Crazy Condo Neighbors

[shootingstar]

This thread confirms that my "retirement dream" is a 1 story on an acre or two in the desert. No lawn/trees to maintain and no neighbors breathing down my neck. We're currently in an unmemorable subdivision (.25-.4 acre lots) with far too many nosey and cliquey people who are very concerned with keeping up appearances and I feel a not-too-subtle competitive vibe over who has the nicest house and the best cars (one look in our garage confirms that we would not win the car competition, but no one can hold a candle to our 2-wheeled collection, heh). The guy who bought the house next-door (and put it up for sale 6 months later) had his lot tilled...but the landscapers ignored lot lines and drove over at least half of the native wildflower seeds I'd planted the Summer before. He never planted an actual lawn and only about once/month mowed the weeds, so it's been a constant battle to keep his yard from encroaching on ours -- and I really loathe dealing with a lawn, much less even faster-growing weeds and the chemicals necessary to keep them from killing our grass and settling into my flower beds.

Yeah, I really find myself wanting to become a hermit more and more. DH feels the same way. We're both homebodies who are happy riding our bikes and vegging on the sofa in front of Netflix. The vast majority of our socialization involves other runners and cyclists.

I like some of our condo board members..they are diligent. We also have a good staff member with the property management firm that our condo building pays annually for their services. You need a permanent good paid staff member from such a firm for this work.



We seriously have to face reality of our future: we will no longer be able to drive nor should we in our 80's and onward. It's just dangerous to others. It's easier to change our transportation habits now....even a life without bikes, one day.

Hey folks...I haven't cycled for past 2.5 months (and there's no snow right now) because of my recovery from head injury. We have no car (and not advisable to drive with a head injury). So I've been walking daily, building my strength, using transit. Bike will come later. And I'm not elderly and still working full-time. (But it freaks me out that I qualify for over 55 developments.) I walked to and from my doctor's office today. 2 days ago it was another 20 min. walk to physio or I could take transit train there in lousy weather.

If all else fails, a short taxi ride.


But we're hermits. We don't socialize...meaning visit homes of other condo owners in same building. We just say hi in elevator stuff. Honest in a multi-unit buildings there's less of that type of nosey, cliquey stuff. In my opinion where I've lived. And I've sensed, I've lived beside some good neighbours but just never made an effort to know them. Ok, by us. As long as one is a responsible owner and makes little noise most of the time.

I live in both nice neighbourhoods in both cities. May I remind people that actually having some retired but still active condo/townhouse owners, some people have just abit more time to care for stuff in general. In Toronto I lived in such a building.

Here where I live our community neighbour association has a board of which over 50% are retired people who had professional/management jobs or are university/college educated prior to retirement....so they make good public speakers, organizers and taking time to understand legal/development matters, think through complex issues, provide some evidence, and document some stuff.