My boyfriend and I are young professionals and we've lived here for a year now. The place is okay for now because it still new, however, as many others have mentioned, everything was done as cheaply as possible. All of the appliances are cheap, the washing machine breaks once a week, the knobs on all of the cabinets fall off when you open them, the glass plate in the door of our microwave fell right out onto the counter when I shut the door, and the outlets fall into the walls when you plug things in (if they even have electricity flowing through them). Windows are drafty and forced air heat is so loud you have to blast the volume on the TV to hear it.
We haven't had a bad experience with noisy neighbors, and maintenance is typically up here fast, so I guess that's a plus.
Parking is sometimes a mess, as they don't have assigned spots, so guests can come and go (or live here) as they please and you could be forced to circle the lot looking for a space for a while, or just park a mile away from your entrance. And please don't respond with some snarky comment about getting exercise- with the cost of this place, you shouldn't have to walk alone in the dark with bags of groceries bc people's guests take all the good spots. Not to mention that parking in the shadows of the quarry will put the fear in you that you'll wake up to a broken window smash and grab attempt. We've also gotten a few flat tires from the nails left in the lot from construction.
As far as utilities go, good luck. When we toured, we were told that the electric bill was on average $60 a month. Well, our bills have run from a minimum of 110 - almost 200, and this is for people who aren't home all day, and very rarely use AC or Heat. Unfortunately, when you aren't given an option to choose your own provider, you get stuck with National Grid and an allocation based system. Municipal electric costs far less in most cities, but you don't get to choose. Cable and internet were included in our rent which is great. We added a package that we pay for separately, but again, this place is not serviced by DirectTV, so you get to deal with a half assed affiliate company. When the satellite went out a few weeks ago, we attempted to get contact info from management and were told that they would take care of it, and were in fact refused the phone number to call ourselves. A week and half and four requests later, it finally works again.
Section 8 is definitely a big portion of this place, without a doubt. Some of the people I see roaming around don't look like would have been in their budget unless they were getting a deal. Their are hoodlums in and out and drug dealers in the buildings. When you see cars waiting outside with the lights off and people running up and down within 5-10 minutes, it's pretty obvious what's going on. Also, there is no way this place has been fully rented at any point, so it makes sense that they'd take anything they can get in here. I understand that there are people who need it, but we work hard to afford living in a "nice" complex, and are still surrounded with the same crap we'd get in a college dorm.

I guess my point here is, looks can be deceiving. Apartment living will always have its downsides, but don't advertise as "Luxury" if you don't want to provide the services/lifestyle associated with it. This place isn't cheap, and gets more expensive when you want to renew your lease.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/04/2008
For a young professional you obviously have little to do. I have lived here from day 1 and love it. If you are so miserable why don't you move? For the record, section 8 people would not qualify to live in this community
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/05/2008
Well, typically a lease prevents you from picking up and moving without paying ridiculous fees. I never said I "hated it so much", I just think it's misrepresented as a luxury apartment community. I've definitely lived in worse places, but there was never any question about it when I signed the lease. And, as a person with a brain, it takes approximately 5 minutes to write a post on a blog. If you love this place so much, why do you find it necessary to check comments on this site? Should I come visit you at your job - the Overlook Ridge management office - on Monday?
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/06/2008
I happen to check this site to dispute people like you. I should be so fortunate to work in the management office. I would not have to commute to Boston every day. I on the other hand enjoy coming home. Wish you could say the same.
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/02/2008
its funny what pl think "section 8" ppl are suppose to look like. What an ignorant steriotype. if this is such an issue and you "work hard" to afford this living.....live at the charles, prudential..how about real luxury...what are hoodlums? how do you know drug dealers live there? by looking at a person and assuming they cant afford living there? its revere, not roxbury. ps i know this was months ago but this person is rediculous and a bit ignorant.
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/22/2008
Just for the record, I have seen the drug deals in the halls, not to mention when you can hear the neighbor fart through the paper thin walls, you can sure as hell hear the deals going down.
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/22/2008
i just moved into Alterra this October and my first impressions were that it offered a pleasant experience to its residents. And though initially i found the management to be a bit stuffy, with time i have realized that it is quite ghetto in that the residents i have seen driving around, "checking out women," and loitering around the lobby, are not exactly of the 'professional' sort, read as White Collar. Now i understand that at least one person may retort with that very contrived Critical Race Theory sarcasm, so i will say this: being ghetto or section 8 deals with classism more than racism in this day and age. While a majority of lower income / section 8 folks tend to be non-white, they certainly do not account for 100% of that category. So lets not get carried away with dropping the race card every time we hear "section 8, "ghetto," etc. As an intelligent citizen i understand the legacy of racism and certainly don't need a history lesson. i digress. The point is that Alterra is NOT what it seems and the apartments/community offer less luxury than extended in the glossy brochure. i would NOT make this my home in the long-term. And i agree, the Prudential, etc are definitely places to consider for the educated, upwardly mobile, young professionals...Alterra gets a major Thumbs Down!!

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