What's living in a high rise like compared to two flat / three flat living?

[personone]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Keep in mind that in a highrise, you'll likely have to schedule furniture deliveries with the building management. At the highrise I lived in, discarding large pieces of furniture was a pain. There was a huge dumpster near the loading dock and the maintenance people would help you with it, but there was a rather large fee for the process, amount depending on what percentage of the dumpster your discarded belongings took up.

In 20 years of highrise living, I never got to feeling completely comfortable with the doormen knowing my guests' comings and goings. And when I had a guest who stayed with me a week or two, I had to get them a guest pass so they could enter the building on their own even when I wasn't home (there was no charge for this process, though).

My highrise building was concrete, so hearing airborne sounds from other units was very limited. It was mostly pretty quiet. But that didn't apply to when construction/renovation was being done. Any sounds from drilling or striking the concrete structure carried big time, and could be loud if done in a unit nearby. There probably will be restricted hours for this, though. And keep in mind that Chicago law requires concrete buildings to be thoroughly inspected for deterioration every ten years or so and repaired if necessary. In a huge building like the one I lived in, this process could take months or even years and become very loud in close proximity.

Regarding emathias' comment about highrise neighbors being less friendly, I noticed that as well. I think it's because when people live in close quarters with many others, they tend to withdraw in order to maintain their privacy. I did make a sprinkling of friends in my highrise, but they weren't necessarily the people who lived right next to me. Any friends you make will likely be people you see regularly when you use the amenities such as the pool, fitness center, etc.

One thing I really miss about highrise living is the receiving room that signs for package delivery and then notifies you. I'm currently sharing a SFH and am nervous about ordering anything from, say, Amazon because I'm concerned about package theft.

Another thing I miss is the grocery store on the ground floor. Sure, it was expensive as all heck, but convenient if you got a craving for snacks at 10 pm and there was nothing to nosh on in your apartment. It was also convenient on very bitter cold days if you just didn't want to venture outdoors but were short on something or other.

Completely agree about the doorman. While they were all nice and friendly, it is a little awkward because they know when you come and go, or if you don’t have anything going on, they know you don’t leave and have no life, lol.

Also, completely agree about the packages. Where I am now, they just drop them off in the common mail room. I track my packages, and have never had anything missing but still a little questionable for expensive or important packages you are receiving. As a tip, for Amazon or almost any online retailer you can require a signature and include a note that if you are not there to deliver it to the closest post office. You can then just always pick your packages up at a post office if you don’t feel comfortable having it left out.

[OKParker]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

To lessen noise, live in an apartment building which has carpeting and plaster walls.

Yes this is a great suggestion. Carpet has the biggest impact from what I've noticed.

Another note - anyone who owns their own condo and is redoing their ceiling has the potential to install some ridiculously nice sound dampening material that will make it better than any standard high rise/low rise and it will only cost $2/sqft - I would do this, but this kind of home improvement is really valued when you're selling your house and you could probably only get back 50% of the money you put into it.

[via chicago]

my solution to dealing with noise in flats is to always rent the top floor. problem solved . plus on days like today you get all the ambient heat from the units below you.

[prhill]

Originally Posted by via chicago

my solution to dealing with noise in flats is to always rent the top floor. problem solved . plus on days like today you get all the ambient heat from the units below you.

Thats what I do now is get a place on the top floor. You can still have issues with people on the sides and under you though

[oldhousegirl]

Haven't read all of the posts but for me living in a high rise on a high floor was (first world problem) a bit of a hassle in that I absolutely hated waiting for the elevator. Getting in said elevator with people who tried to awkwardly avoid eye contact. Riding down 30 floors to the lobby. Walking through the lobby to the garage. Waiting for the garage elevator. Again riding up with people trying to avoid eye contact. Walking to my car. Driving my car down 4 curving stories of cars. Rinse and repeat!!

When I moved to a house I was never so happy. Although we had a garage I refused to park in it and parked my car in front of the house in all weather. I didn't care. My husband laughed at me. I get a chill just thinking about the high rise hassle and that was years ago.

[ChicagoMeO]

Its been nice living here, heat did not go out, and landlords had to worry about any problems!

[coldwine]

Living in a highrise has its advantages, but it is definitely a very particular type of lifestyle.

I would say that it is preferable to living in a 4-story walkup, and most definitely preferable to a two-flat.

It truly suited me well, but that only works if you prefer absolute anonymity. All of my groceries were delivered; all of my laundry, including dry-cleaning, was cheap and easily available. I loved my doormen (we had a few), and they were total professionals.

But again, I am perfectly comfortable carrying on the various affairs of my life to a wider audience if it means convenience.

And at the end of the day, psychologically, I truly felt as though I were closing the gate behind me at a fortress.

This was all important simply because I was a single person fresh out of law school working their way as a new hire at a big firm. There is a class of highrise living that is truly best suited to that kind of frenzy, especially when you have to be a real adult all by yourself

[paytonc]

A lot of your suspicions are true, and especially about dogs -- I feel sorry for dogs trapped in high rises. There's storage, but much less, and people generally frown on clutter in common areas like garages and hallways. People are also less sociable, since you don't usually see the same people all the time.

The big advantage of high-rise living is quiet. Concrete and steel are great at dampening noise, and not creaking like old wooden subfloors do.

Different places have different ways of handling parties (and, for that matter, dogs on the roof deck). Many newer buildings have common areas that are easy to use, and often right near the front desk.