I was very lucky with my first landlord. I took a 2 bed, 1.5 ba apartment in Vision City. There is a great deal of variability in Vision City apartments - from those beautifully furnished to those....less so. I was in one of the lower end apartments. It's also a very quiet community which can feel isolating at times. The main problem for me was the insect parade I witnessed every night. There were large ants, small ants, and even a few cockroaches (no more than 2 in my apartment during my 3 month stay). But for some reason my balcony was a graveyard for large dead cockroaches! My landlord was responsive to my concerns and let me out of my lease early due to my discomfort.
I'm now in my second, much lower cost apartment while I await my house to be built. Although it's a 2 bed, 2 full bath, it's a much more modest place. I was attracted to the location, cost and new construction. The staff are great, but the problems revolve around the power. Although power outages are not uncommon in Kigali, I've had serious problems in my apartment: wall socket blew up next to me while I was sleeping; flickering lights; lights not going off completely when turned off. The electrician, landlady, and compound guard were in my apartment until after 930pm last night. I insisted on my own power meter because I was uncomfortable with the landlady telling me how much I was supposed to pay for power every month. I finally got my own meter and we shall see how things go from here. The positives: reasonable rent; great neighbors, including a Black expat; I'm allowed to have cats; good location for easy transportation (buses, motos and cabs). One final negative: although this is new construction, that doesn't necessarily mean new construction MATERIALS.
Hope this helps,
Debra
Thanks for this. We toured Vision City when we visited last year and I agree, it seemed very isolated. Hopefully when they finish the other phases, it will be more lively.
