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Few people don’t crave a luxurious lifestyle, but what exactly does that mean? What constitutes living in the lap of luxury to one person may be totally different for another, and so perhaps a brief look at what today’s consumer considers ‘luxury’ to mean might be helpful. Whether you are a real estate investor seeking to buy and lease out a group of highend apartments or a young professional seeking the ‘good things in life,’ there are some common characteristics that define a luxurious lifestyle. Here are a few of the most popular aspects of living in luxury.

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Location Isn’t Everything Anymore

It seems as though, as time passes, that old real estate mantra “location, location, location” is becoming less and less important to millennials seeking the ‘good life.’ While most young professionals want a nice neighborhood to raise their families in, they are no longer looking for ostentatious displays of wealth as in days gone by. They have come to learn that all that glitters isn’t gold and so they are willing to pay top dollar to live in areas that are ‘emerging’ in the luxury market.

Convenience Is Integral to a Luxurious Lifestyle

One of the most common characteristics of what was considered a luxurious lifestyle always seemed to be a community set apart from the masses. It was a gated community somewhere in the outskirts that consisted of oversized homes with exquisitely landscaped lawns and obvious signs of a landscaping crew on the job weekly if not daily. Those things are still important but toned down to a large degree. More important than seclusion is convenience. If a luxury apartment or single family dwelling is centrally located, that unit will almost always take the highest bidder.

Comfort Is the New Sign of Affluence

Which leads us to comfort. The main reason why convenience is so high up on the list of what constitutes luxurious living is the comfort it affords. Most people commute to and from their places of employment and that is anything but comfortable. With long drives in heavy traffic, sometimes in blistering heat or freezing arctic temperatures, that commute can literally be quite a challenge. Convenience is one of the key factors of comfort and since comfort is a sign of affluence, the two go hand in hand. However, comfort is also so much more than mere convenience. It’s having what you need, when you need it. Comfort in a luxurious lifestyle means what it takes to do more with less effort. That is comfort to today’s young professionals who spend the majority of their lives in the fast lane.

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Living with a Social Conscience

While it is true that a growing number of consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the havoc we are wreaking on Mother Earth, it seems like only the truly affluent are in a position to do anything about it. Few families can afford the luxury of installing solar power or alternatives to electric heat and cooling, so luxurious living means that where and how we choose to live our lives must not have a negative impact on the world around us.

It means having the luxury to live a sustainable lifestyle in a way that goes far beyond the basics of recycling and using energy efficient LED lighting. A truly luxurious home or apartment will therefore be constructed from sustainable materials, many of which are truly more expensive than traditional building materials. One example would be marble countertops as opposed to Formica.

Quality vs. Quantity

This new breed of successful professionals is beginning to understand that an outlandish show of having more isn’t really a sign of luxury. In fact, there are times when having more actually hinders luxurious living. Being bogged down with all the entrapments that were once a sign of luxury isn’t convenient and it certainly isn’t comfortable – two of the very most important aspects of a luxurious lifestyle. Having more than you could use kept you perpetually enslaved to those entrapments. With fewer things to maintain and protect, you actually have the luxury to enjoy life. Millennials are really the first generation to truly ‘get it.’

It’s the Experience that Counts

Finally, a luxurious lifestyle meets the need of today’s young professionals to experience more in life. It’s having time on your hands to travel to exotic locations as the mood strikes or to stay at home if that’s what you so desire. It’s having the luxury to sit back and enjoy the very life you are living rather than always living for what you have.

Perhaps a good way to look at experiential living is in the technology that surrounds us. From supersized flat screen TVs to state of the art gaming systems, it’s an experience of life that would otherwise be unavailable to you. It’s being able to pick up on a dime and travel to exotic locations or being able to through a soiree out back around your tiki bar or heated outdoor Jacuzzi. Luxurious living is having the wherewithal to experience life in ways the average blue collar worker just couldn’t justify.

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Luxury Is a State of Mind

Taking all of the above into consideration, in today’s world luxury is really a state of mind. Yes, it’s having nice things and living in a comfortable setting that is conveniently located. It’s having the time and money to do some of the things you would otherwise be unable to do and see. It’s having just what you need at hand when you need it but not so much that you spend the bulk of your time worrying about safety and security. At the end of the day, luxury is a state of mind.

It’s what makes you happy enough to enjoy what you have rather than always seeking more. High end apartments and real estate give you that and so much more. From onsite security to pools, saunas and service oriented concierges, a luxurious lifestyle enables you to enjoy what you have. That is luxury in the truest sense of the word and exactly what the affluent of today are after. It’s not a show of wealth but the enjoyment of what wealth has to offer.

Carol

Info sourced by the author for luxuryactivist.com. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.