Shadow Lake

Considering my status as a full-time college student with about $8,000 debt who works full-time & participates in a college fellowship to make as much money as I could, I still only manage to bring in a monthly income of about 800-1,000, depending on overtime, I was understandably looking for a place that would allow me to pay off my debt and save up a little money. At first, I thought Shadow Lake would be a bit much, considering they price their 2-Bedroom apartments at $475 and the singles only… $50 cheaper, it ends up costing me around 300-350 a month in rent and utilities to stay there with my roommate. The price of gas in the area is still around 2.50 a gallon. And food isn't exactly free. So on a monthly basis I end up spending about 500 on basic needs and transportation. Along with other costs. So i'm not exactly making great progress on my debt. The apartments are alright, can be warm at times but never unbearable. They seem to charge you 350 for the room and 125 in what every apartment/rental agency which has ever existed refers to as the "Cost of Upkeep". Aside from checking my AC every now and then the upkeep is minimal. The rooms are nice. The location is nice. It's just slightly to expensive for a 2-Bedroom apartment considering the location. Though that may just be the economy. Only offering you enough leeway to survive, never enough to live. It's not an ideal place, but they make it look refined and charge you to match. Also, they have very easy application processes, unlike local rental agencies which want you to have 6 months on your current job, 2 years rental history, good credit, a co-signer, the golden goose, the chalice of life, you're own severed arm, and your first born before even being considered to rent from them. You end up having to lie to them or beg your richer more successful family members to be co-signers if you don't meet their requirements for renting a 1-2 bedroom apartment with no washer/dryer, and a broken dishwasher, in the middle of a particularly unfriendly neighborhood. All in all, don't move to Russellville, Ar. Seriously. It's feels even worse if you do the math. The business could retain a net income and lower the cost of living, and very simply doesn't. Maybe I just hate life. Read More