Hands down one of the worst places to visit and/ or live in the state of Ohio, possibly the Mid-West. Why, you ask? Buckle up! Time for some real talk.
Let's begin with the infrastructure. The roads are unkempt for the amount of money that they are bringing in from the HOA fees. There are huge pot holes throughout the community, the roads are not well salted during the winter, and if a board member doesn't live on a side street- it's gravel and definitely not treated during winter months. It must be hard to keep up the roads when they're too busy using that money for lining the board members pockets and purchasing stupid decorations and rocks, rather than for betterment of the community. The board members are all friends and literally have no concern for the actual "community." Rather, they waste community money on things such as, but not limited to: rocks, Christmas lights/decorations (heads up~ not everyone celebrates Christmas; way to be exclusive and unwelcoming during the holiday season), an unnecessary fence by the front gate, having a call box to cut back employee costs yet still keeping someone in the truck throughout the night despite the gate house being closed, 2 changeable flexible letter signs at the back gate, and the list goes on. The lack of financial control in this community is disgusting, and if looked into enough by the right person, could probably blow a big scandal out in the open air of Amish country.
In addition to the mishandling of finances in the community, most of the employees and board members (especially Anna Gibson) are cantankerous, boorish, patronizing, judgemental, and overall a bad representation of what could be a great place and community. There are a few good apples mixed in there, but they are few an far between. Better hope you never have to go to the office for anything. There you'll encounter Anna Gibson for yourself; get ready for the one of the rudest people you have literally ever met. She, and the rest of the board, is 100% unwilling to work with you if you have any sort of financial issues. On that note, they will come to your home, harass you, and verbally threaten you if you cannot pay all your dues in full. If you ask to set up any sort of payment plan, they refuse. They will ensure that your gate card is disconnected so you cannot get access to your own home if you cannot pay the HOA fees in full, yet they still won't accept partial payments so that you can still get to your OWN house. Yes, you read that right, they will deny you access to your own home, that you paid for, that you OWN- totally messed up...
Now, let's talk about "community events." They have a few sprinkled throughout the year that are mostly centered around Christian holidays. Hope you're not Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or have any other religious beliefs/affiliations, because your beliefs/religious followings are obviously not respected or acknowledged by Cinnamon Lake Associate. So much so, that they have a Christmas light decorating contest in December, and the winner has their HOA fees waived for some duration of time (gee, wonder who the winner of that was? Board member or friend of a member?). Real inclusive of *all* members of the community, huh?
Now, there are some sporting related community events, and if you're not into that, there is the chance of playing some Euchre or Bridge. However, if you're not into those either, there essentially nothing to participate in. In the situation that you do attend an event, brace yourself for the same clique-like scenarios from middle and high school (side eye, nose snubbing, and under the breath gossiping included!).
Onto environmental standards~ if you love nature, animals, and country living, you won't find any of that inside the gates, unless your looking out wishfully at the Amish on the other side of the CLA barrier. Sure it may look pleasant, but in actuality there is no sense of actual sustainability or environmental friendliness. They have lights on at all hours of the day and night at mail houses, the front gate, the back gate, etc. Not to mention, that they completely demolished a bunch of wild flowers, berry bushes, trees that the buzzards use to roost in during the spring and summer, and other plant life throughout the community for the sake of.. grass and "the aesthetic flow of the community." Because more grass is what everyone loves looking at and totally helps with the lowering of CO2 in the environment (heavy sarcasm intended). As a heads up, while on the topic of grass, they will fine you if you don't have your grass cut down to their standards, despite multiple articles and studies showing that short grass and not raking fallen leaves is better for the environment and local ecosystems. Granted, they do plant flowers, but the flowers are not indigenous to the area (or state for that matter) and are considered invasive species.
Pick anywhere to move/visit but inside the gates of Hell, erm, Cinnamon Lake. read more
