> For me, having a home office, home computer lab, gardening, astronomy, hiking, casual birdwatching, and turning pieces of wood and metal into sawdust and metal chips are all important and completely incompatible with apartment living.
Good question. Of all my interests, hiking is the most compatible with apartment living. :-) When I was living in an apartment, the usual problem was finding a place to store equipment. I eventually gave up and found a way to semi-permanently stage my kit in my car. This made it easier to have a grumpy moment and flee to a trailhead.
Why is hiking incompatible with apartment living?