At first glance, this place looks fine. It has a pool and although small, it has a weight room/gym area or "club house" type place, which is nice. The grounds are kept up well. But that's the guise.
Several things to know before you move here:
--There is NO parking ANYWHERE after 6pm. All of the parking spots are taken and you have to drive around aimlessly to find street parking, sometimes into other neighborhoods at least 0.5 miles away, sometimes more. There aren't a lot of sidewalks either, so when you have to walk in the street at night in the dark... yeah I feel really unsafe. It used to be fairly easy to find a spot a block away, but for reasons unknown, they've eliminated parking on the other ENTIRE half of the street, which seemed like the dumbest thing they could have done (probably not due to Parkside, but it's still super frustrating).
--People here are really inconsiderate. They don't use the trash bins (they even PROVIDE them. Seriously people, you don't even have to buy your own) and whatever food that has turned into a smelly, rotting sludge leaks and seeps all over the sidewalk. Stray cats get into them and before you know it, there's trash all over the place. Disgusting. People also don't secure their recycling (and for some reason, it's like a wind tunnel here)...I can always tell when recycling day is because the streets and people's lawns are covered in trash, plastic bags in the trees, etc. It just looks really bad.
--Like I mentioned in the previous point, there are stray cats here. A lot. They fight, you can always hear them screaming and they get into people's trash. Egh. I love cats, don't get me wrong, but they are a nuisance here.
-To go along with the inconsiderate people point- the kids in this neighborhood just run around into other people's backyards screaming their heads off all the time. It's really REALLY annoying. They opened my back gate, made noise and trashed the plants on my patio a few times. I haven't gotten a lock or anything because I'm renting, but I just don't keep anything out there anymore. (I'm moving soon, thank GOD!) I've found candy wrappers and other stuff there too. Where are the parents? They just let their bratty little kids run around onto other people's property and they don't care.
--Since I'm renting, I don't have to deal with the HOA (thankfully!) but I've heard that they are extremely unpleasant to work with. I complained only one time about the trash situation and they tried to cite us for the trash that blew into our property from other people's recycling. I haven't complained about anything since because it's clear to me that they don't care what you say. As long as they get their money.
If it wasn't for my lovely roommates, I would have been long gone by now. But I am sticking around for a little while longer, just for them. I haven't lived elsewhere in Sterling, but I would avoid this place unless you like being a garbage person or wearing ear plugs all day. Or like walking in the street in the pitch blackness. This place is like a suburban nightmare. read more
