Awesomeness!

It’s true, Nukka, but for what I’m paying plus a pass, I’d be living in something that’s really not on par with what I have now. The unit is huge and is on the ground floor overlooking a wooded area (we even get deer coming up to the patio!) and the way it’s set up, you don’t really see your neighbours when you’re outside. I’m walking distance to everything, but I also have a car, which i would still have if I lived down town, so that expense is moot.

Shit, from where I work, I’d still have a bus pass if I lived down town.

I dunno, I guess I’d rather live in a nice space in a nice quiet neighbourhood than a dumpy place down town for the same coin.

Yeah, I get what you’re saying. But you PAY for the nicer places down town. I’d get shit fuck all but a dump for a three bedroom for $1065 down town, and I’d have to pay all my own utilities and likely schlep over to a laundromat to do my laundry. I lived in an old house (200 years old) when I was growing up, Nukka. It had character, yes and I loved that house, but right now, I’m pretty content with modern plumbing (20 minutes to run a bath and no shower when we first moved in. Water pressure too low for a washer (which meant weekly trips to the laundromat another town over and scrubbing clothes in the sink with sunlight bar laundry soap with an ACTUAL old-time washing board), and once the lead pipes were fixed, the sewage pipe exploded because it couldn’t handle the increased water output), not freezing my arse off in the winter because the place isn’t insulated with birch bark, and just the comfortable ‘newness’ of the place. Oh and having the amp service to run an air conditioner is nice, too. 60 amps and you run an A/C and the oven and your electrical panel’s all “nope.” and shuts itself down.

Maybe down the road I’ll want to live in an old place with character, but after spending my teen years living through renovations and general maintenance that comes with an older house (fixed foundation cracks, new oil tank, new roof, re-pointed chimney, new shingles, constant plumbing issues, etc…), I’m happy with my low maintenance home (thankfully it was built well).

When you’ve got a 200 year old house, you do encounter many issues such as chimney re-pointing, foundation repair, plumbing and electrical issues. It’s just expected that plumbing installed in 1909 would, at some point, need to be replaced and a new roof is expected. When you’re dealing with old construction, you can also run into other issues. For example, the newest incarnation of the roof was put over two previous roofs, so one had to be taken off and then there was shingle damage under that roof. That led to issues with eaves and so on. Before the house was sold, the foundation had cracks that were patched. Now the patching is wearing out, and I suspect a new foundation might be needed.

It’s a great house, and I miss it a lot, but it’s just so expensive. And often, when you start the renovations, you end up opening a can of worms. New construction can be good at the onset — especially if it’s under builder’s warranty.

The rents on the new buildings up around Larry Uteck is ridiculous, Baz. I can get a three bedroom house for less/month.

LOL this whole ‘lifestyle living’ scam is hilarious, Baz. You can fix any apartment up to make it look fabulous. You don’t need fancy appliances and granite counter tops to have a great apartment — because here’s a secret: stainless steel attracts finger prints like a mofo, and most of these lofts and shit are tiny as fuck. On top of that, they usually put in the cheapest granite they can find and are all “LOOK AT OUR FANCY GRANITE!”

Cheap granite isn’t really all that expensive – there’s a very wide range of quality and price levels of stone counter tops out there and there’s some really awful granite being installed for the very reason of being able to say “granite counter tops.”

Try changing up the knobs and handles on your cupboard doors, or painting the cupboard doors… put in a new blacksplash and re-tile your tub. Add some paint, some new curtains and throw up some wallpaper on a feature wall. Buy an awesome area rung from beyond the rack and get some new throw pillows for your couch. Get a new set of bed linens, or some new towels and a new bathmat. These small changes are easy, inexpensive and really make a difference!

I knew someone who lived in a new loft development in the north end and ended up moving within months because the quality of the workmanship was crap and the builders would constantly delay coming back to install the finishing touches. What was extra hilarious is the fact that they sold the place for 20k more than they had paid only 8 months prior!

With what you pay for one of these ‘lifestyle living’ apartment/condos, you can buy a damn house. And guess what my friend did when she sold her condo? Bought a house that had four times as many bedrooms and five times the space!

I mean, look at that new development that’s gone up in Fairview. Units START at like $299k! For a condo in FAIRVIEW! Eff that.