Okay, last post we were raving about seaside condos, dreaming of sand, sun, clear water, and a cute little terrace. Anyways, this week we’re back to the city. We received a wonderful description of this city unit, situated in what seems to be the perfect area: peaceful when necessary, lively when wanted. Check it out:

“One of the things I enjoy and love about my condo is the very spacious, well lit and intelligent design of a conveniently situated habitat in the heart of one of the most energetic places of the city. It is a smart two bedroom, and one bath place with a twenty second floor view of the happenings at this beautiful location. The elegant walls are painted off-white and the kitchen has a nice contrast of wooden cabinets and elegant counter tops. It is quiet enough so that Sunday afternoon naps are enjoyed, but noisy enough to let me know when the action is happening and it’s time to visit the friendly neighbors for a friendly social chat.

A very nice and enclosing feature, this condo has high ceilings and a huge bay window that really brings the place to life. The sunshine lights up the atmosphere brilliantly—perfect for enjoying a good book, sipping a glass of wine…whatever I need to take my mind away from the mundane tasks of work, or the routinely endeavors of life. This condo is the right place to enjoy a nice, peaceful evening with my better half and an excellent excuse to have my buddies watch the game and enjoy their company.”

Here at Find Jamaica Plain Condos, we’re generally pretty content with the condos in our neck of the woods. Heck, we think JP has some of the best condos in the Boston area. Sometimes, though, we can’t help but yearn for what this reader has: a condo along the seaside! Go ahead, read and imagine:

“I had always dreamed of owning a vacation home by the sea. As soon as my family could afford half the amount, we took out a loan to purchase a beach-side condo. As part of a major complex consisting of 22 building units, we have a lot of friendly neighbors who are always ready to lend a helping hand. Each unit has 4 apartments with a joint terrace at the top. Our bright and spacious condo is on the top floor, with an unobstructed view of the beach and the sea. It has two bedrooms: a larger master bedroom and a smaller spare room. Both bedrooms have attached baths, walk in wardrobes, and queen sized double beds. We had to purchase our own furnishings and fittings, but this is something we preferred to do anyway. The kitchen is fully equipped for gourmet cooking. The stove is electric. In addition, each unit comes with an outdoor grill. The complex itself is beautifully landscaped, with plenty of garden area, park benches, a small play area for children, and a path for joggers and skaters. There’s a clubhouse with table tennis and pool tables, a common swimming pool, gym, and even a library.

We were fortunate that an old school friend who was leaving the country mentioned her condo to us, which is when we set about raising the money to purchase it from her. I prefer this condo to all my previous accommodations—it’s not as secluded as a house and yet not as crowded as a normal apartment in a building or a dormitory. Truly, in effect, a dream home.”

Hey folks! We’ve received another testament to the beauty of condos. Actually, we liked this message because it’s simple, yet still sounds really genuine and honest. This reader shares her favorite and least favorite aspects of condo living. Check out what she had to say:

“I currently live in a condo that I own, and have lived there for about two years.  I found the condo while house shopping, because it had many of the features I was looking for when looking to buy a place.  Overall, I really like living in my condo.  I like having the benefits of home ownership, without all of the responsibilities that can come along with home ownership, including yard maintenance, snow removal, etc.  The size of my condo is on the smaller size as far as a house goes, but it is the perfect size for a first place, and it fits just fine for what I need out of it.  Overall, I don’t like being able to hear what my neighbors are doing, but it isn’t all that often that I can really hear them.  Mostly, it becomes a nuisance when a specific neighbor plays their loud music late at night. While I don’t like hearing the noises made by my neighbors, that is the only real disadvantage of living in a condo.  Everything else is absolutely great, and the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.  It might not be the right fit for everyone, but living in a condo is something that I think could appeal to a lot of people.”

