FSU’s Best and Worst Apartment Complexes

It is that time of year again and as a junior this year, I have gone through the ups and downs of apartment hunting. I went from living in a dorm freshman year to moving from different apartments until this year. I surveyed the apartment scene and have come up with a little go-to guide for apartment hunting. My criterion consists of the following: close to campus, affordable, decent amount of visitor spots, a nice pool, and a gym. Well to my surprise, almost all apartments in Tallahassee have most of these amenities, so I have compiled a list of places I suggest looking at for next year.

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University Village
This apartment complex is located right on Call Street and is known for being super close to campus. This is where I currently reside and plan to resign my lease. I love that I can walk to all of my classes and that nightlife is not a far walk either. There may be limited visitor parking but it is so close to campus most people prefer to park there anyways. It is super affordable too; the current residents are paying between $459 to $554, depending on how many bedrooms and bathrooms you want. The utilities are not included but the apartments come furnished. I highly suggest signing with this place before December ends in order to get a spot.

Players Club
This apartment complex is located off Ocala Road and is directly next to the Publix shopping plaza, which makes grocery shopping super convenient. Although the nice location and decent price to live here, I have heard some people suggest against living here. “It’s nice because it is convenient but the price isn’t worth it and you can’t have animals. They’re raising the price for next year a lot and we’ve mysteriously gone over our utilities every month even though we are conscious about it. The maintenance isn’t good either and I would not live here again,” current resident, Jenna Dranscak stated.

West 10
This apartment complex is located off Tennessee Street a ways down campus but is known for the amenities. If an indoor basketball court and a lovely pool area interest you, look no further. I have never heard any complaints from the residents about their experience here except for the long drive to campus, having to find campus parking, and the price this pretty place costs. “I really liked the big closest and bathroom. I also loved the amenities they had such as the gym, pool, tanning beds, basketball court. I disliked the management there because they were not friendly, very unhelpful, and never honored maintenance requests in a timely fashion. Plus I disliked how far away it was from campus,” Tara Quailey stated about her experience with West 10 after two years of living there.

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The Retreat
This lovely cottage style inspired housing complex is a dream when looking at it. These adorable, fun living quarters make housing complexes look weak, but there are some fall backs. Even though it is brand new and built this year, the price to live here is sky high and the location in nowhere near campus. If you are not worried about price nor location but prefer great amenities and the option of living in a house in a gated. “I’m moving out next year. I love how spacious it is and the room sizes, some of the amenities, like the pool and gym. I’ve had a lot of problems with management. I’ve put in like eight work orders for the same problem and they just don’t care; they only care once parents call and start complaining. I don’t like the distance and how far it is from everything. It’s really loud all the time and the neighborhood around it isn’t too good either. Other than that it’s really nice and the furnished model is pretty good. Oh and there were a lot of things in the lease that they never gave us, like for example every house was supposed to have one guest spot and there’s definitely not enough spaces for it,” Caitlin Dunn said when asked about living in The Retreat.

When looking for a new apartment, do not just go based off of what you have heard. Taking tours help determine the place for you because there are pros and cons to every apartment complex. These are lived in by students; of course you may come across some filthy apartment complexes but make sure you know what you want when going for the hunt.