About a year ago I leveraged the equity in my current house to buy a downtown condo. It’s under construction now, due to be finished in another two years. My original intention was to rent it out or sell it (depending on market conditions around the time of closing), but ever since I came back from Europe, I’ve been flirting with the idea of moving there myself and renting out my house instead.
I’ve missed that feeling of connection after walking in cities that were bustling and full of life. There’s a certain intimacy to urban living that I long for, where everything is within walking distance and people are all around. It doesn’t help that I work from home in a sleepy area in the east end, mostly inhabited by retirees.
27 storeys of glass and metal.
It’s an extremely tempting proposition. I’d finally have a balcony and view from a corner unit on the sixth floor, close enough to the ground to do some people watching but far away enough to stay private; something I’ve missed greatly from my first years out of university. I’d have big south-facing windows to fill the place with light in the mornings. I’d be in the heart of downtown, just a block off Elgin, walking distance from the Rideau Centre, Byward market, and the NAC. I’d have access to the 4500 sq. ft. recreation centre which includes an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, fitness facilities, a private lounge, and guest suites.
The condo is also a lot more my style, as these are modern, New York-inspired lofts (most of the suites taking their names from NY neighbourhoods and landmarks), each one with hardwood floors, individual HVAC and stackable washer/dryers, a flush European-style kitchen, and 24-hour concierge service. I get to pick out my colours and finishes soon, and I’m already planning where I’d want to put my furniture.
But I don’t know if I can give up the place I have now, due to the luxuries afforded to me by the extra space: a spare room I can use as a photo and Tai Chi studio, a giant closet, and least of all, a living room large enough to host intimate house shows or small gatherings.
I cannot really give any advise, but I do have a question… What is a ‘European-style’ kitchen? How is it different from a Canadian or American kitchen?
PS: When you move in the Netherlands you leave your kitchen in the house/apartement, in Germany people always (or at least most of the time) take their kitchen with them. How’s that in Canada?
European-style usually refers to the cabins. The hinges are hidden on the inside and there’s no middle pillar (which I find especially annoying).
How on earth do you take a kitchen with you? Do you mean the contents? Or the appliances?
I think in Canada the major appliances are usually left for the next person, but all the other things are taken.
In Japan & some Euro places you do take the whole kitchen with you — it’s a prefab unit which the mover dudes come in and disconnect and disassemble and put in the truck and take to your new place. Crazy huh? I’d never heard of it till I went to Japan. But they don’t hop around moving a lot like we do.
24 hr Concierge Service!!!
::gasp::
::clunk::
I’m so jealous of either of your options!.… LA is a mad place to rent, insane to buy into, and I still resent paying what we pay just to have something relatively reasonable that doesn’t have bugs or leaks.….I’d be happy with a washer/dryer in-unit instead of hauling it three flights.…. ::sigh::
I so wish I were in Canada for the views too .… and I love the architecture… much prefer it to here.
Yeah, an equivalent condo in downtown Toronto would be a much more, just because it’s such a well developed metropolis. For me to afford something like that means I would be well out of the city.
After my university days I never take my washer/dryer for granted.
P.S. Just looked at floorplan relative to Black Hat feng shui. SO AWESOMELY planned for it. Good choice.
You’re a better financial planner than me. Good for you to look ahead. That puts my worries to rest.
Is there a drawing of the finished product? Is there going to be a false ceiling for running the services? With the amenities and concierge service, I wonder what kind of maintenance fees it carries.
There aren’t any sketches of the interior, probably because each unit is going to be pretty different, depending on what options are ordered. I’m not sure about bulkheads though.
The maintenance fees are comparable to what I pay now. They’re a little higher, but they also include access to a recreation centre.