Okay so a break down of The Metro on First (what I have seen as a tenant for 6 months).

Firstly the staff is pretty good, they are definitely trained to be very "chipper" always smiling and open faced. They are definitely trying to get people to stay here/rent here. On the other hand I get the impression that (not unlike a car salesman) they would do/say just about anything to get their commission.

The grounds are well maintained, and look nice. But you have to deal with listening to lawn mowers and air blowers at 6 am every other morning. There is a roof top deck with barbecues and patio seating. However in the spring/summer months it is always crowded, with college/mid 20's football player types that get drunk and spill grease on everything, so unless you appreciate loud and rowdy drunks eating burgers it's not really a great hang out point. Oh and it closes at 10pm so if you want a sit at a late hour it's not a possibility.

The unit I live in has a washer and dryer (hooray!) but since I have to pay for all the utilities (water, sewer, garbage,electric and "service" fees) it actually ends up being cheaper to just walk to the nearest laundry and use that (boo). There is a dumpster down stairs for recycling and a "shoot" for the trash, however I think it a tad strange that for a community dumpster I have to pay premium rate garbage disposal prices.
Water isn't metered individually, so if you use less than your neighbor, you still all share the price, which is totally lame if you're conservative or if you're out of town a lot.

The studios are some of the smallest I've ever seen, with the largest price tag. I moved in here because I wanted to live in a "nice" area. Also They don't tell you at lease signing that you'll be paying for EVERYTHING! There is no AC so since the summer was well into the high 90's and low 100's living in the small concrete box that is my studio was totally unbearable. I was told by a neighbor that you can rent an AC unit from them for an additional $80 a month, plus whatever is takes to run it (utilities-wise).

Pets are allowed, and it seems everyone here has a dog, however you need to pay a pet deposit and I was told pet rent, but I don't have a dog so I'm not sure on that one.

The noise levels are pretty alright. I can't hear any but my loudest neighbor and only rarely, however depending on what side of the building you're on you get the wonderful sound of the First st./Denny/western intersection traffic all day/night long, lot's of semi trucks and speeding motorcycles.Which since there is no AC one needs to leave the window open to even get a bit of air.

There is also the littlest problem (not a problem at all if you're a bigoted jerk) of major bigotry going on here. I'll include the definition for those who don't know.

Bigot: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial,religious,social or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.

That stated If you're not a stylish (in vogue) yuppie/jock type, or you have any sort of piercings or tattoos the community here will berate you until you no longer wish to see another one of their kind until the end of your days... There are a few people here that have some body mods, they seem like nice enough folks, but I've seen people ridicule them for no good reason, and a girl friend of mine won't come to visit anymore as she is a "goth" and some of the other tenants here made fun of her until she was in tears! I look "normal" but I have a lot of friends who are artistic, and it saddens me that they would be accosted based on their choice in clothing in a building that is filled with upper middle class educated people living in SEATTLE!

The rents are atrocious and they raise them yearly. I'll be moving to another building in the area at the end of my lease, as I refuse to pay over 800 a month for a studio (325 sq ft.) You have to pay for parking as well, which is around $180 a month, but that raises yearly as well.

All in all what with the bills, the rent and the parking, not to mention if you have a pet, you're looking at 1300 a month easily to live in a tiny studio, in a building filled with bigots, with no AC in a "nice" neighborhood.

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