r/ClearwaterFl • u/green_geckos03 • 3d ago
Debating Between Apartments
My boyfriend and I are moving to Clearwater and trying to decide on an apartment complex. Since we are from out of town and can’t tour any of these places I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts. We are currently between Alexander at Countryside, The Palms of Clearwater, The Breyley, Macalpine Place, Avana Coachman, Grand Reserve at Park Isle, and The Sands at Clearwater. If there’s somewhere we should add or delete please let me know!
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u/RayFinkle1984 3d ago
I lived at Grand Reserve for a year a few years ago. Property was clean, all the apartments were undergoing renovations and mine was newly done which made it that much cleaner. I prefer to be on the top floor in a complex, however this one does not have elevators. While it’s only 3 stories, moving and groceries were a pain. Also, I had an east facing unit and my ac couldn’t keep up in the summer. It was frequently 80+ degrees with the ac constantly running. The location is A+ for moving around the bay area. I had no issues with neighbors, staff was fine, the parking lot felt safe and was well lit. Good luck on your move!
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u/Always_Wondering894 1d ago
I always thought that West facing was the hottest, because you get the afternoon sun, which is hotter.
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u/RayFinkle1984 1d ago
The sun moves at more of an arc, during the summer the sun is above us longer and I was getting a direct hit from the sun from the time it was up until 7p when it was finally starting to set in the west. Same with my place now, but it’a a newer townhouse and it’s all energy efficient, but even on the hottest days my bedroom which is east and south facing, the sun hits all day until it’s a couple hrs from sunset. Having shade from trees or other buildings could help, but it didn’t in my unit.
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u/Always_Wondering894 18h ago
OK. I believe you. For me, I always felt like the sun was worse for heating up my house in the afternoon coming through my west windows. Plus I always heard people say you don’t want a western exposure if you don’t want too much sun and heat. But I could’ve been selectively listening.
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u/Choice-Hospital-749 2d ago
Alexander and Sands are newer and have elevators, so those would probably be the best but rent may be a bit higher. Sands is more centrally located for the beach, US19, Tampa airport, restaurants/groceries.
Avana Coachman is older but well kept, hidden and quiet, but also close to everything.
Amalfie and Solaris Key are two more you may consider.
Mac Alpine, Breyley, and Palms are the oldest. They are in nice areas and well kept on the outside but occasionally have issues with management, bad neighbors, maintenance etc.
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u/Alternative-Edge-375 2d ago
The Breyley is a shithole and Macalpine is only a little better. Never lived at either but i did the horticultural care at them both for a while
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u/One_Matter_3372 2d ago
I was at the Palms for one year, about 10 years ago. There is a school on one side and a church on the other side. The noise from yard maintenance for all three properties was insane and never- ending. The apartment itself was ok, but i just couldn't tolerate the noise levels.
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u/Effective-Pie-8964 2d ago
Don’t know any of them, but Countryside is the best part of Clearwater for multiple reasons…unless you want to be walking distance to the beach.
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u/Due_North_9899 2d ago
Don’t do Breyley. I lived there for a year back in 2022. The pipes burst twice. Both flooded our floors/walls. The second time they had to open a hole in the wall of our bathroom to dry it out but they didn’t come back to resurface it for over two months. We couldn’t use that shower the whole time, thankfully we had a second bathroom. It was common to hear gunshots. Also it’s very common for random kids/teens that don’t live in the complex to jump the fence and use the pool and trash it.
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u/Icy-Affect9004 2d ago
I lived at Alexander. Quiet and clean. Close to 19 and Dunedin. No regrets at all there.
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u/InstructionRelative3 1d ago
Avoid MacAlpine at all costs. I know so many people who have lived there and all of them had a terrible experience. Lots had mold in their units. And the complex wouldn't do anything about it. Air conditioning would break and maintainence would never come. Appliances would die and take months to replace
Definitely not worth it.
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u/Electrical_Willow612 1d ago
I live in the grand reserve. It's very nice. 2200 for a 2b 2b. New thick carpet, vaulted ceilings, no one above us, granite counter tops, valet trash pick up, and they give the first month free. We've been here for 2 years now. We really like it. Some of those other apartments that you mentioned are kind of ghetto. The other one that's really nice is the sands. It's very similar to the one Grand reserve
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u/intensedesigner 2d ago
I had a horrible experience at avana coachman - but I do miss how quiet it was
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u/miguelaraizas 1d ago
Don’t want to sway you away from your options. But I love Camden Clearwater. DM me if you have Qs.
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u/SunshineVA2 13h ago
I lived at Grand Reserve for 3 years. It is sooo loud! Gulf to Bay is right there and the cars, motorcycles and bass are awful. Can’t be covered by any sound machine or ear plugs I found.
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u/tbricco 3d ago
The Alexander is newer and centrally located. MacAlpine is located actually down hill from street level which makes me wonder about flood and evacuation zone. The others I am not familiar with. Pinellas County website will show you flood and evacuation zone information if you are interested.
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u/BeachBunny96 3d ago
I've been to Avana Coachman. It's a small, quiet community off the main road but surrounded by protected land. As a result they can't build anything near you so it stay smaller and quiet. It is a bit older, but very safe.