Slow Down When Driving in An Apartment Complex

The demographics of American apartment complexes are changing.  Many complexes host large communities of guest workers from India.  These workers are not familiar with American customs regarding cars and pedestrians.  They also tend to walk around a lot in an apartment complex.

Delhi Traffic By David Bleasdale from England [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Foreign guest workers may not walk against traffic.  They also may not avoid blind corners.  They also tend not to use the available sidewalks.  Since they are often working from home with offshore personnel in India, they may be up and walking about much later than typical Americans.  Since they may not have a car or they may rely on friends for transportation, they tend to walk to work and to stores.

On many occasions, I have rounded a blind corner to find an extended family of immigrants or guest workers complete with grandfather, grandmother, mom, dad, and baby in stroller.  Needless to say, if you are driving in an apartment complex, watch your speed and be prepared for the unexpected.

Advantages of Renting: No Paving Bricks for Me

One of my co-workers is a home owner.  Every weekend, he works on his yard.  A typical weekend consists of moving tons of 30-pound paving stones around for one of his two weekend days.  He takes pride in his yard and gets a lot of enjoyment out of it.  But, secretly, I'm glad I don't have to do any yard work.  There aren't many advantages to living in an apartment, but avoiding yard work has to be one of the greatest.


I also appreciate the fact that I don't have to come up with $3000 at some random time if an air conditioner or furnace breaks.  There that is two advantages for renting!

How to Blow Out the Breezeways

If you live in an apartment the south, odds are pretty good that you live in a garden-style apartment with open air breezeways.  These breezeways let air circulate and don't have to be air conditioned.  However, they do have to be swept out by the maintenance staff on a regular basis.  Most apartment complex groundskeeping crews use leaf blowers for the job.

Unfortunately, some groundskeeping people shirk their responsibilities.  If you are on a Groundskeeping crew, blowing out the hallways is your chance to go to war against bugs, moths, spiders, cobwebs, and leaves.  

Suit up, crank that blower up full blast and go after them.  You've got to get the floor and blow out the dirt and leaves.  Then, you've got to blow out the walls and the ceilings and the stair barristers.  You've got to get all the spiders, all the spider webs, and all the spider eggs.  The whole complex is counting on you!

Tips For Touring an Apartment Complex

If you are selecting a new apartment, an apartment tour is your chance to really inspect a potential new home and make sure that it meets your needs.  It can be tough because apartment complexes always try to put their best foot forward and dazzle you with charismatic leasing consultants and beautiful club houses, great looking pools, and top notch exercise room facilities.  Sales professionals call this "selling the sizzle and not the steak."  When you tour an apartment complex, you have to sniff out the steak.  You need to know what it's really going to be like to live in an apartment complex.
 

High Security Mail Boxes

 If you don't you may find yourself living in a roach motel with unsavory neighbors.  It's only a slight step up from a van down by the river.

Watch Out for Trashy Neighbors

 Here are some things that you should notice whenever you tour an apartment complex:

Ten Things to Notice on an Apartment Tour

Ways to Play Your Stereo Without Getting Evicted!

I love owning a serious component stereo again.  But, living in an apartment, I have to make some compromises and respect my neighbors.  

I don't want to generate noise complaints or an eviction notice.  Here are some ways to enjoy a stereo in an apartment without getting evicted:

Eight Ways to Play Your Stereo Without Disturbing Your Neighbors

Intruder Alert - Burglaries in our Complex

We got a notice today that two burglaries recently happened in our complex!  It's our first burglary notice in two years.  But, we do live in a teeming hive of scum and villainy.  I guess it is unrealistic for the anti-zombie walls to keep every intruder away.  That's why we are using a home security bar again.  It's also known as a "charlie bar" and it wedges the door shut.  You can read a full review here:

Product Review:  Master Lock Dual Function Home Security Bar

A Good Stereo For An Apartment

You can't really exercise a stereo in an apartment.  Even if your stereo's volume goes up to 11, you really can't push it past a 2 or 3 without disturbing your neighbors and being a rude neighbor.  But, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy music.  It just means that high volumes and thumping bass aren't a great idea.  Instead a more modest bookshelf stereo might be a better idea for apartment life.

I've recently found a very inexpensive stereo that works just fine for our apartment.  It's the GPX Home Music System.  Yes, it's a $45 stereo from Kmart.  But, it can connect to all my devices and it generates enough volume for my living room.  This stereo would work well in any apartment, dorm room or child's bedroom.  If you are looking for a good little stereo for a small space, here's my review:

Compact Stereo Review:  GPX Home Music System with CD Player