I just moved, in many ways to a better place. The move was a surprise to me, but I found a good new place, thanks to my social network. Now I'm in a place that's less treed, and farther out from the city, but closer to most of my work, and in many ways more suitable to walking/biking/carpooling. So hooray.
There is one thing that's bothering me - energy inefficiency/heat waste. My last place was a complex of 3-story buildings built in the late 40s/early 50s, with brick walls, radiators, and individual AC units. I live in the DC metro area, and work from home, so I do need a relatively hospitable environment. At my last place, I could for the most part get through winters without using the heat, and summers without turning on the AC. I'd dress warm in the winters, and go mostly naked in the summer, taking cold showers to cool down. I had windows on opposite sides, so I could set up a cross-draft for ventilation, and run the ceiling fans as needed.
My new place was built in the 70s, and it's far less energy efficient! It basically requires dependence on external heating/cooling systems. I only have windows on one side, so no cross-draft, the windows and patio doors are the original 70s single-pane energy wasters, and the foyer is open, so there's no energy buffer there. And what's making me crazy is that I haven't found a way to improve the situation yet.