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Anyone live in a high rise apartment or condo???

ProfJohn

ProfJohn

Lifer
I am thinking of moving to Charlotte NC and have been looking at apartments and condos and for some reason I am attracted to the idea of living downtown in one of the high rise buildings.

Seen one on the 7th or 13th floor. Both over look the Panther's stadium.

Just wondering what it is like living in a building like that.

Anyone have an experience they can share??
 
The views are fantastic that's for sure. It is a pain if the elevators go out though, so be prepared to walk up X flights of stairs if that happens. What in particular would you like to know about it? I was on the 14th floor overlooking Michigan Ave. in Chicago.
 
Life style? People you lived with?

Getting groceries up to the 14th floor.

Would you do it again or would you rather live in a 'normal' apartment/condo?
 
i'm on the 4th floor (top) of a condo on an NC island, hardly high rise but the mother fucker shakes when a tropical storm or hurricane comes through. other than that i love it.
 
I had a roomate and we shared a room. Groceries are fine as long as the elevator is running. I don't think I would want to do it again, though. It was fun while it lasted but normal style apartments is what I enjoy these days. There is just more flexibility as far as grilling out is concerned, for example, and entertaining guests is much easier when you don't have to give approval to the doorman for everyone coming up.
 
Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Life style? People you lived with?

Getting groceries up to the 14th floor.

Would you do it again or would you rather live in a 'normal' apartment/condo?
Click to expand...

I lived in an 8 story building for a long time. They had a supply of grocery carts to use for bringing groceries up. They had heavy duty carts for the bigger stuff.

Some of the people that lived there were awesome, some were tools. Such is life.

One question you do want to ask is about parking. Will you have a reserved spot? If not, is there ample parking? Usually they have plenty of parking for residents but around the holidays parking can be a nightmare. Also if they decide to work on one part of the parking lot, parking can be a huge hassle.
 
Oh. The best part was the Christmas tree drop! Every year we would drop our trees off our balcony. It was sweet to see them going over!
 
Good point rudeguy. I had a parking space in the building for a short while but paid through the nose for it. If you are planning on living in a city, there will be little to no street parking available to you. I used to have my friends park up north then ride the EL down because they would get ticketed in the morning once the meters started running again.
 
The simplest task would be a pain in the ass. need to run out to your car, 5-10 minutes. Need to go anywhere would be a hassle
 
if you do make the move, PM me, i can tell you a lot about charlotte.

if you're going to be living uptown, definitely try to live off or as close to tryon st as possible. that's pretty much the main st that runs through the length of uptown, and everything you need will be in walking distance, more or less. uptown charlotte is definitely the nicest part about charlotte.
 
Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Does anyone actually choose to live in a high rise if they have any other choice?
Click to expand...

If you live in the city and want a view of something other than asphalt and vinyl siding, its the only option.
 
Its nice especially if you hae ceiling to floor windows and a great view. I live in one in San Diego and the views are amazing. I doubt I'll ever have the "elevator" issue people talk about. We have 3 elevators for our tower so if one goes out thats fine. As far as groceries, as long as you buy one of those basket carts that folds up its fine. Although I have a local little grocery store I go to bout once a week so one brown bag of groceries I can handle bringing home. I feel its way worth it though for the views and the "wow" factor 😉
 
Originally posted by: rudeguy
Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Does anyone actually choose to live in a high rise if they have any other choice?
Click to expand...

If you live in the city and want a view of something other than asphalt and vinyl siding, its the only option.
Click to expand...

I guess "views" fall quite a ways down the list of important factors for me. 'Course, I can see where a view might be a real attraction for many of the basement dwellers here. 🙂
 
I'm thinking about purchasing a two story condo unit on the 55th and 56th floors (the top two floors) of VDARA in Las Vegas. I'd like some feedback on high rise living as well.
 
I lived in highrises for years while traveling around for work. My favorite view was in Atlanta.

I really enjoy the experience, but I would less so if I were married, had kids, dogs, etc. I also enjoy it a lot less if it's a highrise in the middle of nowhere. If you find a dense urban area where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, pubs, etc. then it's a great time, imo.

I had no issues with groceries, moving furniture or anything else. The condos generally have some way for you to transport heavier items if you need to. Nicer places also tend to have a full gym, swimming pool, billiards, movie theater and other things.

