Orenco Gardens

Quiet place to live From: -Anonymous- Date posted: 4/6/2008 Years at this apartment: 2007 - 2008 1 response   We moved here from out of town. Easy max acces was essential and a safe living environment too as I would be living here by myself for the first few months. Orenco Gardens was one of the last places we looked because they seemed they would be expensive given their prime MAX location. However, at the time, they had the best concessions for new renters and so the price, apartment layouts 9826sq ft for 1 bedroom,)amenities and pet policy were the selling points for us, not to mention the very quiet ,neighborhood. So in no particular order, here it was would be good to know before looking here or if you're considering living here. The grounds are generally well maintained sometimes waste stations are out of doggy bags and owners tend not to be very responsible when this happens, so watch where you step in the greeny areas, also, pet owners from the neighborhood behind the complex sometimes use the perimeters as "free dumping grounds." Parking is availble without buying a carport and if you park on the street, it is well lit as is the complex. It is safe to walk around the complex at night, take precautions as with any area at night, between the apartments is not well lit. Pool and workout center are small but well maintained and suited our needs. There tends to be large gathering of non English speaking residents at the pool in the summer (it can be rather uncomfortable) and by experence some parents do not monitor their children or follow the pool rules which can be very annoying. The business center is great if you can get a computer and if the paper is filled - it appears many people click the print button in an over zealous attempt to speed up the printing process and wastes a lot of paper, they don't enforce the one hour rule. The office staff, well are hit and miss. While our experience has generally been great and we have found them to be helpful (you have to give respect to get it), we have heard others not have the same experience. No problems getting packages from the office. Maintenance responded quickly to our requests. As with any complex you will have loud neighbors, and some people don't follow the quiet rules all the time but overall is quiet - on a Saturday you would be amazed how quiet it is compared to other complexes. We only knew 1 neighbor before they moved away, no one else really made an attempt to say hello or acknowledge us, which is fine, it's not summer camp. A word of caution when selecting your apartment location, the closer to the MAX - the louder it will be, and you may not be able to open your windows if your apartment is right next to the line or above it (so if you like quiet, go to the south or southwest part of the complex and avoid the north areas by the club house). Inside, the apartments are nice, the second floor and third floor actually gain a bit of space from the pushed out windows. You will need additional lighting in the living room in the 1bedroom layout, and a flatscreen tv will help make the living space a little less awkward then trying to find a place for a tv, sitting area and a place to eat. The fire places blow warm air, but can help heat up the living room. The giant window in the living room is wonderful for light. There is ample porch space for a small table chairs and a small BBQ grill - just know that if it rains for a prolonged period the patio may become flooded with water, the overhang and gutter can't handle the water - or at least this was our experience. There is ample kitchen cabinet room and closet space. The bathroom is a little different - so if you take a hot shower then open the bathroom door immediately, the steam tends to set off the fire alarm, so either leave the door cracked a bit or wait a moment or two. Also, don't be worried if you only turn on one light in the bathroom and the other one suddenly turns on, it's normal. Also, you have to have the bathroom door shut to open the closet in the bathroom. Pets are obviously welcome, big and little ones, breed resrictions - so check. One final detail to share, the stairs are difficult to navigate large furniture. They do have resident get togethers sometimes, but we didn't attend them do to conflicts. Overall, this place has suited us for exactly what we needed for the year and would reference this place to others. We can't yet speak to the move out process, but will share that when it occurs. Happy apartment hunting.

Recommended: YES Overall Rating

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