I've lived here with a partner for quite a few years now, and I have some minor and some major complaints so I thought I would weigh in after I read some others. This site helped me to decide on renting here, so maybe I can help some others.

I can hear my neighbors through the walls pretty loudly, sometimes I think they are having noise contests. Banging on the walls doesn't seem to help, and I don't want to cause a problem with them, so I don't say anything, but there is no need for all the ruckus, especially late at night. They are not children, and they don't have any children, so there is no excuse for this, in my book. Some of us have to work in the morning. I can understand hearing someone's tv being a little loud, or hear voices and such. But this is constant banging and running up and down stairs. I think my neighbors have a bowling alley in their place instead of furniture, this would be okay if the walls were a little thicker, but once again the places are old. Theres used to be a lot more people my age living here, now it's a lot of younger folk.

The places are old and need some updating. I have never felt safe with the doors here, but have had no problems to date. It would be nice to be able to lock a door behind me and just shut the door, rather than have to lock it with a key. But these places are old so I understand. The cabinets, rugs, and windows are all pretty old and it would be nice if they would be updated as well, as well as some of the appliances. I also do not like that I cannot control the outside light outside my door and window.

People seem to think the roads here are a raceway, I wish there were more speedbumps, or that people would just slow down. If you're in the neighborhood, you can't be far from where you are going, so slow down. Taking 15 more seconds won't make you late, so slow down a little. There are some children in this complex, too. What if they get hit' I've seen a few accidents since I've been here, many times because of speed and shortcuts people take so they don't have to go all the way around to their parking lot. Just do what you're supposed to do, slowly, and everything will be fine. No need to rush.

The parking lots, as others have said are probably the worst part. There is usually enough parking in each lot, but many times there isn't. Some of these young people seem to think they own the place and let their friends park where people who live here should be able to park their cars. This is a burden when you are a bit older and a walk from the big lot takes a lot more effort, but really is a burden for everyone. There are signs telling visitors not to park there, but the signs aren't big enough to be seen I guess, and no one does anything about it. The people who say that parking isn't a problem are usually the ones causing the problems and filling the lots with their party guests; and why not park near your own home so everyone else can too' Makes sense to me and everyone else I talk to, but one rotten apple spoils the bunch. It would be good if the rules worked, and I don't understand why the parking spots are not assigned to each residents. The problem would be taken care of much better that way, it was that way at any other rented place I lived in, so why not this one, especially when they claim to be so much more upscale then other Harrisburg communities.

I do like the staff, most of them are nice and helpful. When it snows, they will plow and shovel and de-ice and whatnot, but once again, some neighbors are too lazy to move their cars to let the staff in to plow all the spaces. I'll move my car so the the staff can get in, and then one of the lazy person will park in my nice plowed spot while I have to park in the one they left icey and snowed up. This isn't the staff's fault though, although if there was assigned parking the situation would be more fair. Sometimes they hand out bag breakfasts in the morning, I like the nice touch of that. Always friendly on the phone. I enjoy my Christmas card I get too, that's nice too. I had ants and they were taken care of right away. Mice are also a problem, but that's gets fixed too, if you ask.

So the place is nice, free heat in winter so nice and warm, central air in summer, so cool in summer, pool is clean and nice size. Nice trees, pretty nice grounds. But some rude residents ruin the experiences for us a lot. Up the clientele, better enforce visitor rules, or better yet assign the parking, toughen up the walls, update some of the inside, and overall not so bad. Could be worse, but definately could be better.

