Apartment Review for Country Place Apartments - Orlando, FL

This is my first apartment, so I can't really compare to any previous experiences with apartments, but i've been here about a year, and I really can't complain about the place. Country Place is located just inside the actual Orlando city limits, less than 5 minutes from the 408 and I-4 both, and maybe 10 minutes from 436 and 50, depending on traffic. There's plenty of shopping nearby, and it's only 30-45 minutes from Universal and Sea World, if you work there. There's also a Lynx link a short walk away. There are no washer/dryer hookups inside the apartments, but there is a laundromat on-site. There's also a pool (closed in winter), a tennis court, and I believe i've seen a basketball hoop someplace (i don't exactly wander the complex in my off time). There's not been a day when I haven't managed to park close to my apartment yet, though i have seen the lot get pretty full. There are dumpsters to throw the trash into, there's a little covered thingie where all the mailboxes are, and the rental office is just a quick walk away. The ladies in the rental office are absolutely wonderful. Very nice people. I haven't had to deal with the maintenance guy yet, but the bug-sprayers they employ are also very nice and not really intrusive. They spray for bugs once a month here -- bugs are about the only bad thing about the place. There's lots of plants outside, so you can't really have your door open (to let in air on a nice day) without watching a bug crawl in. It was worse before they took out the palmetto bushes, though. And sometimes i'll wake up and there'll be a dying roach in my kitchen, or on the carpet of my living room, but at least it's dying. I've had to deal with only two live roaches so far, and it's been a year. They've got cable hookups, but most of the people out here seem to get those little satellite dishes. There's an a/c unit in every apartment, and it works great, but the way the apartment is set up blocks airflow to the back room (the a/c unit is in the front room) so sleeping in the back without a fan is torture in the summer. I just set up my bed in the front room. The difference between running the a/c all day during the summer and not at all during the winter is about $20 or less on the electric bill, depending on how strong you run it. I live on the bottom floor (each apartment is one in a set of eight, where there are four mirrored apartments on the top floor and four mirrored apartments on the bottom floor), which is smaller than the top floor (and a little cheaper). The walls must be pretty thick because i've never had a problem with hearing my neighbors doing anything, unless they were yelling to one another during the day or unless they were getting together outside at night when I had the windows open. Since the apartments are mirrored, the plumbing is all connected, so if you wake up in the morning and your sink is going 'blub-gurgle', it probably means someone's washing dishes in another apartment. Haven't had a problem with clogs yet, though. The toilet has been a pain in the butt. It's an old toilet (heck, it's an old apartment complex -- my grandfather worked on it when he was younger) and it's got this metal chain inside it that keeps getting caught on the stuff in there. I can't tell you how many times i've woken up to hear the toilet running in the bathroom because it didn't stop the night before... haven't bothered calling maintenance yet to see what they can do, though. It's just an annoyance, is all. All the apartments have an electric stove (with a little fan above it to suck out smoke if you burn your food, heh), a refridgerator, and not much counter-space. Plenty of cabinet-space, though, and the pantry area is nice for a little apartment like this. To get to the bathroom, you hafta go through a little walk-in closet, which has plenty of room for all kinds of clothing. Both rooms have two big windows, and our apartment has big holly hedges outside the windows. No-one's eavesdropping on us, that's for sure. As for pets, I was told that if it can bite, scratch, tear, or otherwise damage the apartment in any way, you hafta put down a deposit on it. I keep fish, though, and the lady said fish were okay without a deposit. There are a few feral cats that live outside -- sometimes you'll go out to your car and there'll be cat-paw prints all over the top. the apartment comes with two lights in the kitchen (one fluorescent, one not), a light in the closet, and a light in the bathroom. You must provide your own light for the back room, if you plan on doing much at night in there. The breaker box is located in the kitchen. It also comes with blinds for the windows (no curtains though), and everything will have been cleaned. They even offered to clean my carpets for me when I signed another 7-mo lease. They're particular about the smoke detectors, though -- you hafta turn in this little paper that says you've checked the detector and made sure it still works when you turn in the rent. And they don't take cash. They take checks, money orders, and they're pretty good about you waiting on a paycheck -- if you don't get paid 'til the third or something, just let them know. Like I said before, they're really nice. I believe the limit on people in the downstairs apartments is two -- two people would fit nicely in here. Whether they're on your lease or not, you hafta have them apply to live here -- $35 for the background check -- or else there's some kind of limits on how many times you can have someone sleep over, or how many times you can have a party a month or whatever. Never had a problem with it. I think that's about it. Dunno what else to say, but compared to what i've heard some of my friends complaining about, i think i've got it pretty good. o.o;