What’s one of the best things about living in Massachusetts? Cape Cod, of course! Whether you live in Jamaica Plain or all the way out in Pittsfield, MA…Cape Cod is just a short drive away. It’s also great if you have a permanent place in the city and then a fun summer condo near the beach, like this reader:

I used to rent a condo right near Cape Cod. I remember when I first started looking for a place to live there, it was such a thrill when I saw the water and the cute beach homes. Then I saw the condos in front of the beach. It was a small condo complex, maybe two stories, where each had their own balcony. All condos were for sale only. Luckily enough, I found a one-bedroom unit for rent on the second floor. Each unit was not large, however, it had everything a home would have. There was a small but fully furnished kitchen with General Electronic appliances, a bathroom with a bathtub that allowed you to take a hot bath after fun at the beach. Few steps west from the kitchen was the warm bedroom. Then there was the living room with French doors that led you to the balcony where you could sit down and lay back, or enjoy a mini BBQ party.

Every weekend and holiday during the summer, I would drive three hours to stay at the condo and relax (during the rest of the year I live a bit further away in Massachusetts). I would sit on the soft sand, or simply sit on the balcony enjoying a cup of coffee and a good book. Compared to other places I had lived, it was not a mansion, nor did it come with a particularly fancy interior design, however, it was my favorite spot—100% relaxing. All the trouble and noises went away. If you compared it with the sixty-year old dorm I had lived for one semester in college, this condo was a palace. This condo will always have a place in my mind. It was one of the most peaceful places I had lived.”

Well, we’re here to continue spreading the love for (north)east coast condos! Sure, a sunny, fair-weather condo in Florida sounds nice…but what about a cozy fire-warmed condo in Maine, especially one nestled against Sunday River ski resort mountain? We enjoyed reading a description of this condo, and hope you do as well! Check it out:

“My condo is in Maine on the ski resort mountain known as Sunday River. My condo is part of a major complex and is actually right on the ski slope. Right when I wake up in the morning, as long as there is snow on the slopes, I walk right outside get into my skis and then ski down to the chair lift. The condo is actually quite a good size. It has two floors. The first floor consists of a kitchen, a living room, and the master bedroom where my wife and I sleep. On the second floor are two rooms of good size with two bunk beds in each room. Usually my son or daughter will bring have a friend over for a weekend of skiing and they will stay in one of those rooms.

Other than that, as far as amenities go, there is a common room on the third floor of the complex which overlooks the pool, and hot tub which are both on the first floor. Along with the pool and the hot tub, there is also a sauna on the first floor. In the winter a lot of tourists come up and rent out some of the other condos and tend to get a bit loud, but for the most part it’s not a major problem. As long as they don’t stop my wife and I from getting some sleep and getting some skiing done, I don’t have a problem with it. Overall, it is a great condo!”

We just received this cool e-mail from one of our readers in Longwood. Seems like he’s really enjoying his condo:

“My condo is located in Longwood (Boston, MA), right outside of Harvard Med. It’s a medium sized condo, shared with three other students. Though the single condo houses four people, it never seems to lack space. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, and kitchen. The location is amazing because we have great access to public transportation—it’s so easy to get anywhere in Boston. The condo is close to a park that has BBQ pits and some volleyball courts, perfect for a laid back summer day to spend with housemates and friends. It also has a parking lot located in the back of the complex, so that parking is not an issue. The condo itself is one of four in the building, located downstairs. In comparison to others I have lived in, this condo is in great shape and is a real pleasure to live in. It was relatively simple to find, just by looking on the classifieds in the local newspaper. Since I already had my roommates lined up, getting everything together to sign the lease was no issue. I love my condo in Longwood!”

Hey all! We’ve been receiving a good deal of e-mails from our international readers. Today, we want to feature some of their thoughts, stories, and messages about their experiences with condos. We feel this is a testament to condos and their versatility. You can find a condo you want no matter where you are in the world. Check out the excerpts below:

“My condo is located at Chennai, Tamil Nadu in India. In our Condo, we have an association to deal with many of the common activities. The association takes care of the common problems and also organizes functions during some festival days. We celebrate together all the time, and cultural programs are also organized for the children. I love the unity among our residents and any problems within the condo will be handled by the association members. It’s a great place to live!”

