Moving to an apartment in retirement

[RobbieB]

My first buy in CA was a 2 story townhouse, 900 sq-ft. 450 up, 450 down.

Got paradise here at 1400 -

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB My first buy in CA was a 2 story townhouse, 900 sq-ft. 450 up, 450 down. Got paradise here at 1400 -

Good things can STILL come in small packages. Honest to goodness when I first experienced the Islands as a tourist, I saw folks living under blue tarps on the beach - and I envied them! I no longer do, of course, but at the time, I hated my w*rk and I hated (maybe too strong a word) where I lived. I think maybe at that time I hated my life. In any case, I made up my mind that SOME DAY I would live near a beach, near the mountains and away from Megacorp and corn fields. If I had to compromise on housing size, I would do it. YMMV

[Escapevelocity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau Good things can STILL come in small packages. Honest to goodness when I first experienced the Islands as a tourist, I saw folks living under blue tarps on the beach - and I envied them! I no longer do, of course, but at the time, I hated my w*rk and I hated (maybe too strong a word) where I lived. I think maybe at that time I hated my life. In any case, I made up my mind that SOME DAY I would live near a beach, near the mountains and away from Megacorp and corn fields. If I had to compromise on housing size, I would do it. YMMV

Inspirational post. Thanks for sharing.

[meleana]

We sold our big house and had to move into a really tiny rental house until my husband retired and then we moved into an brand new 1100 square foot home that we bought that is an arms length from all our neighbors. HOA community.

But anyway- renting the little home was ok, though it was old. But it was in a nice neighborhood and we did have privacy. Plus we were able to store everything in the basement and garage, so no storage facility fees.

It took getting used to in terms of some noise from a nearby race track and having neighbors and cars going by.. Our former home was isolated in the woods and very peaceful and quiet.

Where we live now is like that also since we are in a vacation area with a lot of tourists and activity.

I do miss the peace and quiet but we wanted to be around some people and activities so we are learning to tolerate it.

As for the size of both the houses, a bit too small but again- we adjusted.

[Walt34]

I last lived in an apartment in 1978 and then swore "Never again!"

1. Noisy neighbors
2. No place to park when I got off work at 2:00 AM
3. Lugging groceries from the distant parking spaces
4. Unresponsive/stupid management
5. Unreliable utilities. Yes I do expect the hot water to work at 4:00 AM when I have to get up to go to work.
6. Don't buy a decent car. It'll be beat to death in six months
7. No place to even attempt cleaning said car except at an overpriced car wash that can't do it right even with repeated attempts
8. Getting soaked in the rain trekking in from the outlying parking spaces
9. Scraping ice & snow off the car in winter. The garage here spoiled us real quick! Ditto getting into a heat-soaked car in summer.

There were other issues that I'm forgetting now. And these were not cheap apartments in "sketchy" areas. I'd hate to have to live in one of those! I'd probably end up with the devil himself next door and his brother upstairs.

[Markola]

A few years ago, we rented a brand new 2 br/2 bath apartment in downtown Minneapolis for 6 months while our house was being remodeled. I really liked it. Covered, climate controlled parking ramp was in the center of the building and our car was only steps away. We had a pool. High ceilings. Whole Foods with wine store on the ground floor. Utilities were very cheap. Easy Peasy and I’d do it again. Compared to owning houses, it was nice to just have everything “handled.”

[Focus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 I last lived in an apartment in 1978 and then swore "Never again!" 1. Noisy neighbors 2. No place to park when I got off work at 2:00 AM 3. Lugging groceries from the distant parking spaces 4. Unresponsive/stupid management 5. Unreliable utilities. Yes I do expect the hot water to work at 4:00 AM when I have to get up to go to work. 6. Don't buy a decent car. It'll be beat to death in six months 7. No place to even attempt cleaning said car except at an overpriced car wash that can't do it right even with repeated attempts 8. Getting soaked in the rain trekking in from the outlying parking spaces 9. Scraping ice & snow off the car in winter. The garage here spoiled us real quick! Ditto getting into a heat-soaked car in summer. There were other issues that I'm forgetting now. And these were not cheap apartments in "sketchy" areas. I'd hate to have to live in one of those! I'd probably end up with the devil himself next door and his brother upstairs.

None of the items on your list match my current rental apartment experience.

[Paulz]

Just a couple thoughts....

We just sold our home and moved 3-4 miles away to rent a townhouse before our move to our retirement home. Besides the smaller space most of the challenges have to do with living closer to others. All the houses are connected, so....noise. Inside, outside on the deck, the surrounding streets. Just a lot less privacy. In an apartment, you'll have someone stomping above you, or you might be the ones doing the stomping. We are only here for two years, and thats long enough!

