Dear Emily Fox Seaton,
I purchased a condo because I had the money and I didn't want to pay the exorbitant rent in So. Cal. Honestly I should have rented. My "affordable" condo had poor quality people sharing my rather thin walls. I feel awful calling people poor quality but that's what they were. I had a gang member renting a condo adjacent to mine and he was just a hideous neighbor. I won't get into it here but after two years I sold my condo and left for an apartment. Only in So. Cal can you make money on your home in just two years of ownership but still I loved that condo. I learned so much. I thought I knew a bad neighborhood because I'm a public health nurse and I have "clients" in high crime areas. This was a "two cruiser" neighborhood. I start to sweat thinking about how a renter drove an owner out but that's how it turned out. I totally understand what you are saying.