Thread Drift

[Pax]

I just ignore them now, they love going door to door to stir up trouble, complain, try to get people to join in a lawsuit, etc. But by now they've figured out to give me a wide berth. Once our friends get down here from IL (they bought the condo two doors down) it'll be better.

[ny biker]

Since I've done my share of complaining about the things that drive me nuts about my condo, I was thinking yesterday as I was walking around the neighborhood about the positive aspects of living here, and the goods and bads of other places where I've lived. I've only ever lived in apartments except for the years growing up in my parents' house. My current condo is in a nice neighborhood, with plenty of established trees and flowers. I don't use the pools or tennis courts, but as far as I know they're kept in good shape and appreciated by many of my neighbors. We have a historic designation which helps ensure that the buildings are well cared for and can't be drastically changed by neighbors with questionable taste -- at least not on the outside where the rest of us are affected. The community rules are reasonable in my opinion. We have trash pick up 6 days a week, plus weekly recycling and large item pick up. The area is generally safe with low crime rates -- I can walk around at 10 pm without concern (though I do keep the mp3 player volume low and keep an eye on what's going on around me, just in case). It's also convenient to shopping centers and major highways. There are decent stores and restaurants within walking distance, and I can walk to the gym.

I also enjoy not having to do yard work and exterior maintenance. If I did want to do some gardening, I could use my balcony or volunteer to take care of the area around my building. The condo maintenance people usually do a good job with snow removal and ice mitigation. I would prefer to have an assigned parking space, but at least I have off-street parking and a way to deal with vehicles that are illegally parked in our lot.

There's a tree across from my living room and bedroom that has beautiful pink flowers every spring. Then the petals fall into a pink carpet around the tree. (I'm a bit worried that the freeze we expect this week will hurt those blossoms which are just starting to bloom.)

I have central air conditioning and complete control over my thermostat. Also a washer and dryer in my home and a dishwasher in my kitchen. I lived in some great pre-war apartment buildings in NYC and Chicago back in the day but did not have any of these conveniences in either of them. Being able to leave your clothes in the dryer overnight without worrying about someone taking them out and dropping them on the floor -- or stealing them -- is a simple pleasure that most suburbanites don't appreciate. I have that nice balcony that I don't take advantage of nearly enough.

I only have three closets, but two of them are big, bigger than the closets in those nice pre-war buildings.

In retrospect it was not a good financial decision to buy my condo. It was too much of a fixer-upper in a stagnant real estate market and I doubt I'll ever come close to breaking even on the investment I've made in updating it and making it a nice place to live. But I have enjoyed the process of planning and designing and learning about home renovations and for the first time as an adult I live in a place where I have chosen the wall colors. I'll probably never be able to use that knowledge again in a home of my own, but maybe I can help a niece or nephew at some point. I have enjoyed meeting some nice people along the way as I've bought cabinets and appliances and hired people to fix or renovate things.

If you gave me a pile of cash I don't know if I would move out of my neighborhood. I might just buy one of the townhouses, or buy the units above and below mine and turn them into closets and bike rooms and guest rooms. Okay actually if the pile of cash was big enough I'd buy a place on the western shore of the Chesapeake. But I'd probably still want a townhouse where I am now.

[Pax]

Ah, the pile of cash conundrum.

I'd leave my condo in a heartbeat if the cash pile were enough to buy on the sand, then I'd sell my car, have the groceries delivered, and never have to go anywhere except by foot or bike again.

[Crankin]

4 inches of snow today.
It's going to be freezing until Wednesday afternoon, so no outdoor riding for me until Friday, most likely.

[Helene2013]

No snow for Montreal but ohhhh soooo cold. We're breaking a cold record. brrrrr Heard snow may fall on Wed (something like 5-10cm). Come on!!! We've had enough of winter. Time for shorts and flip flops. haha

[Catrin]

Parked at my gym this morning at 6:30 and walked the 1.33 miles to the office. 56 degrees, lovely, almost too warm with my REI jacket. Reversed that walk at 4pm. 38 degrees and with a blustery cold wind. Today is supposed to be the nicest for awhile, and even snow flurries on Thursday they say. Ready for warm weather to stick around...but I feel guilty for complaining as we didn't have much of a winter at all.

[Pax]

Thank you all so much, reading the last few replies has definitely shown me the move was a good thing!