High rise living in Houston...

[key2thecity]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

Writing from the 18th floor here in Europe.

What's it like?
First the pros. View is awesome, zero maintenance, construction is all reinforced concrete (great sound insulation), there's a shopping mall in the building, and I'm located right in the middle of the city center. Cons: waiting for the elevator is mildly annoying, obvious shortage of outdoor private space. Grocery day is a massive pain - take service elevator with bike three levels down to the basement, unload groceries from saddlebags, stash bike in storage room, take service elevator back to main level, take main elevator to 18th floor. Gets old VERY fast. I miss the convenience of parking in my own two-car garage, unloading the groceries from the trunk and walking them five steps into the kitchen. Finally, parking in the area sucks. The garage in the building charges 3 euro/hour, and street parking is only free after midnight. It only affects us when we have a rental car, but it makes it tougher for friends to visit.

Why did you choose to live there instead of a single family home?
Corporate apartment choices included 100+ year old low-rise brick apartments and this. My wife wanted new, so the decision was made.

No children, although many children live in the building. The balconies are exceptionally tall and fully glassed-in, seems safe enough to me.

Overall, I'd say it's been fun, I've gotten my fill, and I would prefer a single-family lower-rise place for our next home. If we stay in Europe, this will likely mean a 2 or 3-story attached-wall townhome with a garden in the back. The view is nice, but I'd gladly trade it for a modest patio and garden where we could grill on a nice summer day. And we want more space, more-convenient access and bike storage, and easier parking.

I get the impression that most highrises in Houston are either owned by wealthy octagenarians who have traded the Tanglewood ranch for less maintenance, or by power couples from New York or Boston who insist on "urban" surroundings. I would have no interest whatsoever in a highrise in Houston, when there are so many relatively affordable great single-family home neighborhoods all over the city.

Thanks for all the detail! Seriously. Boy, I don't think I could handle your grocery day. Huge pain in the *** , sounds like an understatement for you, lol.

[key2thecity]

Thanks for the responses everyone! City-Data always indulges my curiosity, lol.

High rise living doesn't sound nearly as appealing as a house to me. Perhaps because I like having a yard. But I can see how it would be secure and/or a "panty-dropper" (lol) as two posters stated.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by key2thecity

High rise living doesn't sound nearly as appealing as a house to me. Perhaps because I like having a yard.

This is the prevailing mentality here.

My experience is a lot of the people in the high rise apartments are not Houston long-timers. The friend in the Rice, he moved back here from Pittsburgh. He didn't come here because he wanted to be in Houston. He was more or less forced to by his job. He's being well paid for it, so he decided he wanted the best Houston had to offer as urban living goes. I imagine most of the business traveler/part-time Houston resident set sees it similarly. They can afford anything in the city, so it's just a matter of finding something nice close to work. This is a city where a lot of people come, make their money, and leave. This is how these places downtown can ask for the prices they do, because while they are selling/renting to a very narrow niche, it's a niche that can afford the asking price.

[key2thecity]

Originally Posted by jfre81

This is the prevailing mentality here.

My experience is a lot of the people in the high rise apartments are not Houston long-timers. The friend in the Rice, he moved back here from Pittsburgh. He didn't come here because he wanted to be in Houston. He was more or less forced to by his job. He's being well paid for it, so he decided he wanted the best Houston had to offer as urban living goes. I imagine most of the business traveler/part-time Houston resident set sees it similarly. They can afford anything in the city, so it's just a matter of finding something nice close to work. This is a city where a lot of people come, make their money, and leave. This is how these places downtown can ask for the prices they do, because while they are selling/renting to a very narrow niche, it's a niche that can afford the asking price.

I hadn't thought about that. I'm sure if I was single, well paid, and forced to live in another city, I'd do that as well. That explains the market for single family homes also. Many transplants are making far more than many Houstonians and are able to purchase at a higher rate. Must be nice! Many of the high rises in the Galleria area have been there since I was in elementary school though (about 20 years ago) so I can only assume that their residents are the older set? Maybe those who had a nice nest egg and no desire for suburban homes? I think someone mentioned something similar in a previous post.

[jfre81]

You do have older people whose kids move out of their house in the burbs, and they're left with 5,000 square feet and a yard to maintain, and the kids aren't there to help with it. They may not want to do that when they're in their 50s and 60s. Some of them do move into the city and might take something like a high rise apartment or condo.

[PedroMartinez]

If I were single or childless, I could see my self living in an urban high rise. I think it would be pretty cool; however, in my current situation, the burbs fits my lifestyle to a T.

--------------

Originally Posted by jfre81

You do have older people whose kids move out of their house in the burbs, and they're left with 5,000 square feet and a yard to maintain, and the kids aren't there to help with it. They may not want to do that when they're in their 50s and 60s. Some of them do move into the city and might take something like a high rise apartment or condo.

If you own a 5000 sq ft home and can't afford a lawn service, you're what we call house poor and you made a poor decision.

Additionally, once the kids are gone, that extra money you will have can pay for the yard service and a maid every other week.

[jfre81]

Well, there's also the factor of not really wanting that extra empty space, particularly if it reminds too much of a time you'll never have back.

[westhou]

I live on the 4th floor of a midrise. I love it! I like to live simply and not having a yard to maintain works perfect for me. I'm sure one day I'll want to move into a home but that can wait until I have a family.

[westres1]

My experiences from living in a high rise in Houston:
One had a valet which sounds nice but every time you want to go anywhere you have to call for your car in advance and wait. Then there is a line at peak times to drop off and unload groceries etc.
The other did not have valet so you parked in the garage. so you take the garage elevators with groceries down the go over to the building and up another one to unload. It is such a pain in either case.

If you have a dog you have to take the service elevator or in one bldg. I had to take the elevator to the basement and then take service elevator up to service entrance and could not use lobby with the dog in the bldg. with the valet.
It is different if your in a pedestrian city where you just walk out your building and go but here with the parking it gets old fast.

[Yippeekayay]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

Writing from the 18th floor here in Europe.

What's it like?
First the pros. View is awesome, zero maintenance, construction is all reinforced concrete (great sound insulation), there's a shopping mall in the building, and I'm located right in the middle of the city center. Cons: waiting for the elevator is mildly annoying, obvious shortage of outdoor private space. Grocery day is a massive pain - take service elevator with bike three levels down to the basement, unload groceries from saddlebags, stash bike in storage room, take service elevator back to main level, take main elevator to 18th floor. Gets old VERY fast. I miss the convenience of parking in my own two-car garage, unloading the groceries from the trunk and walking them five steps into the kitchen.

I would suggest buying your own mobile cart like this


Office Depot Brand Mobile Folding Cart With Lid 16 H x 18 W x 15 D Black by Office Depot & OfficeMax


It's great to have it or something similar even if you live on SFH. It lessens the back and forth from garage to kitchen.


Back to high-rise, I seldom cook in my unit because one of the main advantages of HR living is the shops at the commercial floor/s. I just go there, pick an eatery and eat. No hassle of buying produce, prep work, cooking and best of all, cleaning after. It also keeps the unit free from food smell.


All I buy are snacks and beverages and store them in my ref.


Now I live in an SFH and right away, the yard work every year is too much. The work, the effort and the time could be better put to other use like watching movies or sound tripping in my home theater, which is what I was doing most of the time in my HR on weekends.