Posted in IMHO, because I know the thread will turn that way.
I live in a brand spankin’ new apartment complex in Austin, Texas. I was the first one to move into the particular 24-unit building where I live. Over the past month, five other households have moved into the building … all of them single men. Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the complex, there’s families, couples, single women and so on. The building where I live has larger one and two-bedroom apartments; it’s not all studios.
I’m wondering, since it seems unusual that it’s all single men that have moved in to this building, while during the same time couples and families have moved into other buildings … do apartment complexes segregate single men into certain buildings, based on a preconceived notion that they’ll be loud or disruptive?
The apartment complex where I rent allowed us (my male roommate and me) to choose whatever apartment we wanted. We looked at three of them; we were never steered in any direction.
(The one we chose was on the shaded side of the building, eastern exposure with a line of trees outside, so it never gets too hot in the summer.)
I really wasn’t steered into the building I’m in now. I wanted a certain floorplan, second floor, facing away from a busy street, and this unit fit the bill; I overlook an empty field and wake up to a glorious Texas sunrise. Still, it seems odd that all those that followed me into this building are also single men.
This would only be an option really when a complex is brand new. Once people are moving in there they have fewer vacancies and just have to put people where they have room.
I don’t know what your local laws are, but around here (Washington state) any sort of steering or segregating in apartment complexes could break fair housing laws. A few years ago I worked for a property management company and if customers asked for a building away from families or kids we could try to find them one, but making any sort of assumptions like that would be a huge no-no.
I was living in a shared-common-areas four bedroom apartment with a couple of female friends in college. The fourth unit was rented to a gay/bi male. Whether they were playing matchmaker for (their assumptions about) me or understood the potential awkwardness of co-ed strangers living together, I don’t know.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to ensure some level of compatibility between neighboring tenants.
I once rented an apartment in Houston from an owner who preferred to put single men in his downstairs units. It was a dicey neighborhood and I think he figured we be better able to fend for ourselves in case of trouble. I slept with a baseball bat under my bed and got burgled once, but otherwise it was a really nice apartment!
Another WAG might have to do with satellite dishes. I lived in an apartment which because of the way the balconies faced and the trees, there were only a few buildings which could receive the satellite signal for Direct tv.
Well, no dishes in this building, although I’ve seen them around the complex.
Hot? Naaah. Besides, I’m in a part of the Austin area where rainbow flags aren’t very common. With Dell HQ about a mile away, though, neckbeards are a frequent sight.
Okay, then, here’s Theory #2, if only because, like the Mafia, I generally don’t believe in coincidences: Elmwood is so hideously ugly, only other men are willing to live near him, 'cause single women are afraid he’ll hit on them and mothers fear for their children. …and a “thank you!” for being such a good sport about it.
I’ve noticed this in our apartment complex. There are two buildings in our section that are all either families with kids or retirement-age people. The other few buildings are all singles or young, childless couples. Personally, I’m happy with this situation. We have two little kids and, as much as we liked to party when we were younger, it would be a huge PITA if we were in a building with tenants who had vastly different schedules and priorities than us. It seems like it works out for the tenants in the livelier buildings, too. We talk to them a lot at the pool and they seem to be a pretty tight group, with frequent parties that they’re all invited to. They can have fun and nobody’s bothering anyone else.
I can see that it wouldn’t be ideal for a single person who didn’t want to or couldn’t (for job, health, whatever reasons) deal with that sort of atmosphere. Nobody ever asked us what we wanted. I can’t imagine that it’s a coincidence, though. It seems to be common sense, from an apartment management point of view - fewer complaints would result, certainly.
I could agree with your view, if only it were explicit that that is the reason. But, if it were to seclude single guys from the other “family oriented” buildings, due to the assumption that single guys will harm children or some stupid societal fear like that, well that would be a huge problem. HUGE.
I agree with that. In our neighborhood, it’s not segregated by sex as much as age/family status. So, the single men and women (and young couples without kids) are in the same buildings. Our building includes us (couple with kids), an older retired couple, a single father with a young son, and an older single woman. We’re all very quiet and activity is pretty much non-existent after about 10 pm. Across the parking lot is one of the “singles” buildings. We can faintly hear their music/parties most weekends, but it’s not at all bothersome. That building has about 6 single guys and 4 or 5 single women (there are groups of roommates involved, but I don’t know who belongs to whom). When it’s warm, they’re usually all down at the pool together, barbecuing and lying in the sun. They’re all really nice people and the guys are always kind enough to throw the football around with our boys.
IME, a lot of single guys make more money than their single female counterparts and can afford a few more square feet of floor space. In other words, whereas a single working class woman may choose a studio or small one bedroom unit, her male counterpart will almost always opt for the slightly larger one.
