BlogDare for March 13 - My neighborhood/apartment is...

Today's Blog Dare is My neighborhood/apartment building is...

I'd considered putting this as just "my apartment building" but I'm in a complex rather than a building, so it kind of fits both.

I live in Brighton Valley Apartments in Nashville, TN.  We moved here last May and, honestly, I love it.  It's not perfect, but it's far better than the last place we lived.

To get here, you drive down a fairly large road in Nashville, then turn onto Brooksboro Terrace.  To the left, there's a road that is a back way into a few business (mostly restaurants), including my favorite, Starbucks.  On the right is a bank with a fairly gentle slope up.  The road is is at a bit of an incline, since we're in a valley (as they name implies).  There are two types of apartments here.  Flats and townhomes.  The townhomes are about 5 to a row, then a bit of greenspace in between.  The apartments have about 8 to 12 apartments in a building, though some are more.  We live in a townhome, which is a big difference from anywhere I've lived before.  I really like having two stories.  I've got a small front yard, though it's not private, and a back porch.

My neighbors are all really friendly.  When I'm walking to my car or down to the mailbox to get my mail, they'll say hi.  I've had someone from the office come by when they saw the trunk of my van had been left open (completely my own fault).  I haven't heard of any issues inside the complex with theft or vandalism.  It's really a great place.

The people that work at the complex are also fantastic.  We've had a few issues - our front door sticking, our heat not turning off, things like that - and they've had maintenance out to take care of it within the day.  (Whereas at our old place, it sometimes took months.)  I've locked my keys in the apartment and they lent me the master for my apartment.  They know me every time I come in and not only call me by name but ask about the boys and about Rich.

One of the best amenities here are the pools.  They have two - an indoor, and an outdoor.  The indoor pool is open year round and is heated during the winter.  I was hoping to have more of a chance to swim this winter, but I haven't had a lot of time away from the boys in which to do that.  And I don't feel too comfortable bringing the boys in by myself, because they'll both go in different direction.  But it's nice to have them for when I want to go in.

The apartment isn't perfect.  There's something about the wood in my front door that makes it keep sticking, regardless of how many times they come to fix it.  Being in the bottom of the valley, we don't get good cell signal or good TV signal.  Inside my apartment, I rarely am able to get calls on my cellphone, and I can't watch any television now that everything's gone digital. (And I've tried antennas, they don't do any good.)  Plus, it's not my own so there's only so much I can do inside.

Someday, I want a house of my own.  I want both my boys to have their own rooms and I'd love to have an office/craft room/spare bedroom and/or a finished basement.  I'd love to have a yard that I can send the boys out to play in and the ability to paint my walls, put holes in them and make whatever changes my pocketbook can afford.  I'd love it to be in a neighborhood with good schools and greater neighbors.  But for now, until we can afford a place like that, the place we're at is a pretty good one to be in.

Here's a pic from outside my apartment.