[wburg]

td: On that point, we certainly seem to agree. I like my house, but I sure spend a lot of time tramping around the city doing stuff. Hell, that's what makes walking to work (especially from midtown to downtown) such fun! I do it on my days off, why not do it on a work day too?

awg: Point 1 is taken and appreciated: I used to sneak up into the Darth Vader building (usual excuse was to pick up free tickets won at KWOD) and stare out at the city, the valley and the mountains from an empty office on an upper floor. The point about maintenance concerns is valid, although paying condo fees costs about as much as paying a gardener to take care of your lawn. Or you can do what I do and xeroscape!

Point two is the case in "many cities," but not here, at least not yet. As I have mentioned probably to the point of irritating everyone above, you can get all the cultural and geographical advantages in the existing housing market right now. At some point, probably pretty soon, they will be necessary.

The last point is definitely a question of individual taste: personally I prefer my coved ceilings, hardwood floor and old-school porch, but I can understand the appeal of a modern high-tech interior with a window out on a broad expanse of geography.