I currently live at Versailles on the Lakes and can give you my thoughts on these apartments if you email me at
[email protected] (not on SDN often).
Hi everyone! I emailed Grant regarding Versailles on the Lakes and this is what he had to say:
Versailles is a great place, but rent is significantly higher than other apartments. Therefore it really depends upon your budget and if you'll have any roommates. Make sure you get the Midwestern University student discount (you may need a coupon or something and I can't remember where I found one but I'm sure if you ask they'll throw it in). There's also some dumb "pick an envelope" situation for a signing bonus, I received a $500. You'll have to get a credit check and possibly a background check (I had to have my parents co-sign), it's weird but worth it for the amenities this place has.
Although Versailles has a weight room, swimming pools, grills with gas-line propane, a movie theater, etc. I don't have much time to partake in them. Sometimes I go work out there, seldomly swim when the weather is nice, but otherwise much of your time will be spent studying. The clubhouse is good for studying on some days; sometimes there are a lot of people in there. One of the nice things they do have though is Errand Master, which can do dry cleaning among many other things. I was given 5 free movie rentals, $10 worth of dry cleaning, and some free stuff (but this could have been because my apartment semi-flooded the day I moved in; this is another long story but you don't have to worry about that).
The grounds are kept ship-shape, they are always planting flowers and mowing the lawn; theres a sprinkler system even. It's very clean; very safe, always patrol cars driving by, but never anything going down. As for the noise, make sure you don't get an apartment near the trash shoot or main entry; I'm sure it would be louder than usual there. I don't have many complaints for noise, but I'm sure if you lived next to a family with an infant it could get annoying. If the people above me are blaring their TV I can hear it, but otherwise it's quiet.
Also, the showcase rooms they show you in the office look spectacular. Every apartment has a slightly different layout though and nothing is exactly the same square foot measurements; obviously they will try hard to sell you with these showcase rooms, so ask if it's possible to have a tour of the apartment you are interested in. Most of the time you wont be able to do this though, unless there is nobody living there at the moment.
Another thing I need to personally consider for future apartments: I feel it would be wise to pick a ground-level floor if you'll be moving in a bunch of furniture. However, I have noticed a significant number of spiders, so I don't know if this has anything to do with me living on the ground floor or not; I don't care, my fiancée does.
Overall, this place far exceeded my expectations, but this is largely because I lived in very crappy college apartments in Champaign, IL for four years. Driving to school is easy, hardly any REAL traffic, but there is construction at 1 of the 3 intersections that you'll be using. It takes me maybe 5-10 minutes to get to school; only like 2 miles away.
Also unrelated to apartments, but only purchase $200 of lunch ("munch") money at school. Getting $400 could do, but you'll have to really try hard to buy all the food before time runs out, especially since there are a ton of free lunches from guest speakers and student group meetings.
I thought I would share the info!
