Review for Canterbury Commons Apartments

While this complex seemed an ideal place to split the difference between commutes to Durham and Manchester NH, the finances and reality of life in rural NH proved otherwise. The 2 bedroom apartment my roommate and I leased was claimed to be 700 square feet, and in actuality is more in the range of 650. While 50 sq feet is hardly worth squabbling over, its the layout and price youre paying that work against you. This apartment is currently going at $919.00 a month, with a full months rent as a deposit. Thats $81.00 shy of 1000 bucks a month for 650(actual) square feet. Heat is included. Included means you get an IN UNIT gas burner that takes up the better part of the wall under the bay window in the living room. This means that no furniture can sit under or in front of the window, because it would be a fire hazard, and the small fan in the heating unit (which measures 3 feet wide, a foot out from the wall, and 28 inches tall centered under the window.) would be blocked and no warm air would circulate out of the room. Other perks of this heating unit are atrocious moaning noises while it starts in the middle of a cold night, followed by the hot/cold flash temperature changes one might find in a mobile home.

You are forced to use Verizon Avenue local phone service, and granted Verizon is a lousy company to begin with, the Avenue division of it is effectively the surplus and salvage version. Customer service is difficult to contact, rates are very high compared to other services available in the area, etc. But I digress. Lets focus again on the Community.

The setting is nice, trees, an ambling river, public access beach across the way&Oh wait&Its not. We were told we could use the Public Access Beach across the river to swim at in the summer, since there is no pool, and no activity facility here. That beach is a restricted usage beach, only open for swimming lessons for children in the mornings, and its gated and locked up all afternoon, evening, and weekend.

Lets see&the buildings are Public Access. Anyone at any time can walk up to any building, enter it, knock on doors, hang out, smoke a cigarette, whatever they please. Speaking of cigarettes. If you intend to rent a non smoking unit, beware your neighbors, because they probably smoke. And that smoke will drift under the ? gaps under your door and fill your apartment with nicotine goodness. Also Public access is the laundry facility. Anyone who knows its open can come use the Laundry facilities and fill the washers with the hair from their 17 y/o dog.

The younger crowd that rents here like to smoke marijuana by the basketball court (or your back door&or in the Laundry Room, despite the No Smoking sign hung on the door.) if thats your thing. They also like to park their busted dented up cars as close to yours as possible. And as crooked as they can possibly manage in the parking spaces that are about a foot too narrow to accommodate larger vehicles, like dodge ram pickups, Chevy Half tons, Honda civics, and Mitsubishi Mirages.

So whats good about Canterbury Commons? Well for starters it makes a Gated Community offering an 1100 square foot apartments with its own washer, dryer, covered parking spaces, gym, walking trails, indoor Olympic sized swimming pool, 2 bathrooms, tiled kitchen, and freedom to choose your own service providers for 1200 bucks a month (Market rate at several other communities) seem awfully cheap and a super steal.

On Canterburys behalf, the maintenance crew is awesome, and theyre very flexible about extending leases, buying houses, etc. You dont have to worry about those idle threats to tow those cars sitting in the visitor parking spots; because they wont. Or to fine you 10 bucks for throwing your cigarette butt on the ground or performing maintenance to your car in the parking lot.

So whats my point? I like to grouse. And I advise anyone to keep looking, because better does exist if you dont want to compromise.