As an attorney who does a lot of landlord tenant law (on the side of the tenant)
1. “Luxury apartments” are a nonsense designation - it does not actually mean anything *materially.* There is no agreed-upon industry standard for what constitutes “luxury.”
2. Apartments are apartments. You are still renting from someone, and contrary to most advocates for renting, you are not saving money in any way comparable to owning either a home or a condo. You are literally producing profit for the property owner, and property management companies they hire as agents.
3. The amenities, design, safety, and size are the only things that really matter - alongside the responsiveness of on-sight staff and reasonable asks. I’ve seen “luxury” apartments in every major city in the U.S. that are standard fare in every way except price. Paying more without having a gym, pool, social area, security, garage, 24 hour maintenance, balcony, fairly new appliances, or proper heating and cooling is just being a victim.
4. One really important thing to check before you move into a place are the eviction and lawsuit histories of a given property management company/landlord. They should be available on your local municipal court or court of Common Pleas case information site - if you see a large number of evictions by that PMc or landlord: they are not a good company and should be avoided unless their prices are below local AMI.