Miami apartment dweller reveals the biggest downside of living in a high-rise: 'I was successfully deinfluenced'

Skyscrapers may be glamorous, but they sure can be inconvenient as well.

Tall buildings have become an unavoidable part of every major city skyline in the past century and a half, to the point that it is kind of weird to imagine urban life without them. It's hard to believe nowadays, but the building that is commonly considered to be the very first skyscraper was only 10 stories tall. Things have only gone upwards from there on out.

Although they seem to be a fact of life at this point, it is important to remember that living or working that close to the clouds is a very recent development in human history. As a result, we don't exactly have all the creases ironed out yet. There are plenty of horror stories about very tall, unbelievably expensive buildings that simply haven't been designed that well. Think 432 Park Avenue in New York, where residents have sued due to severe defects like excessive swaying, structural failures, and an explosively loud garbage chute. Then there's the case of 20 Fenchurch Street, otherwise known as the Walkie-Talkie, in London, which had to be redesigned after it reflected sunlight so strongly that it damaged cars and caused fires.

In short, there is usually a price to pay if engineers and architects do not thoroughly think through the logistics of making such big and impressive buildings a reality. Those who pay the price for that are the ones who use them every day and quickly figure out what they could have done better.