Pauline Cary is a seasoned condo resident.
She and her husband moved into an 11th floor unit of a Calgary condominium in the mid-90s. The condo life proved to be a good fit for the couple.
"We had lived in a house in a nice area,'' she recalled.
"It just seemed to be a lot easier to live in a condo. We used to do a lot of travelling and you could just close your door and go in a condominium, whereas you couldn't do that in a house.''
Her husband, a former western regional sales manager for an electrical manufacturer, died in 2000. Cary continued condo life on her own.
The native Islander returned to P.E.I. set to carry on in a condo. In January, she became the first resident of The Northumberland, an upscale 44-unit, five-storey condominium that peers down on Pownal Street in Charlottetown.
Coincidentally, Cary, 69, went to St. Joseph's Convent (aka Rochford Square School) from Grades 1 to 12 on the very spot where the new condominium building now stands.
She finds appealing the openness of her third-floor unit, that spreads over 1,400-plus square feet, with large windows affording great views of towering old trees that envelope her portion of the building. Her condo also allows her to soak in Rochford Square from up above.
Cary has no qualms over the approximately $400,000 that the unit is costing her, along with a monthly service fee of close to $450. Her gut feeling, though, is that the building will take some time to fill up.
Only one-third of the units have been sold, including five of the eight penthouse suites, says Rachelle Kelly, vice-president of sales and marketing with The Northumberland.
The units range in price from $200,000 to $700,000 with monthly service fees running as high as $550.
"I think a lot of people thought it was pretty pricey in here," said Cary.
"The right people just have to walk in at the right time (and determine) this is what I want and this is the lifestyle that I want. And it's not for everybody."
Kelly said the current residents of The Northumberland are, for the most part, 50-plus, retired, and native Islanders who moved away and wanted to return home to P.E.I. They want a hassle-free lifestyle where outdoor chores, like shoveling snow, are no more than a distant memory.
Only one or two residents live in each unit.
"There are no families as yet," said Kelly. "Generally, that is not who is looking for (these condo units)."
Incidentally, word that big-name director Ron Howard was buying a unit at The Northumberland is just one of the many ill-founded rumours that has circulated around this major project.
"We would love to have Ron Howard," said Kelly.
The Northumberland rose up along Pownal Street roughly over the same period that the 24-unit condominium complex called Paoli's Wharf was being constructed on water's edge next to the Queen Charlotte Armouries and as the former YMCA building on Prince Street was being renovated into a 14-unit city-style loft condominium tagged The whY condos.
Kelly said the mini-condo boom in the capital city is simply a matter of the municipality playing catch-up with a lifestyle that has been commonplace for millions of people in other parts of the country and around the world.
She said one of the city's charms is that it is 10 years behind the times and that includes buying into the condo culture.
"They (Islanders) think 'what do you mean I'm going to buy an apartment (condo unit) and then still pay rent?'" she said. "That is how they see the condo fees."
Geraldine MacDonald, a retired nurse and native of Cardigan, views her overall cost as a reasonable price to pay for a safe, secure and luxurious home on the fifth floor of The Northumberland.
The concrete, steel and stone structure has a "very high" fire rating and is classified as a non-combustible building. Features include heated underground parking, high-speed elevators and high quality sound proofing.
"I've always taken pride in where I live," said MacDonald, who lived in a condo the past 20 years in Oakville, Ont.
"A nice place to live is important to me. I may not have the best of everything in the place and I may not travel the world, but I love my home. And I'm very happy here."
In Oakville, MacDonald's sixth floor unit of a 22-story condo complex looked out onto Lake Ontario. The view from her Northumberland unit, like most if not all of the other units in the complex, likely pale in comparison. Residents here look out on a far from stunning downtown cityscape of hotels, old homes, streets and sidewalks.
Yet MacDonald is not envious of the residents of Paoli's Wharf being surrounded by water.
"I mean once you're in your home, you're never going to sit down and just look at the water," she said.
Dave Power will tell you different.
Power, who bought the last available unit at Paoli's Wharf much earlier this year, was sold on the two roof-covered decks: one overlooks the yacht club and offers a front row seat to the sun rising; the other points towards the boardwalk to allow he and his wife, Fran, to take in the sun setting.
"To experience it from living here is quite different than just to say it looks nice (as you pass by)," said Power, who lived in a house on Scott Street in Charlottetown for the past 28 years. "Once you're here, it's much more beautiful."
Power, 67, a former RCMP officer who owns National Post Security Services with his son, knows his new property is a hot commodity.
Not only did all 24 units sell before the condo complex was completed, prospective buyers continue to line up. He has already been offered $50,000 more than he paid for his unit.
Many others have asked him how much he would take for it. He isn't looking to sell.
"I love it here," he said. "This is a place that really caught my eye from many perspectives."
