I shopped around when I returned to NC and moved to Hickory. I ended up picking these apartments, and I don't regret it for a second! This is my first five star review, and I think it's appropriate for a place you are happy to lay your head (if that goes wrong, so does pretty much everything else, ya know?). So, here's why I give the place 5 stars:
As far as I'm concerned, the most important two things in an apartment are the quality of the place and the quality of your neighbors/staff. As far as the insides of the apartments themselves go, I didn't find anything nicer in Hickory. There are some older ones (I live in a newer one) but I hear from the manager that they're currently doing some big renovation on all those to make them newer than mine (ugh, and I just moved in!). Though you can't pick 'em, my neighbors are awesome, too. Of those I've met, they're really kind and courteous, some are older (and have been living here like half my life) and a couple other nurses. Go nurses!
But in an apartment (especially a big community) you can have a hard time if things go wrong and the staff aren't responsive. Lord knows it's happened to me. On this score, JD and Beth are all stars. Super sweet and caring and they're good about sending maintenance to help me out when I think something's broken and it turns out that I'm just doing it wrong (derp!). I heard the woman that was here before my time was harder to get along with, but I never met her so who knows. Unless I invent a time machine and use it just to go back and live in the same place just in an earlier time (rather than striking it rich and moving to a mansion), that's not my problem.
I'm also a sucker for nature and peace and quiet, and Argyle has it in spades. It's laid out in a way that I haven't seen before in places I've lived or looked at, with a winding road and curving lines, instead of the sort of rectangular apartment blocks I've seen in Hickory and, especially, lived in elsewhere that look like fancied up versions of soviet housing--no character in those places, but here there is character to spare (but I digress....). The trees give shade and protection from the noise of the city, and there's a nice walking trail that I go on when I need to cool my mind or get a little exercise, both of which I probably ought to do a little more often...
My only quibble is that I wish the pool were a bit bigger. It's great to sit around or take a dip in on a hot day, but it's not really long enough to swim laps. Though, since I'm a slacker about getting exercise, maybe it's a good thing, so I don't have to feel so guilty about not doing laps ;)
Long story short: settling on Argyle was part of what made me happy that I moved to Hickory. And I took so much time writing what must be my longest review ever because they have taken the time to make me feel at home. read more