Overall, this is a great place to live. It is very well-maintained. The grounds are leafy and well-tended. There are frequent upkeep projects, which are reasonably well organized. Calls for emergency fixes are immediately answered. There's something about the place that might initially suggest a retirement community, but the ages vary quite a bit -- seems roughly divided between young singles (probably the smallest group), young married couples with children, and retired folks (perhaps the largest group).

The location is fantastic. It is near several shopping areas (eg, Towson Town mall, various eateries), but at the same time has a secluded feel. It is nestled at the end of a quiet road, between a private boys school and country club. There are decent areas to jog.

The outdoor pool is well above average in size and cleanness, and it is generally not full (however, they have very strict rules on who can use the pool). Usually, there is a lap available for lap swimming (comparable in length to a YMCA pool), though not always on warm weekends. The main drawback of the pool is that it is only open for about 3 months (11 am - 7 pm on most days).

The fitness center is not fantastic but adequate in content, and reasonably well kept. It closes by 10 pm.

One caveat: The units and their views may differ considerably from one another. My generally positive experience stemmed from the fact that I liked my particular unit and view.

Some drawbacks:

1. This is the only major drawback, but it is substantial:

The walls are very thin. Most of the months I was here, I often heard the upstairs and downstairs neighbors: their dog or baby scampering across the floor, the TV if it is on loud, a guitar, file doors opening, the muffled noise of talking voices. I spoke with another resident (who lived in a different building) who had a similar experience.

The thinness of the walls is actually very surprising, because looking at the campus, you'd expect the walls to be built as well as the grounds are kept. But it appears someone skimped or overlooked this item.

For me, ear plugs have become a necessity.

The new heating and air system worsens the issue, because they are rather loud when they click on (based on automatic settings). You generally have to raise the volume of your TV to hear it, but are constrained by doing so out of courtesy to your neighbors. As I write this sentence (it is about 2 am), I can no longer hear my TV at all, because the heater has just clicked on. Partly for this reason, I've come to turn on the subtitle option as I watch shows at night.

2. The staff is generally professional, but not exemplary. Their maintenance staff vary -- sometimes courteous and professional, sometimes perfunctory. The people who work the front desk are generally quite excellent. The management can be heavy-handed. For example, rent must be paid by check, placed in a box outside the rental office (direct deposit is not possible); if it is even one day late beyond the 5-day grace, they assess late fees and can (in my recollection) overreach in their expression (eg, suggesting legal action if the rent is, say, 10 days late). That you've never missed a monthly payment for years is irrelevant. At these times, whatever special treatment they like to think they provide (eg, occassional campus-wide shindigs) goes out the window -- you're just a paycheck to them.

3. Not necessarily a drawback -- The average duration of tenancy here is shorter than I'd expected. In the 4 years I've been here, 3 or 4 tenants have occupied the apartment above me, 2 tenants the apartment next to me, and numerous other changes in the other units in the building. Of the folks in my building, I and one retired gentleman have probably been here longest.

In summary, if you're willing to pay somewhat extra for excellent grounds and maintenance and a somewhat private location, if you like your particular unit, and if you don't mind thin walls and a strict impersonal policy on rental payments, you may like this place quite a bit.

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