Considering selling our 5500sq/ft house on 3 acres and downsizing to something smaller with less maintenance.  Mostly to de-clutter, lower stress, conserve and free up resources ( time and of course money).  I'd rather spend the $thousands per month on my house in Italy and traveling there more often than pay for this house which consumes my life.

I lived in a condo in FL before I moved to CO.  Never really had any issues/problem other than the maintenance and assessments-I thought they were excessive, so that's something I'll pay attention to if I decide to move to another.  My house in Italy is a quasi condo where we all own our houses but they are under the same roof and share walls.

Personally, I'd much rather live in a detached house.

But having lived in many a row home and a town house I'll say that it really, really, really depends on your neighbors.
Whoever is on the other side of that wall is going to make or break the experience.

Yeah, that's the problem.  In Italy, you usually have generations of the same family living in the same place, so you know everyone and everyone is civil.  We're certainly a more nomadic society here in the US.

Living in a Condo does have its advantages, such as maintenance/landscaping and they're usually cheaper too.

Annoying neighbors will be even more annoying, but annoying neighbors can still be a problem in detached houses.

Never.

You do not know how clean your neighbors are in a townhouse/condo situation.  I have a friend that is a neat freak that absolutely HATES roaches.

Roaches kept going into his townhouse.  Turns out his neighbor was a slob and the bugs spread from there.

My friend moved out.

I'm single, no kids, no long term girlfriends, and I hate yard work.


When my dog dies I plan on getting a townhouse or a condo on the water downtown. Once development has a dock, and the other does not, just depends on whether I buy a boat between now and then on which I go with.

Moved from the gated Townhouse in Fl. TO the 5500sq ft house in the country.  FUCK HOA's......and crime ridden concrete thrid world shitholes that pass for civilization these days in FL.

Why not just move to Italy since you seem to like it there?

An effective summary. The turnover (in northern Virginia at least) can be pretty high, so just because you're okay the first few years doesn't mean some bad elements won't move in later.

I look forward to owning a detached house someday, but I own a nice townhome in a quiet, nice neighborhood.  The HOA sucks, but I've gotten a new roof and paintjob out of it.  They also just replaced my deck walls.  My townhome has vaulted ceilings, a loft, two master bedrooms/bathrooms and hardwood floors.  Stay away from the cookie cutter condo's and you'll be happy.

That's pretty much my situation too, except for sometimes I work international or offshore for weeks at a time so keeping up a yard isn't really practical for me.

I never want to live in one again but there can be advantages.

My parents are divorced and both remarried.

My father lives in a condo in MA and prefers it.  He also has a camp in Maine where he spends most of his time in the summers.

My mother lives in a separate house in MA but has a condo in San Diego where they spend significant time.

It looks like the OP is already aware to make sure he fully understands the HOA / Covenants.  He also has lived in one before so he should understand that the neighbors will make or break the experience.

Frankly, OP, since you only plan on being there part time anyway and really want to downsize your home in the US, it makes a lot of sense.