My husband and I moved in here shortly after I obtained a job in CT, when his job was literally just down the hill from Meadow Ridge. We originally moved in with intent to live here for just a couple of years, but are only moving out just now, with the housing market being much more affordable. Several other residents are also following us in this regard, so their departure may not have much to do with satisfaction as opportunity.
The rent does go up every year. We are currently paying the equivalent of $1100.00 per month; we had started at $1040.00 / mo, counting landscaping/water/snow removal. Since the leasing company was purchased by another company this past winter, we're concerned that the rent may go up again this winter, by much much more, and are upgrading to our first house, with a mortgage of about $400/month more, for a lot more square footage plus an attached garage (as I mentioned - opportunity).
Some things you might want to know before considering moving in here:
Perks/Pros - Dodd Stadium is just uphill. We have an upper floor apartment, on an endcap, facing the stadium. At every Friday night home game, the local baseball team has a fireworks show. You can get a GREAT view of the fireworks from the bedroom window, free, from our apartment. If you don't like loud noises on Friday nights at around 9pm, you might want to reconsider.
Pool access - you can do your laundry, and take a dip in the pool afterward, no charge for pool access. Just note that the laundry/pool is shared between both Meadow Ridge and Cambridge Estates. Avoid holidays if you can, go in the late morning, or late afternoon, and you'll avoid crowds at poolside.
Laundry is really just walking distance for us. Not even a block or two of driving, for Meadow Ridge residents.
Easy access to Route 2, Route 32, and I-395. Quick commute to gas stations, food shopping, and hospital.
Central Air Conditioning, Gas heat.
Occasional community days, either at Dodd Stadium, or elsewhere. Fliers are posted in advance.
Negatives: The apartment has had a recurring silverfish problem, despite maintenance coming in to exterminate once in a while. Storm damage to siding has been stapled back into place, but took a while for maintenance to get to - there are still roof tiles missing from winter storms from 2 years ago in places. Snow removal is posted about in the lease - residents are expected to park on the street (and dig themselves out when the town plows them in) so the apartments can be plowed, but there's no guarantee that the apartment's plow people will arrive before the town does, so it's a matter of timing it just right. Our apartment has a structural issue with one window - the opening is slightly lopsided, which allows heat or AC to slip out, and pushes our utility bills up in the summer/winter. And one toilet does not flush properly, no matter how many times the maintenance guys come over to fix it... so we mostly use just the one bathroom.
We've had some good neighbors, and some bad ones. The bad ones were gone in under a year. There are several families in the area, and it's very safe - a state police officer does currently live in these apartments, and other officers are known to patrol the area.
You might also get a glimpse of wildlife around here too: Occasional deer, wild turkey, foxes, at least 1 beaver, plenty of redtail hawks, chipmunks, and a few skunks. The business park this area is in has a feral cat population, and the pet policy allows feline tenants ($250/yr is prohibitive for us), but I would not advise allowing them outside.
Overall, not bad for a starter apartment, could always use some improvement. Never had a problem with the management (very friendly and helpful), and the average renter in our part of the complex generally tends to stay for 2-3 years, tops, with a few exceptions.

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