Am I the Only One Who Would Never Want to Live in a High Rise?

[thedistrict84]

With all of the beautiful high rises going up all over town, it got me wondering: how many people on this forum live in a high rise, or have lived in one in the past? 

For me, it’s not really an option, for a number of reasons:

 

• I have a relatively larger, high energy dog. Trying to get him through hallways and down elevators multiple times a day would get to be really tedious quickly, and probably be something of an annoyance to other residents.

 

• I have to have private garage space available. For better or worse, one of my hobbies is wrenching on classic cars. I have to keep my tools and other equipment readily available, and usually have a car (or like now, two cars) apart at any given time. I have a feeling many of these places would frown upon that.

• Since valets are the devil, getting in an out of a multi-level garage myself (to the extent that I would even be allowed to) would be kind of tedious.

 

• Grilling is not an option unless they have a community grill near the pool, which has its own drawbacks.
 

I feel like I’m missing out in a way, because the majority of these projects seem to really be objectively appealing. Some of the views are really spectacular, and I could see how having the caliber of amenities most of these places offer would be nice.
 

What are y’all’s thoughts on the matter? 
 

(Admins: If this isn’t the best place for this, feel free to move it. I just thought this would be the most appropriate place for what I imagine would be an interesting and insightful conversation about how people choose to live in Houston.)

[cspwal]

I have lived in two high rises downtown (Houston House and then Skyhouse) for 6 years, so I have a decent amount of experience with both the upsides and downsides.

 

For starters, any working on your own car is for sure difficult, if not impossible.  At Houston House, the garage is small, with a lot of isolated spaces, so if you had one of those you could do some basic work on your car; there were also storage rooms on the garage floors, so if your car and storage were on the same floor you could do work, but practically it would be limited to changing a tire, oil changes, and other basic maintenance.  I doubt you'd want to replace an engine or change your brakes.  There were a couple of classic cars at Skyhouse, but I never saw evidence of anyone doing any work on their car except a few times people changing the oil in the upper garage, which is more open.

 

Being in an apartment with no yard means that you have to walk your dog, not just let them out.  It's a hassle for you, but honestly I think your dog would prefer it - multiple walks a day as opposed to yard + house.  We had a small dog though, so a large dog in a small space would definitely be awkward, but there were plenty dogs of all sizes in both towers.

 

Getting in and out of the garage was about as annoying to me as going deep into suburb's maze of cul de sacs; it just becomes part of your commute for any driving somewhere.

 

Skyhouse had grills on their skydeck; we grilled up there a couple of times.  The grills had counters and sinks right there, but you did have to bring all the food you wanted to eat up there at once, as opposed to ducking inside every so often for different ingredients.  After word we got to eat hamburgers looking at the view, so it was nice.

 

The views are really nice, but like anything that you see everyday you'll get used to it.  

 

The main upsides of high rise apartments are going to be getting a nice place that is close to stuff you want to go to.  If you work downtown (and have to go in), living close is amazing - you could go home and grill for lunch if you wanted to.  If you enjoy going out to bars, restaurants, it is nice to be able to walk to multiple ones.

 

If you're working from home, if you're working out in the suburbs, if you enjoy private space over public, then a high rise isn't going to be a good option.  Additionally, most of the apartments downtown are focused on single people and couples - the 2 bedroom options are limited and expensive, and the 3 & 4 bedroom options are practically non-existent.  Also, you're paying rent or a high maintenance fee, so it will be more expensive psf over the long term than a house.

[gmac]

Lived in one in another city for nine months and it was terrible. I would never live in any kind of high-rise again. Then again, I would never live in a part of town where there WERE high-rise buildings again. I like having some separation from my neighbors.

 

Plus, I can't afford even the lowest-priced options, I would imagine.

[zaphod]

I imagine another advantage of a high rise would be security, and maintenance being something somebody else deals with.

 

If you lived in a high rise you could open your patio doors and any windows that can open on a nice day and not worry about anyone or anything getting in except maybe Spider-Man.

[cspwal]

Or a bird

[native_Houstonian]

As a single woman, I LOVE living in a high rise.  Don't have to worry about maintenance issues.   Feel very secure and safe.   I had an old Oak Forest area home that I traded in for my 1 bedroom condo.   I never plan on leaving the sky!