SanDiegoDave,
Thanks for your comments. Yep, that’s why I preferred Madrid to Barcelona – Barcelona felt smaller, and like a townhome too.

We go to open houses in UTC/Renaisance/La Jolla Colony whenever they are large floorplans. I seem to have a problem with many townhomes floorplans though, with how they make use of space, and how much space they leave for flexibility in furnishing and still not feeling cramped. I liked the Vista La Jolla largest townhome one, but not the hefty $400 HOA. With Barcelona, Avanti and University Town Square, I was so-so. The tri-level usually bugs me as being a waste of space.
We may wait two years to buy, it all depends how things unravel…If the largest floorplan in Madrid drops to low 500K we’ll jump in…We seem to have stumbled over the ideal situation in which you rent in the very same community you plan to buy….