Q: What were your experiences like living in two different apartment complexes? Pros? Cons? Which did you prefer?
A: While I was in the college program, I lived in Vista Way and the Commons.
Vista Way Pros:
- close to bus stop
- walking distance to Walgreens, Chick-fil-a, Wendy's, Dollar Tree, Cici's, and a couple of other restaurants
- central bus hub(The buses tend to sit at Vista for a while, which might be annoying if you don't live in Vista, but convenient if you live there. Also, all the buses stop at Vista, and some of them only stop at certain complexes upon request.)
- laundry on the first floor of each building (I would say this is a pro, because some apartment complexes have separate laundry buildings instead of having it in the building you live in)
- two pools (Although I almost never used the pool near the bus stop, it was nice to have it as an option)
- One of the cheaper options (As the oldest complex, rent at Vista is typically cheaper than the other apartments, assuming you're not looking to have three to a bedroom anyway.)
Vista Way Cons:
- further away from the other complexes (While it is possible to walk to the other complexes from Vista it isn't really a great walk. The other three complexes are all comfortable walking distances from each other.)
- Some of the places that are in walking distance require you to cross a pretty dangerous intersection on foot. Orlando is full of terrible drivers, and regardless of the lights and crosswalks the intersection is still really dangerous. I've done it, I'm pretty sure all Vista CP's have done it, just know that you have to be really careful, and I definitely felt better about walking there in a group of people and not alone.
- Vista's reputation (This is only a con if you're concerned about what others think of where you live. There were parties in Vista, but there were also parties in all the other complexes, and you can easily avoid them if you want to.)
Commons Pros:
- laundry in the apartments (This is the biggest pro of living in the Commons. Not having to leave your apartment at all to do laundry, or pay for it with a credit card or quarters)
- The Grid (The Grid is the convenience store located at the Commons. They have everything from hot coffee, toiletries, groceries, and even prepared dinners and hot sandwiches. It's really convenient when you get the bus home and don't want to cook, or need things and don't have the time to go to the grocery store.)
- housing events sometimes take place at the Commons
- walking distance to the outlet mall and other complexes
Commons Cons
- expensive rent (While this does sort of make sense because of the laundry in the apartment, I went from a renovated apartment in Vista to an unrenovated apartment in the Commons, and would have preferred Vista, but more on that later.)
- Some buses don't stop there
- one pool
- bedroom differences (In Vista the two bedrooms in our apartment were pretty similar. While I would say that one was slightly better, it wasn't that much better that it would be worth fighting over who gets that room. Of the two bedrooms in my apartment in the Commons, one bedroom was significantly better, and I really got screwed by not having that room. The other bedroom had a massive bathroom, bigger closet, and more options for how to move the furniture around for the way the room was set up. My bathroom and closet were smaller, and there were few options for where to put the beds/nightstands.)
As for which apartment did I like better, this might sound crazy, but I would say Vista. There's a couple of major factors that would make me choose my apartment in Vista over my apartment in the Commons. The first is the renovated/unrenovated issue. My apartment in Vista was renovated, and it was beautiful. We were on the third floor, with a really pretty arched window in the living room, new kitchen and bathrooms, and hardwood floors. My apartment in the Commons was not renovated, and included older bathrooms, a dryer that no matter what maintenance did never dried clothes in a reasonable amount of time, and dingy looking carpets everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms. For me personally, I went from paying $98/week for my apartment in Vista, which was much nicer, to $118/week for what I considered to be a crappier apartment in the commons. Even if you factor in that I didn't need to pay extra for laundry, I wouldn't do laundry enough that I'd be paying an extra $20/week for it anyway. Another difference I had with my specific apartments was roommates, and while this has nothing to do with the apartments themselves, the two different experiences I had definitely also make me lean towards my Vista apartment for the winner here. We had no real problems with any of my roommates in Vista, everyone was clean, friendly, and we never failed inspections or really had that much drama in the grand scheme of things. My roommate experience at the Commons... well, we won't get into that, but let's just say that's also a factor for me preferring my Vista apartment.
If you're trying to decide between which of the complexes you'd like, I would honestly make price the primary thing for you to consider. I think that all of the complexes have pros and cons, which kind of evens things out, and price is really the most important difference. I've spent some time at each of the complexes, and there really isn't anything else that would make me desperately want to choose one complex over the other.
The only other really important thing to consider that I took away from my experiences at the two complexes, is how important it is to speak up and let your roommates know your preferences. When I first moved into Vista, with three other girls I met on the Facebook group, we all really worked together and discussed the apartments, and came to agreements on the order we'd rank where we wanted to live. When I applied for my extension, I knew I'd need to find other roommates because my other roommates from Vista were not extending. I decided to live with a friend, and her three existing roommates, as they were all extending and one of their roommates was leaving, so they needed one more person to fill a two bedroom four person apartment, and I needed somewhere to live. After my experience living with a completely random roommate in college, I thought this would be the smart thing to do because I at least knew the girl I'd be sharing a bedroom with. These girls already lived in Vista, so I initially thought it'd be an easy move. I'd move a couple of buildings down and that'd be it. Even though their apartment was not renovated, I liked Vista, and really just wanted the move to be as easy as possible. All of my new roommates wanted to get out of their unrenovated apartment, which I kind of understand, but at the same time, I was outnumbered in my opinion three to one, and there was really no way to discuss my opinions that wasn't super awkward. It felt weird to be the only new person in an apartment with three other girls who had already lived together for nine months, and I should have spoken up about my apartment preferences more. Because of this, I already kind of had a bad feeling about moving out of Vista. If I had my way, I would have stayed in Vista, or moved somewhere else with a cheaper rent. I didn't think the extra money for rent was worth it for staying at the Commons over somewhere else, and I turned out to be right about that, so I should have followed my gut feeling and either spoke up more to the new girls, or just gone with random roommates and chosen my own apartment preferences.
So basically my advice to new CP's choosing apartments is this:
1. Think about the pros and cons of each complex. If there is something that really stands out as important to you, make that apartment one of your top choices.
2. Really consider the price. Even though a $20/week difference doesn't sound like much now, that's about $400 more I spent at the Commons over the length of my program for an apartment I didn't feel was worth it. You don't make a ton of money as a CP, and I don't think it's a great idea to spend extra money on rent if you don't have to.
3. If you feel that you can't agree to what all your other future roommates want, back out of that roommate situation before you fill out your housing paperwork. If you're discussing housing options with future roommates, and they're either disregarding your opinion, or making you feel like it's not okay to speak up about your opinion at all, they're likely not going to make the best roommates. In this situation, it's easier to tell them you're not living with them beforehand than have to deal with roommates you're not compatible with during your program.
If you have any other questions about housing or the CP in general comment here or on my Facebook page! I'll be doing another post later in the week with questions that don't require as much explanation.
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