I tried living in the country for a while and I have to admit; I take my hats off to those that can do it year in and year out because it isn’t for everyone. I had always been to the country, special trips for school, holidays and vacationing with family, but had never really considered living there.

What is so great about living in the city? People think that city living means that you are all outgoing and stuff, loud, fast and quick on your feet, and just all around slick, but that isn’t the case at all. Some are like that, but many are just focused on keeping everything okay and well with their own little corner of the metro and go to work and home, and then back to work, and just like what the city has to offer.

What does it have to offer? Thousands of shops, hundreds of schools, and tens of thousands of traffic signals and intersections. High-rise buildings and small buildings not much bigger than a single family home that serve as “hole in the wall” mom and pop establishments. Mega projects that take up acres and attract thousands, on acres of land and smaller, more intimate settings. A variety and contradictory fusion of conflicting ideas about life, race and culture that it is difficult to find anywhere else.In the city you’ll find everything from those whose heart is in the middle of nowhere to those that feel that the city is never big enough, overcrowded enough, or fast enough for them. You’ll find God in places with huge billboards for the work of the enemy across the street from each other; churches with strip clubs 100 feet away and hospitals with gun shops and liquor stores within walking distance. You’ll find streets that are elevated that overlap other streets that are elevated that overlap a street that actually is “on the ground, on the street” and bridges whose sole purpose isn’t to take you across a body of water, but to ease traffic flow and take you across another street.

Source: associatedcontent.com

New York – Every time it rained, Majora Carter cringed. “I lived in mortal terror whenever I thought it was going to rain,” Dr. Carter says, remembering how the rainwater seeped from the street into her Bronx brownstone.

Then she and her husband, James Burling Chase, realized that the source of the problem wasn’t on the ground, but on the roof. The stormwater system in their neighborhood backed up so quickly that the water rushed straight from their roof to the street – and into their home.

They decided to try a new strategy to fix an old problem: a green roof.

Now, after a substantial renovation, their flat roof has come alive – literally. Flowers and baby sedum are anchored in a thin bed of soil and gravel covering the roof. Golf-ball-sized stones frame this rooftop oasis.

Now their roof will retain about half the rainwater that falls on it, once the sedum matures in about two years. But besides finding a practical solution to a recurrent problem, Carter and Chase wanted a tangible way to show they were “walking the walk” when it came to their environmentalism.

By: Caitlin Carpenter

Learn more:  csmonitor.com

In this blog, we talk about urban living and everything about it. First of all, let’s define the phrase. Urban living is living in a city or town. This includes living in a central business district, usually in an apartment, or living outside the central business districts in suburbs, known as suburban living. Cities and towns are areas that have mostly residential, commercial and industrial development. Because of this, most properties are smaller than those in rural areas but living is more convenient because there is more access to businesses to purchase goods and services. In rural areas, farming is an important part of life while commerce and trade are central in the city.

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If you are planning to buy a condominium for yourself or a gift for your future spouse then here are some tips you should consider before purchasing one:

1.) Ask the developer a copy of the floor plan before you check on the actual unit, so that you can choose the design and decide what fits your taste.

2.) Once you’re decided what designs you wanted to see then don’t forget to include in your list of things to inspect the bedroom, hallway, closet space and might as well the garage space.

3.) Check also the vicinity where the condominium is located is it near the mall, supermarket, hospital or even the police station. Check for convenience.

4.) Lastly, check the amount. Is it within your budget or too much for you to splurge?

Once everything is in place, and you’re satisfied with what you saw then go ahead and buy that dream condo of yours. Enjoy!

By: MJ

When you consider all these factors in moving out, you will surely find yourself satisfied. You have prepared you mind, heart, and wallet before regretting. Just make sure that you don’t vacillate on your decision to stay there when you find little discomforts along the way. Stick to your decision once you have fully weighed on the seriousness and urgency of it.

The last key to be contented in your new place is to find a life. Though you have made one in your old place, then you have to see this new opportunity as another adventure to the path you have chosen.

By: MJ

When you make up your mind on moving out, you should take to mind the adjustments waiting for you. Aside from the new house you’ll live in, you’ll be meeting different types of people that you’re not used to. There would also be quite a shock on your part on the trends and culture of the ones in the city.

Even your principles would be questioned by the people around you. It is, then, more advisable for you to set your own principles and stands before going out to the crowd. Or else, you’ll be swallowed whole by the waves that will topple your integrity.

If you easily get bored or befuddled when you read a long paragraph, then you may be in trouble when it comes to signing contracts or documents. It’s very important that you read the fine detail of a document before signing it or you will regret it.

Although to some, reading it may be a chore, especially if you’re uber excited in owning the unit. For example, if you see “no pets” or “no one under the age of 18”, but you have a pet Python and a month-old child, then the condo unit is just not for you.

If the document has a lot of legal stuff in it, please consult your lawyer, or (better still) a condominium consultant. He or she knows a lot of how these bylaws can be translated to layman English.

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Cheap condos these days are extremely rare, if not non-existent. However, you may notice that the prices go up every year. According to a condominium-specialist realtor, a good benchmark for operating costs or “housing fees” should be 30 cents a month per square foot of private property.

So where does those fees go to? The landowner’s pockets? No, they go to a lot of things: building maintenance, landscaping, waste removal, legal fees incurred by a condo board—in short it’s for the betterment of the condo and its owners.

“There are certain responsibilities a corporation has to maintain — whether it’s the exterior of the building, amenity rooms and, in some cases, betterment to the property and (condo fees) can also include paying a management company looking after things.”

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