As long time Pickwick residents, my sister & I have faced the good & the bad about living here. I hope this helps anyone who is considering renting an apartment or townhouse there.

My sister & I moved in while I was working nights & needed quiet during the day so I could sleep. Since then, I've continued to work odd hours, often on weekends, so the quiet is the #1 reason we are still renting here. In fact, the noise level is the absolute lowest of any apartment complex I've ever lived in.

The complex is single-story except for a few townhouse apartments. That, along with plenty of trees (real ones - not palms) gives most of Pickwick less of an apartment complex "feel". Our current apartment is in a cul-de-sac with lots of trees, which really helps lower our cooling bill in the summer. Many of the trees here are sycamores, great hurricane trees because they don't get huge limbs, just thinner branches. Sycamores shed an occasional branch in high winds instead of falling over.

The apartments are good sized; I've known bigger & smaller layouts. We are currently in a 3BR/2BA. Surprisingly, the kitchen is smaller than the one in the 2BR/2BA we had before, with a smaller pantry. Two of the bedrooms have walk-in closets, but don't expect to have much overall storage space. Yes, there is an outside storage room, but c'mon - this is Florida - what can you keep in there that won't get mold growing on it within 2 months' The 2BR/2BA apt. had the washer/dryer hook up out there, so at least it was good for something (only fits a stackable, btw). Also recommend using a stackable in the 3BR/2BA apt's hall closet hook up. Otherwise, you'll have room for little else. (The indoor heat/AC unit's in there too.)

Parking can be a real pain at times. Some buildings have plenty of spaces around them, while others do not. Also, trees aren't everywhere, so neighbors with plenty of parking space without shade will park wherever they can find it, no matter how far away from their building it is. There's nothing like coming home from a long day to find no place near your building to park.

Grounds upkeep is pretty good, but the people they've hired to do the mowing, trimming, etc. do their best work where it's most likely to be seen. You may have to let the rental office know if they slack off & don't take care of some things outside your building. Good thing is, the leasing office will make sure it gets done the following week.

Outdoor lighting is very good in some areas, not quite as good in others. If you report an outside light is out, they will fix it right away. I haven't heard of any attacks or break-ins, but (being female) I avoid going out alone at night. However, we are tucked into a good neighborhood & Pickwick is not seen from any major street. So I would rate the safety level about as high as you can get without having controlled access.

The appliances and kitchen & bathroom fixtures are okay, but nothing to crow about. Since moving into our current apartment, we had to have our fixtures replaced in our kitchen & both bathrooms, including the disposal. The refrigerator was also replaced as well as a burner on the stove. The toilet in the hall bathroom will clog sometimes too.

We also had problems with our heating & air conditioning. When we first moved into our 3BR/2BA, the entire unit had to be replaced, both the indoor & outdoor parts. Since then, the outdoor part had to be repaired twice, then replaced again. Since then, we've had no problem with it.

Obviously, maintenance is important. So there is something you need to know. Maintenance service is NOT available on the weekends. Yes, the leasing office says they will send someone out if it is an emergency. But please be aware that, to them, it's only an emergency if their property will be damaged. They will NOT send anyone if your stuff will be damaged or even if it will cause a real problem for you. Example: One time our hall toilet clogged after a friend got sick in it (out both ends). Sorry to be gross, but this happened around 6:00 p.m. Friday & no one came around to fix it until while we were at work on Monday.

Staff: Frida has retired, but her replacement was trained by her. It is too early to tell if any of the problems residents faced with Frida will continue, but we can hope for some improvement in that regard.

Some last things, as they occur to me... Pets are allowed, but you will pay a fee for each one, not a deposit. However, I'm a cat person, so I don't know about breed or weight limits for dogs. Carpets are not cleaned well & are left in apartments long after they should have been replaced. Pickwick has a lot of retirees living here, but not being retired myself, I can't say whether they get a senior citizens discount on their rent. If you are retired, you will need to ask their leasing office about it.

User Responses
From: len811	Date: 02/23/2009
NOISE is a matter of who the neighbors are. The walls are very thin. MAINTENANCE arrangements are changing, so hope for the best.
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/02/2009
Is Clifton still there? How 'bout Henderson?

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