Dubai, UAE: ‘I’d have to be sick down a rubbish chute’

I lived on the 43rd floor in the United Arab Emirates; now I live in a cottage in the Highlands. There was definitely something splendid about looking out across the sea, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to run up the stairs, I would usually get to about 23rd or 24th floor and have to be sick down a rubbish chute. (remay)

Taipei, Taiwan: ‘Regular quakes would make the towers sway’



I lived on the 14th floor in a tower block of apartments in Taiwan – named by the expats who lived in the area as “Fawlty Towers”, not just because of the number of Brits in residence, but because of its location on a notorious earthquake fault line. Regular quakes would make the towers sway and was always totally unnerving. The flat had three epic balconies, none of which I ever dared sit out on.

Other than living in mortal fear of the “big one”, life was very peaceful; bugs only travel up in the lifts (so not too many) and we had a community karaoke room in the complex ... what’s not to love? (Jody Bobble)

Northampton, UK: ‘Stuff from the floors above lands on my balcony’

I live on the third floor of a eight-storey apartment block. One thing I hadn’t taken into consideration was the amount of stuff that is either blown or thrown from the floors above, all of which inevitably lands on my balcony. The frequency at which items appear seems related to the weather, so I eagerly await the summer. To date I have received: two lighters, one pink thong, a singular sandal, a clothes peg, someone’s grammar homework, one rather angsty note to a girl named Amelia who “stole Connor” and last but not least ... a puddle of vomit. (Kat Harrold)

Los Angeles, US: ‘Our building rolled with the earthquake’

As I sat on the 22nd (top) floor of a Los Angeles high-rise, I also sat on the Earthquake Preparedness Committee, a joint venture between the government of the State of California and the government of Japan.

It was a wild ride when a 6.5 quake hit, but of course our building like all others built according to the codes established after the devastating 1971 San Fernando earthquake “rolled with” the quake. You may not have kept your balance, but the structure would remain intact, up to a point. (MelRoy)

Tehran, Iran: ‘The lives of citizens have been changed’

Tehran has seen a ‘rapid conversion of city buildings to high-rises’. Photograph: Goran Erfani/GuardianWitness

I took this image at the north of Tehran, to show how over recent decades, the city has been transformed from a city of predominantly low-rise housing to a metropolis of medium- and high-rise buildings. The majority of one- and two-storey buildings have been converted to five- and six-storey constructions or higher. By this rapid conversion of city buildings to high-rises, the lives of citizens have also changed. (Goran Erfani)

Bangkok, Thailand: ‘The wind howls when the balcony doors open’

‘Incoming storms in Bangkok look scarier than those on camera.’ Photograph: ID3732233/GuardianWitness

View from a mid-level condo at The River in Bangkok. Incoming storms look scarier than those on camera. The sunshine disappears, the view darkens, the wind howls when you open the balcony doors. Finally the pelting rain and traffic below slows to a crawl. Twenty minutes later, the sun reappears and life returns to normal. (ID3732233)

New York, US: ‘My daughter watched people jump on 9/11’

As an elevator mechanic in NYC I have been up and down all over the city. With anything, repetition breeds complacency and being 50 storeys above everyone can lose its lustre after a while. But there are those days when the weather is right and the time of day lends a nice sheen to a stunning sight. This is a view looking south from Grand Central Station from about 60 storeys up. (Damien B)

Looking south from Grand Central Station from 60 stories up, New York. Photograph: Damien B/GuardianWitness

I used to have an office in one of the upper floors of the old World Trade Center, the twin towers. It was fun to look down on small aeroplanes flying along the Hudson river, but the movement of the building on a windy day made one slightly queasy. All the upper elevator passengers had to change elevators at the 72nd floor “sky lobby” which created a huge bottleneck. After the 1993 bombing I concluded the building wasn’t safe and I moved out.

Its funny how much of my life was tied up in the World Trade Center. I was always in and out of the building when government agencies had offices there. I was married there in the chambers of a friend who was a judge, and the wedding lunch was at Windows on the World.

My daughter moved into her husband’s apartment 600 ft from the south tower and had to flee into the black cloud on 9/11 with my infant grandson while watching people jump. It’s still traumatic for her. For months afterwards we could look down into the holes from her living room, smell the awful smell and watch the fire trucks removing bodies. (outfitter)

Hong Kong: ‘I awoke to find we were in a cloud one morning’

A cleaner dwarfed by high-rises in Hong Kong. Photograph: ID3704786/GuardianWitness

‘I live on the 40th floor. I could stare at the view for hours.’ Photograph: Tom Odlin/GuardianWitness

‘Hong Kong is about high-rise voyeurism.’ Photograph: Adam Fitzgerald/GuardianWitness

This is taken from my 46th-floor apartment in Sheung Wan. It’s a bit of a myth that skyscraper living means solitude. In Hong Kong there’s always a neighbouring building which is even taller and right next door. They can see into our lounge and we can definitely see what they’re up to! (Adam Fitzgerald)

