***UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2018***…read more
I'm putting the finishing touches on this review on my balcony on a beautiful, quiet Saturday morning with coffee in hand and birds chirping in the trees nearby.
I've been living at Chadwick Village for almost 10 years now and I'm pleased to say that I'm generally pretty happy here, at least for three seasons per year (more on that in a moment.) Lindenwold has a well-deserved reputation for having some of the WORST apartment complexes in the area. Fortunately for me, Chadwick Village is the exception to the rule, an island in a sea of complexes whose sole purpose seems to be the continued employment of the Lindenwold Police Department.
My spacious 2BR unit has 1.5 baths, 2 large walk-in closets, a FULL eat-in kitchen, a large living room, good sized linen and coat closets, a sizable balcony, plenty of electrical outlets and the rent ($1,035/month) includes heat/hot water/gas.
Both bedrooms are large enough to be considered the "master" bedroom. One has a half-bath and the other has a sliding door leading to the balcony. Which one you choose to be the "master" is up to you.
From a quality of life point of view it's a decent place to live. It's quiet, safe and I have never had the least bit of trouble in terms of crime or mischief. Parking is never a problem and my neighbors are friendly but not too friendly. The grounds aren't elaborate but they're tidy and well maintained.
Management is generally responsive and the maintenance people have always been quick and happy to help. I've always treated the maintenance people nicely and they've responded in kind.
CV is an older complex and it shows. That's not necessarily a bad thing but if you're looking for snazzy and new then look elsewhere. It's considerably smaller than most of the other complexes in the area, which is one of the things I like about it.
The kitchens are a bit outdated and the cabinets could be much nicer but it has a gas stove & oven, dishwasher and garbage disposal. There are no washers or dryers in the units but they recently upgraded the on site facilities to new card operated washers and dryers which seem to do a good job. Plus there's a nice laundromat next to Walgreens (right across the street) for those who'd prefer to do their laundry elsewhere.
My only real problem has been with the central air conditioning. They put the same size units in all of the apartments, regardless of size or location. While the unit in my apartment might be sufficient for a 1BR on the 1st floor, it's completely inadequate for my upstairs 2BR unit (which faces the sun in the afternoon, making it very uncomfortable.)
Using the oven during the summer is simply out of the question unless the outside temperature is low enough that you don't need the AC on in the first place(!) Ditto for a buddy of mine who moved into an identical upstairs 2BR apartment earlier this year. His apartment, like mine, is a summer sweatbox.
The AC units in many of the upstairs 2BR apartments are simply undersized for the job. Several years ago I finally gave in and purchased my own AC unit. It's a portable, free-standing unit (not a window unit) that I vent outside through a window. Between that and putting reflective film on the windows it's enough with the central AC to adequately cool my apartment on only the mildest of summer days. Once the temperature hits the mid to high 80's the central AC has to run pretty much constantly and even then it fails to do the job.
After many years of complaining and many hundreds of dollars wasted on obscenely high Atlantic Electric bills CV finally installed a new AV unit but sadly it's only made a degree or two difference.
If you're in an upstairs 2BR then you might best think of it as a three season apartment. Yes, it's that bad.
The other minor annoyance is seasonal ants in the kitchen and bathroom and bee/wasp nests in the soffits over the balcony. On the plus side I've never seen a single roach since I've been here (we've all heard horror stories about bugs in apartments) so all things considered I feel pretty lucky that I only have some ants and bees to contend with for a few months a year.
Apartment living is always a compromise, it's largely what you make of it. Chadwick Village isn't fancy: no pool, no health club, no outside storage, no amenities of any kind but it is without a doubt the best bang you can get for your buck, at least from autumn through spring.
All in all, if you're looking for a spacious, comfortable, SAFE place to live for a great price and don't mind central AC that's AC in name only then you won't find a better apartment complex to call home. Especially in Lindenwold!