Lakes Edge Apartments in Greensboro, NC – Review

When I was 22 years old, working full-time, and finally out of college, I decided it was time for me to move out on my own. I was interested in a smaller apartment, where I could comfortably afford to live, yet still have room enough for all of my belongings. I checked out a couple of places in the Apartment Finder. One of those places was Lakes Edge Apartments on West Market St. in Greensboro. I made an appointment to tour an apartment home, and shortly thereafter, I decided it was a great place to live.

In hindsight, I wouldn’t say it was “great,” but I would say it was a place where I could feel safe, save some money, and get a good start at supporting myself and living on my own. It had it’s pros and cons. One big pro, which I have already hinted at, was the price – I paid $500 a month to live there, and everything was included except my cable and Duke Energy bills. It also had a very large living room and bedroom, where I could fit all of my furniture. I have a large couch, a love seat, two end tables, a coffee table, a good-sized computer desk, and an entertainment center with a television. Needless to say, I needed a big living room. Likewise with the bedroom. I had quite a bit of bedroom furniture to move in as well. And both rooms held everything without being overcrowded. And the spacious rooms allowed me to decorate in whatever way I felt best…I had several options. Another thing I liked was the shelves in the living room. They can be used for bookshelves, a place to keep pictures, a place for a radio, or they can simply serve as a place to display decor. I used the shelves for all of those things, and still had room leftover.

However, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, there were cons to living there as well. One of the biggest was the size of the kitchen. It honestly was far too small for more than one person cooking at a time. My boyfriend (now husband) and I felt crowded and often complained about the size of the room. Also, I noticed several times that, through the vent over the stove, cigarette smoke from next door would creep into my apartment. It may sound bizarre, but a few of my house guests noticed the same thing. Smell was actually an overall con, as the apartment homes were very old, and there was a musty, stagnant, “old hotel” kind of smell in the apartment throughout my stay. I tried several different methods of getting rid of it and none worked…I eventually had to learn to live with it. And apologize to guests for the smell, in advance. Also, about 5-6 months into my lease, I began to see a lot of roaches. These were no small roaches either. Their body was at least as big around as a quarter, perhaps even larger. I found one just inside the door, going into the living room, 2 or 3 in the bathroom (in the shower, on the ceiling, on the floor, etc.), and I found one headed toward a small pile of clothes in the bedroom one night. There was also an inch worm in my bath tub one morning, and I had an ant problem by my sliding glass door in the living room. Disgusted, I went to see the front office personnel. They only recommended me purchasing a Raid “bomb” and some spray. They also told me that their exterminator doesn’t always come as often as he should, and they’re “trying to work on that.” I was not able to break my lease, get an exterminator, or receive any help. I was left to figure it out myself, more or less. I spent three nights away, as I was almost petrified of being in my own apartment, due to the bugs. After I returned, I used 3 Raid bombs and weekly spraid the doorway. This did seem to fix the problem, or at least to put a Bandaid on the problem, so to speak.

Other cons included the fact that I had no washer/dryer hook-ups, my shower was not as clean as I felt it should be, loud neighbors, and occasionally the dumpsters would overflow before the trash would be handled (making the complex look a little less nice and neat, of course).

As previously stated, I had an overall enjoyable stay at Lakes Edge. I lived there for one year, and then decided not to renew my lease. I wanted to move into a bigger and newer apartment, as I felt I could then afford to do so. That was the main reason for my move. I have some fond and some not-so-fond memories of my first apartment. I do think I gained a lot from the experience. I would recommend Lakes Edge to young people, looking for a way to get a start on their own, and who need a good deal for their money. I would not recommend it to families. These are just my opinions and perspective on my apartment at Lakes Edge.