Knights Landing

One of those places where you seriously need to give it a chance… and then you won’t leave!
Now most people that live in these apartments will probably hate them, they look pretty shabby on the outside (I think they were one of the first ones built in the area) and they haven’t been redone to make them the cheap cookie-​cutter wanna-​be trendy renditions of luxury apartment living. They lack a swimming pool and gym and ‘amenities’ that some people deem important, but I’ve been here for several years now, and I actually prefer them not to! I never go to the gym in any apt I’ve lived in and with about 20 pools within throwing distance, it’s not an inconvenience.
So why is this apt the shit?
It isn’t owned by campus! You get to choose your roommate or rent the whole place by yourself. No stupid single room leases and no crappy furniture masquerading as chic living.
They are all 2 bedroom/​2 bathroom apartments. and they are huge! You can fit a King/​Queen bed and dressers/desks…Yeah try that with Campus owned apartments with a twin bed shared by countless others before you, or you’re lucky if you fit a double in the room.
The kitchen is incredibly big with tons of counter space, ridiculous amounts of cabinets, pantry, AND there are plenty of closets in the hallway separate bedroom closets… I mean if you’re filling up all the storage space then you may be for that hoarder show.
There’s a large living room, and a separate dinning room… no I don’t mean dining area that is basically a corner of a living room, I mean it’s an actual room that could double as an office, lounge area, library or even if you’re adventurous, you can do some home improvements and add a door to the entry way and make it another bedroom! Which brings me to another great aspect of Knights Landing living:
You can do whatever you want, as long as it’s done nicely, and you don’t have to change it back when you leave. Now you have to supply the materials but you won’t be charged fees when you leave because you wanted to paint your bedroom.
For my place, between stripping the kitchen cabinets and repainting outsides black, insides bright blue, metallic silver walls, painting urban loft style throughout, installing chandeliers, ikea closets, stripper poles„ murals are painted… there isn’t a single white wall in the whole place. And because the management is so amazing, they not only let me know that if I needed help with anything I’m trying to do that maintenance will help me out, but also they made sure to keep on the lookout for one of the 4 apartments in the complex that were completely tiled (and this I highly recommend because it truly has made this the best apartment as a result… carpet = ick. in my opinion!)
Oh, and maintenance rocks. Anytime there’s a problem they are right on it, and if it’s after hours the complex has a 24 phone service and if you are in an emergency (like no water!) they will do everything they can to get someone to come out asap or will also even reimburse you if you end up having to stay in a hotel as a last resort.
Oh and the BEST part? Parking! You know how you have to park like 3 blocks from your place or have to wonder whether or not your car or your guest’s will be outside when you leave or if it’s on a bed of a truck about to be locked away? Yeah not here. Each building has 4 apartments, 2 bedrooms each, which is usually a total of 8 cars, and that’s if everyone living with you has a car (and here, it’s mostly students that work in research park so they only have bikes or just ride the shuttle) but there are 12 designated parking spots in front of you building! For the first few months, I parked diagonal just because I could.
Kickers: Huge bedrooms, private bathrooms for both rooms, big apartments, fenced in backyards or balconies (for top floor), amazing management/​maintenance/​pest control, parking, shuttle to campus, student living without student bullshit, make any changes to your apartment without fear of moving out fees, pets welcome.
Fails: No pool, no gym, no hot tub, not gated (if that’s your thing), ugly outsides, not best if you have to deal with a unit with carpet, they seem to be a favorite of ants.
Diamondisms: I’d gladly give up having a pool for all the other perks of living here! I just wish I could have this exact place but downtown… same price;)…and that they’d freshen up the outsides but it certainly isn’t a deterrence for me! Come be my neighbor!