Of the numerous apartments I have lived in in my life, this one was by far the worst.
One of the biggest problem for me was cheap construction in the units. I could not see this when I toured the place, but after I lived there a little while it became obvious. Most of these issues are mere annoyances like cheap shower doors that break easily and cheap light fixtures that burn out bulbs at an alarming rate, or small windows that create a lack of natural light and do not allow for any air flow in the living space. However, the big issue for me was the complete lack of sound insulation between apartments. The tenants above us had a small child who was often up late running and jumping around (as a child should be able to do in his home). This sounded like a stampede in our apartment and woke my own child on more than one occasion. We also had a room next to the stairs and could hear every person coming up and down at all hours of the day and night.
Though hard to believe, there is zero effort to recycle anything within the complex. They have a huge trash compactor, and when I arrived I was told by three different employees that any recycling put in the compactor would get sorted out by the trash company and recycled. Because I am not completely clueless, I challenged them on this ridiculous claim and when I finally called the trash removal company to prove to them that NOTHING was being recycled, they decided to do nothing about it. For those who already live there, know that nothing is getting recycled, but that there is a recycling center nearby called Wachusett Watershed Regional Recycling Center where you can take your recyclables if you are feeling socially responsible.
Another thing that really bothered me is the complete lack of green space for recreation. There are a few strips of lawn that are maybe 10 feet by 50 feet. This isn't much space to kick a soccer ball or play tag, though there is usually too much dog poop on the grass to actually use this space anyway. The result is that kids wander nearer and nearer the parking lot. I would cringe every time I saw kids out there because people fly through the parking lot in their cars (probably because there are no speed bumps, stop signs or speed limits within the parking areas). There is a "playground", though it is a sad little thing hidden at the bottom of a space that looks like a pit. I never saw a child playing there. There is also a swimming pool, which is small and over crowded in the summer. For social space, there is a "lounge" in the main building; I never even once saw a person in there. There is a fitness room where I sometimes saw people, working out with headphones on as is normal. And there is a "patio" with a grill, where I sometimes saw people cooking up a plate of burgers, likely to bring home to eat because nobody is allowed to use a grill. That's right; you cannot use your own grill here.
The most insulting thing for me was seeing my first water bill. In Massachusetts, apartment owners can charge their own rate for water/sewer access so long as they monitor each apartment separately and use "low flow" fixtures. The low flow fixtures in our apartment were, of course, the least efficient allowed and I often wondered if they really were what they said they were. But I never got around to checking because I was too busy trying to find a better place to live. Anyway, the short of it is that three different people told me that their WATER BILL WAS OVER $100. Water! I ended up in a 4 bedroom house in the same town after I left and I pay about $35 on average, despite using more water than I did in that apartment. I find it appalling that anyone would want to over charge for such a basic necessity.
Finally, I was really disappointed in the staff who run this place. When I was in contact with them about moving in, they were actually pretty helpful, but literally the same day that I moved in everything changed and getting help with anything became a struggle. I found the manager to be particularly unhelpful, though nobody on the staff made me feel like they were really there to do anything concrete to improve the standard of living.
So, yes. This place was worse than the overcrowded dump I lived in when I was in college, worse than the tiny, over-priced apartment I had in Manhattan. If I had it to do again, I would definitely find something else. read more