edit: Just to add to the last review here, I agree with the ones who say smoking is a problem. The vents must really be connected between neighboring walls, so smells travel throughout, cooking, smoking, and anything in between. I also did not think you could smoke in the places here, but maybe that's because nothing smelled like smoke when we moved in, so there was no smoke smell then. Maybe you can smoke here, but if you can you shouldn't.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/28/2007
Hi Papa. I live in one of the first-floor apartments with my partner, and while I certainly empathize with you on a couple of the things you listed here, a lot of them can be fixed or dealt with appropriately: Issue 1: ???I can hear my neighbors through the walls pretty loudly, sometimes I think they are having noise contests. Banging on the walls doesn't seem to help, and I don't want to cause a problem with them, so I don't say anything, but there is no need for all the ruckus, especially late at night???but once again the places are old.??? I totally understand about the loud neighbors. We have a neighbor above us who has his kids for two weekends out of the month. They are constantly running, jumping, and banging on the ceiling, to the point that surround sound and headphones can???t even mask the noise. We had to bang a broom once or twice to get them to be quiet. However, there is nothing wrong with initiating a polite conversation or leaving a note on the door asking for some changes. If things need to escalate beyond that, you can talk to the staff. There is a rule in the Williamsburg handbook that states that quiet hours are from 10:00 p.m. ??? 8:00 a.m. on all weekdays for all guests and residents, (not sure about weekends). Residents and their guests/children are also FORBIDDEN from running/jumping/playing noisily from room to room and otherwise disturbing others at any time of the day. However, you can???t complain about a problem not being taken care of when you haven???t initiated any actions yourself besides banging on a wall. You must talk to the staff???how else will they be able to help you? Issue 2: ???There used to be a lot more people my age living here, now it's a lot of younger folk.??? We???ll get to this later. Issue 3: ???The places are old and need some updating. I have never felt safe with the doors here, but have had no problems to date. It would be nice to be able to lock a door behind me and just shut the door, rather than have to lock it with a key. But these places are old so I understand. The cabinets, rugs, and windows are all pretty old and it would be nice if they would be updated as well, as well as some of the appliances. I also do not like that I cannot control the outside light outside my door and window.??? I???ll agree with you here. Our cabinets/floors are slightly battered, and it would be nice to have some updates. But, most importantly, they are ALL workable. If said component is not working, maintenance is there in a flash to fix it. Also, have you read the reviews for Williamsburg by other tenants? You can always REQUEST an update to your place. There???s no guarantee that you???ll get it, but then again, maybe you will (especially if you've kept your business here for so long)! I???d empathize with you more if you had at least asked first for an update and then you were denied it for some stupid reason. Also, have you read reviews for any other complexes in the area? Like Lakewood? They are still using appliances from the 1970???s. This place is awesome compared to others. Also, are you serious about the light outside your door? I think the reason they have lights go on automatically is to avoid health hazards, such as people falling over objects that they can???t see in the dark. Issue 4: ???People seem to think the roads here are a raceway, I wish there were more speed bumps, or that people would just slow down???No need to rush.??? I agree with you, but this happens everywhere you go. You can probably say something to the staff, but what more can they do besides print out a reminder in the monthly newsletter? Again, I don???t think it's Williamsburg???s fault, but more of a personal problem that you see. The only solution to this would be you reporting that individual personally by copying down their license plate or requesting more security measures, but even then, I don???t think much would come of it. Issue 5: ???The parking lots, as others have said are probably the worst part. There is usually enough parking in each lot, but many times there isn't. Some of these young people seem to think they own the place and let their friends park where people who live here should be able to park their cars. This is a burden when you are a bit older and a walk from the big lot takes a lot more effort, but really is a burden for everyone...The problem would be taken care of much better that way, it was that way at any other rented place I lived in, so why not this one, especially when they claim to be so much more upscale then other Harrisburg communities.??? Agree with you on the parking. It hasn???t been terrible, but the lots do have a tendency to get full on the weekends. We actually park in one of the side parking lots, so I think we???re protected a little more than the townhouse parking lots. Issue 6: ???I do like the staff, most of them are nice and helpful. When it snows, they will plow and shovel and de-ice and whatnot, but once again, some neighbors are too lazy to move their cars