What No-one Tells You About Living in a Sky Scraper

I never made it very far up in life...or rather in living I should say. I grew up on a slightly elevated ground floor and even managed to move up to the second floor during university, but that was about the extent of my adventurous spirit when it comes to living the high life.

However, when we passed the Strata building, we instantly fell in love with it and with the idea of living high up. I will say this: living on the 30-somethingth floor with a view of the London Eye is spectacular. I felt so cool, moving into our new flat, as stylish as it was.

This feeling soon evaporated, when I noticed all the little problems that come with reaching for the skys.

1. Vertigo

Unlike me, a person who thinks staring into the abyss is fun, many people do not find it amusing to look at an entire wall made out of glass and stare at the ground, which is so far, far away. The first couple of days, my boyfriend felt constantly dizzy whenever he looked out of the window. Luckily, he managed to get used to it, otherwise the next year would have been hell for him.

2. Wind

Have you ever thought about the wind that is generated at the top of such a high building? I really had not. Then I opened the shutters for the first time and heard the wind howling eerily through the flat. Definitely close those shutters when you are sleeping.

3. Elevators

Probably the worst part. I never considered living on the 35th floor would mean many, many people getting off the elevator before me. While waiting for the elevator has probably never actually taken ten minutes, it sure feels like it. When taking the elevator uppwards, you have the agony of seeing all the floors you will halt at. Another one. And another one. And all the those glances while people get off the lift saying: poor you.

But it gets better. Just imagine the elevator does not work. In the week we have been here, it has already happened once. Thank God, I didn't have to leave the house in the morning. My boyfriend had to. His muscles still hurt.

So next time, when you are thinking about renting a tiny flat, which is cut in the strangest shape (because buildings these days have to be "ergodynamic") for a lot of money, just ask yourself this: is the view really worth it? Well, yeah, actually it is.