It has been a very long time since I have needed to live in an apartment, as I have been a homeowner for many years. But a recent stay in Wisconsin meant we needed to rent an apartment, and it was kind of last minute so we hadn't had a great deal of time to look around.
But when we did, we were very disheartened - we saw places that had black mold in the air conditioners and ripples in the carpeting, places that were way too near to power stations and other dangerous things to live near, and we were getting worried that we wouldn't be able to find a safe place to live while we were here.
Then we found Siena Ridge and found it. Now, I'm chemically sensitive, so apartment living isn't ideal for me - other people's chemical use everywhere can be very difficult on my body and some exposures to chemicals can even send me to the hospital. I can't handle new carpeting or paint or flooring, for example. Carpet cleaning chemicals will do me in (make me very sick). Pesticide exposures, plug-in air fresheners, laundry chemicals, perfumes, all of these things make me very ill because of my sensitivity.
So again, apartment living with carpet cleaners who come regularly and shared hallways with other people's perfumes really, that's difficult for me. So we weren't even sure I could live in an apartment, but we kind of had no choice at that point, thus why we were looking at apartments in the first place.
When we saw the apartment - bright and airy, snug and warm, spacious as apartments go, laundry room, kitchen with ample cabinets (we don't eat out and exclusively use the kitchen for all of our meals, so the kitchen is really important to me), open floorplan - we thought okay, we can try this.
So here is what I really loved about living in Siena Ridge apartments:
1) Hayley, the apartment manager. I don't think I can say enough good things about her, she is a really good human with a big heart and she genuinely cares about people. Really, I could write a whole Yelp review just for Hayley. Every interaction I had with her was positive - every single one. She is kind and she really did her best to accommodate my needs as a chemically sensitive person. She was incredibly understanding, she worked with us in every way she could. She was very responsive to emails and anything that broke or needed adjusting in our apartment she was on it, and maintenance or whomever was needed for the fix was there. When our fridge went out, she had a repairman there within a couple of days and then had it replaced so quickly. When there was an issue with the sink, she had someone there to fix it, just taken care of. Everything was maintained so thoroughly and in such a timely manner.
2) Brad - our regular maintenance guy. He was a delight, our pug adored him, he was kind and friendly and just good at his job. He didn't mind taking off his shoes to enter the apartment, he fixed things quickly and well, and he didn't even fuss at having to snake our sink drains a couple of times - and that was so gross, I felt so bad that he had to do that. He was so polite and never left any kind of mess. He replaced fixtures and a doorknob and just, they are lucky to have him, he's a really good guy.
3) Heck, all around they seem to hire great people, because the furnace guy, the guy who came to fix the washer, the refrigerator repair man - yep, all different people - all nice, polite, friendly, helpful, patient. And it was never an issue having them come out - they were just on top of it!
4) The doggos! It's a pet-friendly community and as such, almost everyone has dogs. There's a little dog area with gravel, but there's also a park with a playground half a block away so you can go walk through there and see lots of birds, ducks, and a couple of cranes who hang out in the little marsh at times.
5) Sound insulation (as far as voices or music or TV) seemed pretty good in the apartments. There were only a couple of times I'd hear a kiddo crying in the upstairs apartment, but otherwise it was just if the pet was zooming across the floor or barking or someone was wearing hard shoes in the apartment above us. Mostly the buildings and neighbors and neighborhood for that matter are quiet, quiet, quiet.
6) The fitness center - my husband and son loved going there and working out when it was too cold to be outside. There's a TV with cable and they'd watch that while working out.
7) Other people liked the pool, but it gave my son hives so we didn't use it. We are sensitive to chlorine too. Sometimes we can swim in pools but if there is too much chlorine we cannot.
My negatives pretty much all have to do with chemical use, so YMMV there (carpet cleaning, pesticides, paint). We lived in Siena Ridge for 18 months and would recommend as apartments go. My hope is that any rental I live in in the future has a Hayley and team just as good as here because they really made the experience a positive one. read more