to let the staff in to plow all the spaces???Mice are also a problem, but that's gets fixed too, if you ask.??? Wow! I have yet to encounter mice! That???s kind of terrible. =( Issue 7: ???So the place is nice, free heat in winter so nice and warm, central air in summer, so cool in summer, pool is clean and nice size. Nice trees, pretty nice grounds. But some rude residents ruin the experiences for us a lot. Up the clientele, better enforce visitor rules, or better yet assign the parking, toughen up the walls, update some of the inside, and overall not so bad. Could be worse, but definately could be better.??? To selectively disallow someone to live at Williamsburg based on their clientele ???level??? is not only unfair, but discriminatory, (and looks really bad on your part). Residents already have to go through credit checks and a personal interview of sorts when they fill out an application and take a tour of the place. I know for a fact that my partner and I were ???competing??? for an apartment against a few other prospective tenants when we first filled out an application, and our Williamsburg rep made huge accommodations to ensure that we found a place. She even went so far as to call us after our tour and encourage us to fill out our app ASAP. The assigned parking and enforced visitor rules would be nice, but they are not must-haves. Williamsburg has everything that you need to live comfortably. And just as an FYI: I???m one of the ???young folk??? that lives in Williamsburg. (My partner and I are 22 and 25.) I don???t drive my car fast, I try to keep down the noise on my TV and sound system, and I always try to respect my neighbors and their surroundings. There???s no need to group all of us negatively because of a few bad apples (your words, I might add).
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/30/2007
Wow, I have to agree with everything in the response above. Well thought out and extremely accurate! I've lived here for 11 years, so needless to say, it's a comfortable place to live at which I feel EXTREMELY safe in my first floor apartment. My door is great and the fact that the door doesn't lock behind you is a very nice safety feature... not so easy to lock yourself out of your place! Nowhere is perfect... there is good and bad at every apartment complex. Williamsburg Estates has much more good than bad as compared to other complexes in the area. It's ok if you don't believe me (since you don't know me)... you should stop in, meet the staff and see for yourself.
From: papaqbear4	Date: 12/31/2007
I appreciate everyone's responses, and so very quickly at that. Alas, everyone has different opinions, and what I posted, it's fine if you don't agree, but my thoughts are how I obviously personally feel. The problems I have had may not bother the next tenant, but this site is for what each tenant believes can be changed or improved upon. What are "must-haves" for me may not be must-haves for you, so refuting does not change how I feel or what I have experienced here. Thanks you though for taking the time to read what I wrote, as this is the whole point of this forum! If it's accurate for others, that is great for you! I have not had all the same pleasant experiences, so it may not be so accurate for me. I am sure the experiences vary from tenant to tenant, so this is natural. Given my time here, my opinions were accurate and fair according to my feelings. If you are someone who does not cause the above problems I mentioned, there is no reason to take offense to it. I also (for the most part) do enjoy living here, or would have moved. This is the 6 or 7th place I have moved in less than 8 years, though, so moving is not in my best interest at this time. There are just some things that can be easily changed that would improve the place for everyone, and not all of these problems should have to asked for, they are things that should be happening already if the people who lived here respected the property and their neighbors in a better manner. As I have said, the staff is nice and good, but they also could handle some things better, especially ideas that are already in place but not followed up on appropriately. All complexes have their good and bad parts, since is the one I live in, this is the one that concerns me. Once again, thanks for your extremely timely responses, and I respect your difference of opinion.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/09/2009
I lived at Williamsburg when it was pretty new, as my job took me to Harrisburg. This was in the late 70s, early 80s. Now, I've got to go back, now being in Philly. I think I'll be spending most weekends in Philly. But, my two-year experience at Williamsburg was a good one. Friendly neighbors and well looked-after apartments. I'm sure I made as much noise as I heard, and neither I nor they complained. It seemed to be a good give and take. Sort of the kind of temperment you have to have when living in an apartment. What I did like was the proximity to downtown and the highways, the availability to the mall nearby and other services along 22. Certainly the neighborhood has changed and is a lot more populated than it was 29 years ago, but after visiting WE last week, I'm glad to see it's still a nice place to live. I think I'll move back. I really don't want to deal with the crime and security issues in-town or the parking problems. Two things I never had to worrry about at Williamsburg Estates.

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