I live in one of the two buildings that makes up Washington Gardens. Our apartment is spacious and reasonably priced for this area. We enjoy the convenience to shopping, work, and the city.
HOWEVER......
This is a complex managed BY senior citizens FOR senior citizens. My husband and I, who are in our twenties, were mislead when we moved here. We specifically asked if most of the tenants were older, and we were told "no." However, we estimate that 85% of the population is over age 65. This creates many "rules" that discriminate against anyone younger than that.
For example, the swimming pool hours are very limited; by the time we get home from work, it is closed. If you are retired, however, the hours will suit you fine.
Next, laundry hours are also very limited. You sign up for a 3-hour time slot. If you miss that time for the weeek, you're pretty much out of luck, because all other times are taken, and there is no laundry on Sunday. Again, this is okay if you are retired and can do laundry during the day, but if you have weekends off, don't plan on doing laundry then.
Third, being younger than 65, my complaints have never been taken seriously by the resident manager, who treats me like I'm a child. (Compared to everyone else around here, I AM!) One day, I called to voice a concern about the laundry room, and her response was, "Are we having a bad day, DEAR'" I haven't called her for anything since. On this same day, it was made brutally clear to me that there are people who have lived here for more than 20 years, and they take precedence over anyone "new", even though we pay rent just like they do.
Lastly, the building is polluted with cigarette smoke. We do not smoke and avoid second-hand smoke at all times. However, there are so many smokers in this building that it comes through the heating system and pollutes our apartment. When I complained to management and the superintendent about this, I was told to hang towels over my vents to block the cigarette smoke from coming in. It is impossible to walk through the building without exposing yourself to cigarette smoke. People smoke inside the entryway and in the laundry rooms, causing the hallways to smell of smoke also. When I complained about this (This was my "bad day, Dear"), I was told that smoking IS restricted in "common areas", such as hallways. But apparently, the laundry room and the main entrance are not considered "common areas", and neither is the hallway, once it is polluted with drifting smoke.
There have been times when our maintenance requests have been "lost". I placed 3 before one got to the superintendent, who said that he had no knowledge of the first two.
Also, the electricity goes out almost daily. I finally gave up on resetting my answering machine because I knew that it would be on the blink again when I got home after work.
We are grossly unhappy here and would not recommend this place to our worst enemies. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere in Carnegie. There are many other places to live in this very nice community.
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