I used to walk to work, walk to the coffee shops(s), restaurants and then to the pubs. I could walk back at night completely drunk without any concern if I so chose to do so.

In summary:

1) It can be great, but if you have roommates, wife, dogs, etc. think twice.
2) Pick a dense urban area that has everything within walking distance or you'll really begin to hate the parking situation.
3) Get one that has enough amenities to keep you occupied.
 
Originally posted by: rudeguy
Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Does anyone actually choose to live in a high rise if they have any other choice?
Click to expand...

If you live in the city and want a view of something other than asphalt and vinyl siding, its the only option.
Click to expand...

Word... here's the view from a condo I may purchase soon. From the balcony.
 
Originally posted by: tennisflip
Originally posted by: rudeguy
Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Does anyone actually choose to live in a high rise if they have any other choice?
Click to expand...

If you live in the city and want a view of something other than asphalt and vinyl siding, its the only option.
Click to expand...

Word... here's the view from a condo I may purchase soon. From the balcony.
Click to expand...

That view will get you some serious tail!

Hell, PM me after you move in. I'd probably give it up.
 
Originally posted by: tennisflip
Originally posted by: rudeguy
Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
Does anyone actually choose to live in a high rise if they have any other choice?
Click to expand...

If you live in the city and want a view of something other than asphalt and vinyl siding, its the only option.
Click to expand...

Word... here's the view from a condo I may purchase soon. From the balcony.
Click to expand...

while that's really sweet... why the heck is the balcony glassed in? i've never seen that before
 
just because it's quiet when you look at it, doesn't mean it'll be quiet when you're
living there.

i think it's wise to try to sleep in a place before you rent it. of course, a lot of
agents will say "that's not possible", so maybe the closest you can come is to
sleep in your car outside.

i thought i had done all my homework on a place in Vancouver. Jesus it was noisy.
 
It mostly depends on the particular building. Overlooking a stadium is not necessarily a good idea, as noise travels very well and lots of people make lots of noise -- particularly after a good game. Most people prefer to choose when they're subjected to noise rather than have to deal with it from time to time. There are also stories about game audiences getting free shows in local hotel windows / etc. (as opposed to the more common other way around) -- this is a serious point about privacy issues. Having to have curtains closed all the time would be a major downside, and this depends very much on what else you are visible to around your particular building in the particular direction and height, etc.

Parking is generally a big deal in downtown condos. Check this out in detail. Visitor parking is a great perk if you can get it, but is often not available, and sometimes abused by residents so that it's effectively not available.

If you have bicycles, you need to check the details about where they're allowed to be stored and how safe they would be there and how you're allowed to transport them, etc. -- many condos have rules against bikes in the lobby and elevators.

Storage is sometimes a problem with the limited space in most downtown condos. Most places have some storage available, but the quality and quantity can vary a lot.

Noise between neighbors depends a lot on the quality of construction of the building. Rental apartments are typically bad. Condos typically make an extra effort because people are expected to buy-in long term. In addition though -- how your neighbors behave and how the building handles them can make a huge difference. Often free air flows from the corridors to the unit doors and then out, and this also means that noise in the corridors travels freely to the units and vice versa. So if you have a unit on your floor which has a lot of parties and people coming and going and hanging out in the corridors, you'll know about it whether you want to or not.

Whether or not the building has a high proportion of owner-tenants or a high proportion of rental spaces and particularly short-term rentals can make a big difference in the quality and care and keeping of the building. Whether or not the building has a high proportion of seniors or families with kids can make a huge difference to the character, level of tolerance, and level of tolerance necessary in the building. In other words -- seniors are typically quiet and not very tolerant of noise, and conversely kids are often not able to keep themselves very quiet.

BTW, views can be short-lived in an area with a lot of construction. I.e. you buy a condo with a great water view or whatever, and a couple of years later have a great view of another building just in front of you. There could and should be some laws against this stuff, but is still very much a fact of life.
 
i know some people like looking at skylines of cities, but personally i couldn't imagine wanting to live in a high rise. i like having space, a yard ( a lot of yard) and not having neighbors all around and on the other side of my wall. If i want to crank up a movie then i will.
when i think of a view, i think about seing the ocean, a mountain peak, or something nature has given us, not another highrise.
just my opinion.
 
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