I have lived in a 3rd floor 1 bedroom apartment at Clover Ridge East for 2 years now. I did an extensive search throughout Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, and Palatine, and liked this place the best. First of all, the office staff do not play the games that some do, threatening the loss of a special if you do not sign that minute, or giving deals to some but not to others, as I found in most other places in this price range. You can go into the office with a problem or just to pick up a package, and they are friendly and relaxed, willing to chit chat with you. The layout of the 1 bedroom includes a dining room that is set off to the side, in a separate room, rather than continuous with the living room. This allows me to convert it into a den, which is very convenient and cost effective. I also like the window cut-out in the kitchen of the 1 BR, so I can see into the living room from the kitchen, which brings more light into it and lets me watch TV while I am cooking. My balcony is tiny, but I can fit my bicycle, my little charcoal grill and a lawn chair out there and be happy and comfortable. The balconies for the larger apartments are more normal sized. If you renew your lease early, they have offered some nice perks, such as a choice of either installing a ceiling fan, painting an accent wall, providing you with a new appliance, or steam cleaning the carpets. In this way, I was also able to keep my rent the same for two years in a row. I have my own assigned and numbered parking spot, right outside of the front door,and have only found someone in it once, and they left within 5 minutes. The non-numbered unassigned spots can be hard to get later in the evening, although after living in Chicago prior to this, where I had street parking and often walked a couple of blocks back to my apartment, neither I nor my guests have a problem parking in the next lot over near the rental office and walking the half block back to my place. My parking lot is very very well lit and secure, although I suspect as you get closer to Rand Road, perhaps things feel less secure. Believe me, I can be skittish, after a few close encounters when I lived in the city, including a mugging in Chicago, and I feel very safe coming home late at night here. Where I am located, I feel more part of the residential neighborhood west of the apartment complex. In fact that is part of the appeal, to feel part of a real neighborhood, where people have nice houses and take care of their property. My building is very quiet, and I have seen people leaving with their young children. I never hear my neighbors, and the people across the hall will check with me from time to time to make sure their tiny dogs aren't bothering me, which they don't, because I can't hear them once I leave the hallway. During weekdays, when all else is quiet, I can hear the distant "whoosh" of traffic on 53, which I don't care for, but at least you can't see it through the trees. I will never go back to an apartment without a washer/dryer again. And, unlike many others, these are full sized, not the little stackables that are in most. My utilities are very reasonable, which must mean that I am not losing too much heat out of the windows in the winter (I just read the other review criticizing the windows). The leasing agents feed my cat whenever I am out of town, which saves me hundreds and hundreds of dollars per year, as I do not have to hire a petsitter, and gives me peace of mind. I only had a problem with tiny ants once, and they helped me take care of it, getting rid of them within a week, and we didn't need to get an exterminator. Otherwise, there have been no bug problems at all. There was a friendly raccoon on my porch once, who left little piles of poop behind, but that was taken care of as well, and I do not see them in our dumpsters anymore. I have been satisfied with both cable providers they have used so far, and now they have a digital provider and the equipment in their garage, or something like that, so you don't have to get a dish. They also provide a T-line for Internet, for $60/mo, if you want it, but I just use DSL. Anyway, maybe all buildings aren't as great as mine, but I am having a superb experience at Clover Ridge. I just looked around again for what is out there, and you can't find this price for the same quality and amenities. If only they would build a little lake with a fountain outside of my balcony...

User Responses
From: destiny1979	Date: 04/29/2006
i agree with everything said here. clover ridge also steam cleaned my carpets when i renewed my lease. they have replaced my appliances when they have broken either that day or the following day. i do hear my neighbor upstairs walking around and i hear their dog so you probably don't get that with the 3rd floor apartment b/c you're on top. i don't hear my neighbors next to me or across the hall though.

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