Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-19-2011, 05:52 PM
 
4,399 posts, read 10,631,991 times
Reputation: 2383

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321 View Post
Middletown is a middle class city. I wouldn't call it affluent by any means. CT is ridiculously expensive, that's all. There are nicer towns with 1 br apartments going for $1695 or so.
Middletown certainely isn't affluent..You can do much better than $1100 living in Middletown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-19-2011, 06:04 PM
 
30,856 posts, read 36,763,909 times
Reputation: 34394
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321 View Post
Dear God, get me out of here now! Why are new construction apartments built so cheaply these days? Why didn't they put soundproofing in the celings/floors? Why not build garages so we don't have to deal with the snow?

I can't WAIT to move out of here and into a house, where I can have maximum privacy!
I think the biggest problem with apartment living is the cheap construction.

The other problem is a design / urban planning problem. They plunk these huge, cookie cutter complexes down in the middle of suburbia so that you get all of the annoyances of high density living, but none of the advantages. EG. You still need a car to get everywhere and transit is inconvenient or non existent and there are often no stores to walk to. If there are stores within walking distance, they are car oriented strip malls that are have deisgns hostile to pedestrians.

I live in an older apartment building from the 1920s. It's 16 units. Plaster construction. Lacking in typical "modern" amenities like a dishwasher, and doesn't have enough electrical outlets. But the walls are thick, so I rarely hear my neighbors. The mailboxes are downstairs & the dumpster is just outside. The grocery store is 3 blocks away. The library is a block away. The movie theater is 4 blocks away...you get the idea. I'm happier living here than any other apartment I've lived in my entire life.

The key is to avoid the large, cookie cutter apartments if possible, although I know that's not always easy. Older, smaller, but well maintained apartments (with fewer or no amenities) are often a better value.

As far as having a garage goes, those are expensive. So you're going to have to pony up more rent and/or rent a condo if you want a place with a garage.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2011, 06:11 PM
 
30,856 posts, read 36,763,909 times
Reputation: 34394
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaseMan View Post
Is Middletown a highly affluent area (obviously I'm not from the Northeast)? Paying over $1100/mo for rent seems like that could be going to a monthly mortgage payment on a house...just saying.
CT is expensive. $1129 for a 1BR there may not be that out of line. Where I live in California, that's pretty cheap for a 1BR.

I knew someone who was paying $1400 a month for a suburban cookie cutter place with all the "bells and whistles" several years ago in my part of California. I'm sure it's more now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2011, 08:26 PM
 
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
7,646 posts, read 9,889,093 times
Reputation: 16450
I don't know why they can't make buildings quiet. It's not hard, but it costs an extra couple of hundred bucks per unit.

My criteria for an apartment. Penthouse, corner unit only, only one adjoining wall, and not the bedroom.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2011, 08:38 PM
 
5,697 posts, read 19,079,021 times
Reputation: 8694
Lessons learned is all. When you look for a home, you will have experience on what you want and don't want. Not a bad thing considering purchasing a home is a big investment.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2011, 09:15 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,410,741 times
Reputation: 23222
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamies View Post
I don't know why they can't make buildings quiet. It's not hard, but it costs an extra couple of hundred bucks per unit.

My criteria for an apartment. Penthouse, corner unit only, only one adjoining wall, and not the bedroom.
The quietest buildings are made are masonry... nothing defeats noise transfer like concrete sub-floor.

Many modern high-rise buildings in San Francisco are built with concrete and steel... lots of both due to earthquakes... it is also very costly due to the engineering...

I've had success with wall to wall carpet over premium pad and floor to ceiling drapes... the difference is night and day over hardwood and blinds... Add quality windows with cast-iron plumbing and you're home free.

Last edited by Ultrarunner; 01-20-2011 at 05:34 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-19-2011, 09:47 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 29,061,263 times
Reputation: 3629
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
CT is expensive. $1129 for a 1BR there may not be that out of line. Where I live in California, that's pretty cheap for a 1BR.

I knew someone who was paying $1400 a month for a suburban cookie cutter place with all the "bells and whistles" several years ago in my part of California. I'm sure it's more now.
I pay $1450 for a one-bedroom inlaw apartment with all the bells and whistles. On the way to landing this place, though, I saw a $1600 one-bedroom in Menlo Park built in the '50s with no insulation and a $1750 one-bedroom in Castro Valley on a horse ranch which smelled like horse pee because it was right over the stables.

Before that, I paid $1200 for a two-bedroom scraper house in a neighborhood where I heard either gunfire or fireworks almost every weekend. That place completely cured me of the desire to buy a starter house. Compared to that, this apartment is heaven.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-20-2011, 03:31 AM
 
584 posts, read 1,925,601 times
Reputation: 589
if people can not put up with a set up of a place they should have never moved in did they ride the short bus to school and could not for see the facts before their face
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-20-2011, 06:05 AM
 
Location: Maine
2,272 posts, read 6,646,124 times
Reputation: 2563
Kind of ironic that someone would use the term "short bus' (which is offensive, BTW) when talking about someone else in a sentence void of punctuation and grammar skills.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-20-2011, 07:35 AM
 
584 posts, read 1,925,601 times
Reputation: 589
Quote:
Originally Posted by lawmom View Post
Kind of ironic that someone would use the term "short bus' (which is offensive, BTW) when talking about someone else in a sentence void of punctuation and grammar skills.
it a blog so who gives a dam on punctuation and grammar.
and i rode the short bus do to a handicap that was physical. and no i am not pc.
this person is a self righteous jerk they way he came off!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top