I love living at Windom Gables. It has a very tight community feel. I wouldn't move out unless I found something better, which has so far proven impossible in the area. It has some issues, though.
If you don't have kids, it's kind of a trip and it's frequently really funny. Herds of 10-20 children roam the grounds, screaming and shouting from sunrise to well after sunset in the summer. It does not matter if it's raining. One little boy used to go door to door trying to sell strange drawings of Jesus, another asks me at least once a week for money. Once he and a group of friends knocked on my door to ask me how much I made a year. he's maybe six years old. Some of the children have no supervision at all, while others have parents that shout for their children every 10 minutes, all day, everyday, without exception.
Because of the bewildering number of children present you will find no shortage of toys, snacks and fresh, weird garbage on your steps and in your window sill. You'll find piles of unwashed socks and unfinished art projects. I once found a weird, half smashed clay man left on my door mat, standing front and center like some bizarre sacrifice. There is a woman who walks around with cart to clean things up. She has no idea who leaves what where. I sometimes wonder if she just assumes all of the garbage on our stoop is ours, despite the fact that no sane, childless adult would ever have anything to do with most of it. She's never been anything but friendly and courteous, however, and she does a great job.
Now to the adults. As with any apartment or town-home complex anywhere on the entire planet, you'll find that some of your neighbors are completely indifferent to the needs of those around them. They sit outside all night, loudly talking and drinking, sometimes until the sun rises and the kids start up again. They sing, bicker and listen to music in the beautiful privacy of the 'patios' that are provided for each unit. These are located on the back of the town-homes, and are no more than six feet from one another, which situates them just below, and slightly to the side of, your neighbor's bedroom window. There is no insulation in the windows, so it sounds as if they are standing inside your bedroom, leaning over your bed.
It's sometimes hilarious, as you can clearly make out everything that is said, even whispered, clearly. If you are a voyeur, you might really like it. Sadly, I am not. I really value my sleep, and this in the one thing that really gets to me about living here. If it ended at 1:00 AM, I would be 100% OK with it it, but it usually doesn't. I think the 10:00 PM rule is a little much, and would rather see the 'curfew' pushed back to 12 or 1, and actually enforced.
The walls themselves are very well insulated. I can't hear anything from inside the other units unless it's in the basement, and then it's never much of anything.
The pool is tiny and over chlorinated, but you'd be a crazy person to try to use it as an adult except very early in the year and very early in the morning. It is completely overrun with children with either poor supervision, or no supervision. I jumped in once and nearly drowned after I came to realized that the substance I could feel covering by body, wrapping itself around my fingers and toes, and weaving itself through my eyelashes, was human hair. Just tons of it. Afterwards, on my way out of the pool a toddler in the deep end, in a floaty thing, with no adult other than me within ten feet, threw a pair of goggles at my head.
Management is nice, and they are quick to come if you need anything. Rent is OK. Neither the highest or the lowest around.
Parking is total crap, as everyone seems to have at least three cars. The businesses nearby also park trucks in the cul-de-sacs, something that can't be helped by management as the parking is all city street parking. The parking nearest the freeway wall is used by not only Windom Gables but also by those who live over in the scary apartment building by the train tracks. The concept of getting one of the garages is a total joke.
The actual layout of the unit is great, except the lack of main floor closets. This is maybe a plus, if you like the look of your vacuums, brooms and coats. There is plenty of space otherwise, and you get enough light for plants.
Ultimately, the people who live here are great. And the children are often hilarious. The actual community of the place is something you won't find elsewhere easily. The management is awesome, as stated before. They keep everything plowed, and as clean as possible. There is also a community garden that looks amazing, and my understanding is that it's very cheap. You are close to a park, close to two (soon to be three) grocery stores, and near two major bus lines. read more
