I'm probably the least demanding apartment renter in the world. I don't care about amenities. I never go the club house, to the gym, to the pool, to use the picnic tables or grills, none of that. So, I'm not going to comment about that at all in my review.

What I judge an apartment on is pretty simple. Questions and answers below.

1. Is it in a convenient location'
Well, yes for me, as I own a car. There's two major highways, 285 and 75, both easy to get to. There's also back roads, and since I anti-commute the traffic isn't bad at all. There's some restaurants around, sit down and fast food both, convenient shopping, a nearby movie theatre, book store, groceries, a couple of gyms, a mall, pet store, video rental, etc. Pretty much everything I need routinely is within 5 miles of home. HOWEVER, if you don't have a car it's much less convenient. True, there's a big transit hub only about 2 miles from here, but unless you want to walk 2 miles each way that's not the most convenient. The nearest bus stop is door-to-stop, close to a mile from me.

2. Is it reasonably safe' I'm a poor judge of this. I don't know. I haven't gotten mugged. I haven't heard of anyone getting mugged. Nothing's happened to my car. It looks safe.

3. Is it well-priced in terms of size' When I was searching in summer of 2003 this was beyond anything the best value for the money in terms of space-for-dollar. Even with rent increases, it's not bad. For $960/month I have over 1300 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, top floor, fire place, sun room with vaulted ceilings and skylight, small balcony with storage room, W/D hookups, dishwasher. The master bedroom is bigger than in most apartments, a big consideration for me.

4. Is it noisy' Well, you have to understand here that my last apartment was RIGHT by an interstate. The one before that was 2 miles from an air force base. Before that, it was in college-infested areas, and before that, right under the flight path of an airport. Here's not so bad but might be loud for some. There's the train, which runs through Smyrna, that you can hear. How loud depends on where you are, I don't even notice it. I don't think there's highway noise, but maybe buildings closer to the front get it, I'm not sure. The apartments are older, so sound travels more. And they allow large dogs, so if you're unlucky, you can get a barker. That said, though occasionally I'll hear my neighbor turning up a football game, or base reverberating from below, I don't consider it too bad. Not near as silent as my old super-insulated apartment, but not awful.

5. Are things falling apart and if so, are they fixed' Well, not usually falling apart, but it's an older property and it shows. Things are a little more worn. I rarely call maintenance unless things are really bad. I had them fix a leaky dishwasher within a day or two, and a totally leaking toilet within a day or two, and that's about it. Given that I have two bathrooms and one person, this was reasonable response time. They come by to inspect the fireplace and change filters, and they replaced my sink once as routine maintenance. The maintenance people I've encountered have all been very pleasant.

So those are my big criteria. Other things.

The parking is fine, no assigned spots, and there's little lots scattered about. There's always space, it's just that the first little spot you want might be taken, but honestly, I've only had a problem once in a year and a half.

There's a lot of roadways to walk as the complex is big, if you're a walker or runner. There's varied terrain with the hills. You'll be going on the roadways, though, as there's not a big dedicated walking trail or anything. And if you wanted to hike the vast distance to a bus stop, don't count on sidewalks. There aren't any.

For amenities, I really don't know. About once or twice a month they're holding events: potluck dinners, movie nights, karaoke, and so forth. Never been. There's grills, picnic tables, swings, and a duck pond that people fish in. The ducks are very cute, in their season. There's a fitness center that I haven't been to once. When I originally saw it, it didn't impress me with the number of machines, but it wasn't horrid and was better than my last place. The pool is nice with a mini-waterfall and windy, but tends to clog up with the leaves. And there are tennis courts I've never used but I'm sure they work. Oh, and a car wash, that was shut down for like a YEAR it seemed for repair, it has four hoses around it you can use to wash your car, and a good drain, kind of convenient.

I like the grounds, they're quite wooded and rolling hills, and the grounds themselves are kept clean. They plant pretty flowers and such out front. However, as of the past 6 months there has been a HUGE problem with the trash dumpster area, where people drop off their trash. It's not being collected enough and you get ugly mounds of garbage overflowing the sides of it, and it's a hideous eyesore, it's really awful, it's what I hate worst about the place.

BOTTOM LINE: If you have a car, and want a reasonably priced place that's big, and aren't particularly concerned about amenities, it's a great place. I'm not saying the amenities are bad, mind you, I just don't use them so I can't vouch for them. Just, beware of the hideously ugly trash area. Eww.

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