“I live in a condo in Ilha do Governador, an island in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. It’s a part of a complex of about 20 buildings. We have about everything we need here. Outdoor space for the kids, a gym, and a mall and supermarket just across the street. It’s a great place to live because it’s quite secure. The kids can play outside with my having to worry. The only thing I miss about my old house is having my own garden and pool. It’s a trade off though, because here I have space to play basketball and barbecue.”

Ah yes, Boston’s historic appeal. People sure love the city for it’s rich history. Check out one of our newest stories about Boston’s famous Freedom Trail:

“My favorite memory of Boston is from when I was about 14 years old. My friend and I were working on a school project involving a timeline of the revolutionary war. Therefore, we decided to trek into the historical city and walk the entire freedom trail. I brought a camera to photograph all the important sites. Back then, the freedom trail was painted onto the sidewalk. Since then, much of it has been bricked in to make it more official. A number of local businesses had conspired to paint lines all over the place so that wandering tourists would be lead passed their stores instead of on the correct route. As a result the freedom trail was more like a maze with lines ending in the middle of the street or traveling needlessly around long blocks. We walked much of the day and even decided to hike over to see the Constitution, which is quite a ways away from the rest of the sites on the trail. In the end, we were quite excited that we would have lots of great pictures to put on our timeline. We even hoped to get a few brownie points for our troubles. At home, I opened up the camera to take the film and get it developed. It seems, however, that I forgot one important detail. I had never put any film in the camera.”

Hi all! We’ve just received a great story from someone about falling in love with the simplicity and old town charm of Boston. Check it out:

“When I was 13 years old, I went on a trip to Boston with my friend Laura and her mom. Laura’s grandmother lived in Boston, so they were both used to being there. I, on the other hand, had never been before. I remember the drive from PA to Boston—felt like it took forever. Once we got to Laura’s Nana’s (that’s what we called her grandmother) house, I fell in love with Boston and the almost old town feel. It was very different from what I was used to in PA. See, the only city I had been to before was Philadelphia.

We stayed at her Nana’s older style Victorian house for two nights. Laura and I spent most of the days and nights with her family. Laura’s mom, Maureen, also took us to the little corner store down the street where they actually still sold penny candy. Though this was over 15 years ago, so who knows if they still have penny candy.

About two blocks away from her Nana’s house, trains ran. The second day we were there we laid pennies on the train tracks, and the next day we went back to find them. It was really neat how the train smashed them down, completely flattening them. We found almost all of them if I remember correctly. I still have a few of them in a keepsake jar. That time I spent with Laura and her family in Boston, MA was one of the best memories of my youth. Boston is a part of my heart now, that no one will ever be able to take away.”

Boston has so much to offer, especially when it comes to the arts. With so many museums, theaters, and orchestras, there’s always something exciting happening. The Boston Pops Orchestra, a world-renowned group, is one such example. Check out this reader’s rave review of the Boston Pops:

“I recently had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Boston for my honeymoon. We hadn’t planned much of the trip before hand, but one of the few things we did plan was to go and see the Boston Pops; it was an experience that I will always remember. Before the last of the holiday concerts started, we were able to relax in the lounge and enjoy a glass of wine together. But as soon as the performance was on, we were fully engaged in a delightful and spectacular holiday musical experience that cannot be topped! Each tune was played and sung with great enthusiasm, with many memorable holiday favorites bringing warmth and joy to our hearts during the cold holiday season. With special visuals and even a narrator for some parts, the varied performance kept us wondering what would come next. Not only did the performance bring forth a spring of rushing memories, but it also brought out a burst of laughter with the best rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” that I have ever seen and heard. And when we were tired from all the laughter and fun of that boisterous number, it was time to end the night with a Christmas song sing-along. It truly was amazing to hear all of Symphony Hall filled with the voices of the audience singing their own finale to the holiday season. I am so glad that we were able to spend the beginning of our marriage in Boston and to experience the sights and sounds, especially the Boston Pops.”