Let me begin by saying that I'm a Graduate student at UNC and have lived at Poplar place for the last three years. On the whole, I have truly enjoyed living here. I am moving out at the end of May, but it's mainly because I wanted a more convenient apartment for my new job. It felt like a good time to write a review, which I have broken down into: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good:
I love living in Carrboro, and it was important for me to continue living here when I moved from my first apartment. However, many apartments in Carrboro have a lot of sketchy residents due to its location, lack of selection criteria, and cheap prices. Poplar place is enough out of the way, caters primarily to young professional and graduate students, and is a bit more expensive than other surrounding complexes, allowing it avoid these issues. Along these lines, I have never felt unsafe living here and have never had any problems with theft, or otherwise. This is a huge issue at other complexes, but not so here. Further, no undergraduates: in fact, this place does not even rent to undergraduates. Undergrads are fine, but I do not like living in a complex with them. This complex is quiet all through the day and night. In terms of the unit itself, I really like the floor plan I have (the 1 BR, 1 bath). Before moving in, I looked at many apartments and Poplar Place had the best looking floor plans of any. For example, the closet comes with a large dressing area, the inclusion of a breakfast bar opens the kitchen to the living room, and generally the apartment feels very open. I live on the 3rd floor, which means that I get vaulted ceilings (this really makes the apartment seem big) and a ceiling fan (which has been a life saver). The apartments have plenty of (very big) windows, and come with a patio. The landscaping is also quite lovely. There are plenty of trees, and the lawn, etc. are all well-maintained. At the back of the complex is a wooded area with a small creek running through it. The parking is plentiful (in the three years I've lived here, I have never not had a space in front of my building). Aside from this, theres a nice pool, a private tennis court, and plenty of grilling areas (both gas and charcoal). The maintenance staff is friendly, but I've never had to deal with them so I cannot comment on whether or not they are good (this in itself is a plus: no serious problems in the apartment). There is an on-site recycle center, and plenty of dumpsters (a bigger plus than you think it is!). There's also a serviceable exercise room with several pieces of cardio equipment and weight training machines. Although there's no washer/dryer in the unit, they have the connections for them, and an on-site laundry room.

The Bad:
Given all of this, there are, however, several problems that keep it from becoming a great apartment. First, the price: these apartments are expensive. If I had renewed, my rent would have increased to $700 per month. Given that I have only 768 square feet, it feels a bit much. Many other complexes offer more space for the same or less money. The rent also increases every year. Back when Archstone owned the complex, my rent didn't increase; with the new management, my rent over the last two years has increased by $30 the first year and $10 the second. I do live on the 3rd floor, which increases the price (1st floor cheapest, 3rd floor most expensive), but the ceiling fan was a necessity. You can get the apartment cheaper on the 1st or 2nd floor, but you lose the ceiling fan. Also, the quality of service seems to have gone down since new management took over. For example, I used to be able to pay my rent online; the exercise room lost cable (it has it back now, but it still shows that cutting costs is a priority). The management seems to change every week, and I don't like the new people as much. Here's a great example of my recent experiences with them: When I was thinking about moving, I went to someone in the office to talk about the possibility of getting my rent reduced (I told her that this would play heavily into my final decision). She said she would talk it over with her manager and get back to me. About a week later, I hadn't heard anything and I decided to move out. I went back to give notice and (the same person) asked me: Is there anything at all we can do to get you to stay' I found it humorous. It's also been sold twice in the past year, which only works against it. Finally, the on-site exercise room is a bit small (and the cardio equipment needs replacing), as is the laundry room (5 washers, and 6 dryers, so be quick to grab them!). The final two problems are probably amplified by where my unit is in the complex. First, the bugs: my lord, this place has a bug problem. Sometimes they get in to my apartment, but outside my apartment is bug and spider central. As I'm writing this, there are at least 5 big bumble bees outside my window. In the three years I have lived here, I have not used my patio once because of the bugs. Big spiders, wasps, bees, mosquitoes, etc. limit my desire to go outside much. I live at the back of the apartment, near the wooded area, so the bugs are likely worse here; however, it has to be a problem throughout. Second, cell phone reception: I get none in my apartment. Given the amount of people I see making cell phone calls in the parking lot, it's a problem. Cell phone reception does improve the closer you get to the front of the complex, but I don't ever get perfect reception anywhere in the complex (I use Verizon, by the way). This forces me to pay for a land line, and increases what I have to pay each month.

The Ugly:
The complex itself is lovely, and I really like the floor plans. The appliances and fixtures could use updating; that's about my only complaint.

Overall:
I really have enjoyed the last few years here. There are big problems, but none have ruined my experience, or have made me regret my decision to live here. Some of the problems can be helped by getting a unit closer to the front, or on a lower floor. There are apartments that offer bigger floor plans at similar or lower rent, but the good qualities do greatly outweigh the bad points. I recommend it, but keep these issues in mind when you're looking. You could do a bit better, but a whole lot worse as these are among the better apartments in Carrboro. Time will tell if the quality will continue to go down, but as of right now, it's still better than most.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/06/2007
Poplar Place does rent to undergrads, in fact my roommate and I were both undergrads when we moved in; I graduated in December 06 but she is still a senoir. I also have Verizon and get terrible reception, although if I stand by the sliding door to the porch I can make calls without going outside. My building is near the road, though, so that probably helps a bit with reception. I had pretty much the same experience when asking them not to raise my rent as much as they planned to.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/21/2007
I've lived in Poplar Place for a few years myself, and I agree with jlozito's assessment completely. The management over the years has gone downhill. The people are definitely nice, but things just don't seem to get done. No one answers the phone, and often I have to stop in and ask at least 2-3 times to get any service request completed. I've also had friends that have had money issues with the management (not telling her the correct amount to pay, and then sending her repeated notices about her delinquency). Just seems a little disorganized at times. Poplar Place isn't the best, but definitely not the worst place to live.

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