I live just a short drive away in Virginia, and we call it the "People's Republic of Maryland". Make sure you investigate the taxes, crime, and issues there before you call it home. I have many friends that decided a short drive to PA, WVA, and VA was worth it to not live in MD. That being said, I think Clarksburg would be a better selection. Rush hours on 270,355 and 15 are brutal and Frederick gets the brunt of the PA, MD, and WVA traffic.

[street]

I wish you the best in your decision but I wouldn't care for living in an apartment. It sure could happen at sometime as I get older but I would rather own. I'm not so much enthused about so many people so close together people above you beside you and below you.

I would say in my area the cost to rent is way more costly then owning. Good Luck!

[Third Son]

All,

We found a home to rent for the same cost as the apartment we had reserved. An added benefit is that we will not need additional storage in a locker and will save on pet fees (we have an old cat). This gives us a needed pause to find an area that we would be comfortable to live in for the foreseeable future. The money we save by selling our home by ourselves easily covers the rent for the next year. Time to breathe!

[INTJ10]

We moved from a very large older house with 5 acres to care for to a townhouse. The biggest difference was the amount of time that was freed up from not having to do maintenance. It was an adjustment to find things to do to keep busy (not bad just different). It seems that with owning a house there is a never ending list of projects. After 5 years, we bought a smaller house because we couldn't find a townhouse/apt that met our needs. Back to endless projects.

[Focus]

A timely Fidelity article about this: https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/...ce/rent-vs-buy

Quote:

Key takeaways: -Whether you buy or continue to rent can have important implications for both your finances and happiness. -As you're weighing your decision, try comparing prices and rents in your area, and think about how long you'd likely stay in a home. -If you're running the numbers, make sure you consider the full costs of ownership, such as maintenance, taxes, and insurance.

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Third Son So after a blistering experience trying to secure an apartment in Maryland and Pennsylvania ( so we could be close to our grandkids) we have come up short. I guess our Midwestern needs are what have brought us to the consensus that those areas are much too busy for our lifestyle. We have (hopefully) secured an apartment in Michigan across town and will be moving starting next week. Then DW and I can re-evaluate where we want to land in the coming months. Covid has just made everything weird.

This is a tough time to move, and there's been a large outflow of people from close in to DC to places like Frederick, MD and Gettysburg, PA. I lived in Maryland for almost 30 years and have worked in the region you were looking in. The influence (and housing prices) of the DC area now extends 75 miles or more from the city, and includes parts of West Virginia.

Sometimes it is best not to force a transition that isn't working out, and reconsidering is probably a good plan.

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett There are apartments and there are apartments. Big difference between a three or four story wood frame building and a concrete building. Huge difference between a 2BR on the second floor and a 1500 sq apt with a fabulous view on the top floor or near the top floor of a hi rise concrete building.

Today's huge frame buildings scare the hell out of me. Chances of being displaced by a fire get too high once a building is bigger than about 50 units.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/ne...ial/677715001/

A friend (also an engineer) and I looked at one being built in Northern Virginia about 30 years ago, and agreed that we'd never be comfortable living in it.

[pacergal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Third Son All, We found a home to rent for the same cost as the apartment we had reserved. An added benefit is that we will not need additional storage in a locker and will save on pet fees (we have an old cat). This gives us a needed pause to find an area that we would be comfortable to live in for the foreseeable future. The money we save by selling our home by ourselves easily covers the rent for the next year. Time to breathe!

That's good news for you!

[socca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 ... 9. Scraping ice & snow off the car in winter.

I had an apartment with external parking in NW Chicago during my first couple of years there. On the very coldest mornings, I would start my car a couple of times during the night so it would fire up nicely in the morning. What can I say? I was poor with an ancient Buick LeSabre - you do what you gotta do.

[Amethyst]

All my apartment living experience matched Walt34's (including someone keying my brand-new car in the parking lot), except for the 1200 square foot, sixth-story penthouse we rented when I worked in England. I had a housing allowance that paid most of the rent - the (very expensive) utilities were on us, but that was OK. There was a very nice garage down below, too.

The building was in the center of town, very near two bus routes to my work, and was full of elderly people who were quiet. Even if they hadn't been, the floors were concrete (and heated! Boy, did our cat love that). We were only vaguely aware, at times, of the weird couple underneath us who vacuumed at all hours.

1200 square feet seemed like it would be small, but it was so well laid-out, it felt roomy. We had stored most of our furniture but there was plenty of room for essentials.

The only issue, at times, was the single tiny elevator. When it not infrequently broke down, we had to trek up and down six flights. This was trifling to us back then but would be quite inconvenient nowadays.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Out of Steam Today's huge frame buildings scare the hell out of me. Chances of being displaced by a fire get too high once a building is bigger than about 50 units. https://www.northjersey.com/story/ne...ial/677715001/ A friend (also an engineer) and I looked at one being built in Northern Virginia about 30 years ago, and agreed that we'd never be comfortable living in it.

Yep, I saw the results of that fire close up. Basically the fire ran between the attics of the dwellings.
It was devastating to look at in person.