention in terms of zoning, ordinances, development, city services, and incentives, all intended to heavily spur growth in high-density urban living.

What used to be a very isolated, singular lifestyle amongst nightclubs and music venues just a few years ago has evolved into a pedestrian focused dining, shopping, entertainment, and living experience for many.

And the prices are still somewhat reasonable, since primarily all of the new construction is focused on more and more condos.

 

[Grainiac]

Having never lived in a high raise condo building myself, I always wondered how does ambulance personnel move a patient from the 20th floor condo on stretchers? Are they all, even older ones, required to have large enough elevators to accommodate that?

 

[RunningBum]

Austin has really begun to embrace the concept of downtown condo living in the last few years. While it's not something I'm interested in (yet), I have noticed how it's getting all the favorable attention in terms of zoning, ordinances, development, city services, and incentives, all intended to heavily spur growth in high-density urban living.

What used to be a very isolated, singular lifestyle amongst nightclubs and music venues just a few years ago has evolved into a pedestrian focused dining, shopping, entertainment, and living experience for many.

And the prices are still somewhat reasonable, since primarily all of the new construction is focused on more and more condos.

Would that be around the new(er) Whole Foods, just west of downtown, or are there other areas too? About 12 years ago I moved to Austin as a trial (stayed seasonally for 8 years) and thought about renting right around there at least for awhile, but it wasn't as well developed for real living, and didn't seem all that safe to walk to most of the clubs, at least not the main strip on 6th. I went just south of the river off Mopac instead. With the 10 mile trail around the lake and the Barton Creek nature trail, it actually would meet my running requirements very well. My kid went to school out in Steiner and then Cedar Park so I kept drifting northwest and further from downtown.

 

[LakeTravis]

Would that be around the new(er) Whole Foods, just west of downtown, or are there other areas too? About 12 years ago I moved to Austin as a trial (stayed seasonally for 8 years) and thought about renting right around there at least for awhile, but it wasn't as well developed for real living, and didn't seem all that safe to walk to most of the clubs, at least not the main strip on 6th. I went just south of the river off Mopac instead. With the 10 mile trail around the lake and the Barton Creek nature trail, it actually would meet my running requirements very well. My kid went to school out in Steiner and then Cedar Park so I kept drifting northwest and further from downtown.

That was pretty much where it started (at 6th and Lamar), and grew out from that center. Now there is The Triangle (North Lamar), The Domain (North Mopac), and hi-rise condos up and going up all across the downtown area. Mueller Development is adding more, and it almost seems like any commercial building that has lost it's tenants (or kicked them out?) is being bulldozed so a condo can be built.

 

[RunningBum]

That was pretty much where it started (at 6th and Lamar), and grew out from that center. Now there is The Triangle (North Lamar), The Domain (North Mopac), and hi-rise condos up and going up all across the downtown area. Mueller Development is adding more, and it almost seems like any commercial building that has lost it's tenants (or kicked them out?) is being bulldozed so a condo can be built.

The Triangle and The Domain aren't downtown, but they probably a similar urban feel. I guess the OP didn't necessarily talk about downtown anyway. It's funny, when I first started coming to Austin in the late 80s the IBM campus was almost in the middle of nowhere and it seemed so flat out there, now they are throwing up high rises and it's in the middle of a lot of stuff.

The city where I grew up absorbed a few small towns and villages, probably like many cities. There were at least 3 areas of town that had a 2 or 3 block long "Main Street" so you had a small town walkable feel inside a larger city if you lived in that area. In one they even converted the old elementary school building to senior condos.