During my 15-month lease any overall pleasantness was mostly nonexistent. Right when I moved in it was relatively quiet. Then all the construction started...and didn't stop once. I work from home, so I had to constantly apologize for the sheer amount of noise day after day during meetings: the deafening sound of putting in Sephora, then the re-painting of every building (that is still going on...) and the sounds of the crew's lifts and sprayers going 9-10 hours a day, the two back-to-back water
...main breaks, the gas leak requiring the emergency evacuation of the entirety of Birkdale.
Living in Birkdale you accept there will be noise outside of your control; the general din of restaurant-goers, pedestrians, and vehicle traffic are expected. In addition to all the aforementioned noise, the property decided to add speakers all throughout The Grove so now you had no choice but be forced to listen to whatever music they had playing. Typically low-key pop music, but it wasn't quiet and was played from ~8AM-9PM...every day. Birkdale has embraced it's outdoor living spaces for patrons, but takes zero consideration for the tenants in the ~400 units on-site.
I did not accept my lease renewal offer (which was ridiculously overpriced) and chose to move out. When I turned in my keys I was told by a leasing rep that I would receive my security deposit within a week. I didn't. After many unanswered calls/emails, someone finally answered saying they didn't see my response about a forwarding address, but they'd forward to the corporate accounting team and a check would be cut within 2 weeks. Didn't happen. Then after another round of daily emails and phone calls, someone responded via email saying corporate takes about 30 days to issue security deposit checks. 30 days has come and gone - no check. After trying calls/emails again, I decided to drop in. I was told there was "turnover" and a community director told me to send her an email with my information. There were prospective tenants in the office, and she was very clearly trying to push me out the door so they wouldn't hear my complaints. I tried calling twice and the automated system stated no one was available to answer the phone (which was typical) and after sending an email I get an automated response saying the recipient was out-of-office for the next three days.
Today is the 51st day after moving out. Still nothing.
If you are thinking about moving here and happened to read through all this...don't do it.
Max of 1.