The Westgate complex is 10 buildings, each with 22 units, mixed 1 and 2 bedrooms. There is a secure fitness room, 2 pools, tennis courts, and ample well-lit parking.

When I first moved in in 1997, my experience was great. The buildings are 40 years old, but the apartments are huge, and mine had been completely painted and carpeted before I moved in. Bathroom and kitchen are cramped. Bedroom and living room are HUGE. Ample closet space. Mostly new appliances. The colossal GE carousel microwave burnt a 3-5 minute bag of popcorn in 2.5 minutes (it worked VERY WELL!)

Cable internet is available from AT&T.

Laundry is passable. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers for 22 units, and they need quarters. Lots of quarters.

Depending on the apartment, the HVAC may be original equipment (40 years old). When I moved in, mine was original, and it died during the second summer. It took 4 calls to management, and a full-page letter to properly describe the problem, but it got replaced. They replace several each summer, so eventually all the units will be updated (mine was not scheduled).

I had a minor kitchen flood in 2000... the pipes are old, and Woburn water has a reputation for being "hungry" for copper pipe, and one Saturday night my kitchen sprung a leak while I was out. Management came in at 4am and fixed it, and came back the next morning to replace the T junction. It was unpleasant, but it could have been worse, there was no damage to anything.

I was on the ground floor (garden level), and my upstairs neighbors had a 2 and 5 year old. There was a lot of creaking, noise from running feet, and some wailing.

The worst was the "rodent" problem. This started near the end of my 4th year. I never SAW anything, but at night I could HEAR them running around the HVAC ducts. I don't know if they were inside the ducts or between the ducts and the surrounding drywall. I complained to management a lot, but the problem never went away. It was hard to back up my complaint when I could not provide any proof, and it only happened at night so I could never bring someone over to listen. I eventually gave up compaining and looked to move instead.

In 1997, management was excellent, and one person basically ran the entire complex. This person was eventually replaced by a team of 4-5 people who all appeared to be part-time, and generally didn't work as efficiently nor seemed to care as much.

Rent was under $900 in 1997, under $1000 in 1999, and over $1,200 in 2001. By local standards this was cheap for the vast square footage, but did not justify the increasing aggravation.

Overall: I suppose I could recommend the place. If you can ensure that there are no critters in the walls.

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