I consider myself middle class though based on this 2020 tool by the Pew Research Center I am within the Upper income tier along with 21% of others in the area.

I don’t feel like I’m Upper Class, more like middle class. As a single person I don’t own a home, travel very frugally when I do, don’t spend too extravagantly. Then inflation, inflation, inflation. Speaking of, my rent is expected to go up $180/mo from $955/mo to $1,135. That’s an 18.8% increase from where I was

What are the pros living here? It’s relatively quiet, my neighbors stay out of my business, neither the dog or I have to walk up a long flight of stairs, parking is decent and they don’t tow cars if someone stays here for a few hours / days. It’s still cheap relative to both my income and in terms of what other people pay. One of my friends in Frisco has a Ring camera and has had packages stolen or knocked around, drunk young guys ring his bell at all hours of the night. I haven’t had to experience any of that.

The Cons? I’ve been here since Dec 2014, the complex was built the year I was born, the inside is a bit lacking of frills, the stove is pretty old, there isn’t a bunch of natural lighting, I have only one friend who lives within a 5 mile radius and that’s someone I used to date so we don’t really hangout. For any company I do have over, the place isn’t that impressive. The fixtures, the flooring, the paint on the walls. The worst is the bathroom, the glaze is flaking off the tub, the ceiling has spots of mildew that just gets painted over. Since the flood last year, pieces of tile either have glue that doesn’t adhere to floor, or the grout between the tiles has a slight water damaged look upon close inspection. My neighbors were smoking in their unit for a while and the smell would come under the door into mine almost daily. I had to complain multiple times about it. They’ve since stopped but I smell whatever meat they cook in my unit too and it is not a very appealing aroma. Nothing is walkable apart from a little convenience store, barbershop, and taqueria that opened up. Desirability to me of these places is fairly low.

I haven’t signed the renewal paperwork yet but I am starting to look at other alternatives that would be at $1200/mo or a bit above that.

Option 1 – MacArthur Ridge Apartments – $1294/mo – $200 Pet fee, $20/mo pet rent, $75 application fee, $75 admin fee. Built in 1991 so not that much newer. 4 stories. Read reviews about the lower levels being moldy. 2 years ago someone wrote about them increasing rent by 18% more from year 1 to year 2. People complain about the walls being thin, parking situation is not good.

Option 2 – Summerbend – $1,311 /mo – $250 pet fee, $20/mo pet rent All 6 reviews on page 1 of apartments.com basically said it was the worst place they lived and to stay away. People said there were issues with the foundation, cracks in the floors, roaches. Sounds like a shitshow.

Option 3 – Hyde Park at Valley Ranch – $1,340/mo for a renovated unit a comparable size to where I’m at now. $150 pet deposit, $150/mo pet fee. Read reviews about water being turned off. Bad parking, poor management, people talk about having to wait month to get the a/c fixed. Even worse than the other ones. It was built in 1986. Sounds like a hard pass.

Option 4 – Avalon 8801 – $1,404 / mo – The inside looks great, it would be about 50 sq/ft more than what I am in now. The floors are a wood laminate which also would be an upgrade. However the pricing increase is pretty high at 47% more than what I pay today or 23% after the increase. 2 months ago someone posted that the place was infested with German roaches. I saw 4 different pictures of roach traps that were full of roaches. No, no no. Also built in 1986. No because my quality of life sounds like it would go down and not up.

Option 5 – Villas at Beaver Creek – $1,175 / mo – Looks nice inside, relatively modern. $300/mo pet deposit. $10/mo pet rent. $80/mo to park in a garage. $30 for covered parking, $100/admin fee, $40/application fee. Built in 1993. People mentioned issues with the a/c 10 times and roaches 16 times. That doesn’t sound like an improvement at all.

Option 6 – The Lyndon – $1,401/mo. $300 one time pet fee, $100 pet deposit, $20/mo pet rent. Management is poor, maintenance seems very slow to respond to various requests tenants have had. The floors / walls are thin from what people have written. Built in 1998. Would it be an improvement? No.

Option 7 – MAA Addison Circle – $1,460/mo for something comparable to what I’m in now. $425 dog fee, $20/mo pet rent. One of my friends used to live here when it was owned by Post. Now it goes by a different name. Tenants complain about the call box not being functional, same with the elevator, slow maintenance. One said there was a 30% increase for their rent renewal. They talk about trash in the hallways and dog poop in the stairs. Also pool area being dirty.

I have 2 weeks to decide whether to stay or leave. I’ll keep looking but it all doesn’t look very promising right now. Not to mention moving would probably be about $900 depending on the location, how many boxes are needed, setting up new utilities and all that stuff. Factoring in the pet and processing fees too. I don’t know if it’s worth it especially with some of the reviews I’ve been reading.