Spent several months somewhere above floor 60 in the Hong Kong Conrad, working for a bank next door. Awoke to find we were in a cloud one morning ... and the city in lock-down. A typhoon was passing through, the building gently swaying absorbing the extra stress. Someone ignored the police ruling to stay indoors and was killed by street furniture. (neutralpaddy)

In Hong Kong I lived on the 42nd floor – people on the street below looked like ants, and it never got really dark, the light from other tall buildings and streets made it hard to sleep. I had a tremendous view, but quite a few times I felt queasy – later I realised it was motion sickness as the building swayed in the wind. Consequently I would never buy any property above eight floors high. (RomulusX)

Bristol, UK: ‘High-rises have impacts on the street level’

‘Life in high-rise has effects when you hit the street. These people are waiting for a bus but rather than interact many of them are on their phone.’ Photograph: colinmoody319/GuardianWitness

Malmö, Sweden: ‘It’s lovely and peaceful’

I love living on the 14th floor in our 52-floor high-rise in Malmo, Sweden. Never thought I would want to live in a high building, but I so love my views of the city now and it is lovely and peaceful – except, of course, when there’s a storm on. Then it gets noisy, but you get used to it. (elsinoresj)

Szolnok, Hungary: ‘The hare was hanging from a window’

‘Perhaps the fridge was full.’

I lived in a panelák apartment building in Szolnok in 1994-95. Just before Christmas 1994, I came across this sight as I was heading for the back entrance of the block. The hare was hanging from a first floor kitchen window. Perhaps the fridge was full.

Szolnok sits on the Tisza river, but there is also the dead Tisza, which is an ox bow lake and a massive mosquito breeding ground. At ground level, they were a nightmare, but on the sixth floor, where I lived, I could sleep with the windows open as for some reason they didn’t seem to like heights. (klokan)

London, UK: ‘It was like being in an island in the sky’

I lived in Erno Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower on the 21st floor. It was like being in an island in the sky. When the fog was thick, it would blow up the building. You could lie with your head at the floor-to-ceiling window in the lounge and feel that the flat was forever falling through the clouds. I remember watching a kestrel court with its mate, swooping down and nearly hitting her, as she stood on the roof wall of a 15-storey block. A wonderful life, but now it is to be all privatised by HARCA. Social housing becoming luxury flats for the super rich. (slowsnail2007)

Sheffield, UK: ‘The toilet water sloshed around when it got windy’

‘For me and my mate James, tall buildings are great for one thing.’ Photograph: Craig Skinner/GuardianWitness

When we were newly married in 1980 we lived on the 15th floor in Sheffield’s massive Norfolk Park estate. We suffered pity and snobbery from our friends and workmates but we loved the flat with its light, spaciousness and views. The water in the toilet used to slosh around when it got windy and I’m convinced this gentle motion used to aid the fermentation of my home brewed beer. The lift only went to the 14th floor which was impractical for the prams of the day and so we were rehoused in a council house with a big garden. A lot of social housing in the city is now owned by private landlords. We loved our flat and often look back fondly on those days. (Graham Jones)

Tokyo, Japan: ‘My ears pop getting to the office’

I’m reminded of the altitude of my office as my ears pop getting there.

The panoramas are mind expanding, encompassing Mount Fuji to the right to Haneda, Chiba, a royal garden, and Sky Tree on the left, which all take on different personas with changes in the light, cloud cover and seasons. I feel as if in the realm of the gods, like on a mountain top, especially in thunderstorms.

I try to work more from paper now and sit near the window, simply to disentangle myself from the black-mirrored monitors, which mysteriously fixate for hours on end with their static, unremitting glow. The change in job was very refreshing after the previous stuffy, over-lit office with permanently closed blinds – what’s the point of windows?

The negatives? I really, really want to open the windows and feel the breeze, and am not too excited about what will happen when the “big one” – increasingly likely – hits! (Tom Hamilton)

Leeds, UK: ‘Stereotypes are far off the mark’

I live in a 14-storey building of modern (but affordable) flats in the centre of Leeds. I find the stereotype that high-rise living promotes anti-social tendencies to be far off the mark.

Living in a flat block might seem like an exercise in isolationism, but in practise it’s more like peaceful coexistence. There’s no chance of being broken into, there’s a concierge who handles all post and deliveries to keep them safe. The one time a boiler several floors above sprung a leak and filtered down into our flat, everyone living above was incredibly cooperative and helpful in getting it sorted out. And the best part is having everything in the city centre in walking distance.

I suspect a lot of people’s negative impressions are caught either in memories of 1960s social developments gone wrong, concrete utopia descending into brutalist dystopia, or stereotypes of rich people living in penthouses. Outside London, in student-heavy cities like Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield, there are increasing numbers of ordinary professionals living together in modern flat buildings. And actually, it’s not half bad. (Jack Moss)

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