Oh~ The same thing happened to me. He kept saying, "it's not clean" once he opened the door to my apartment. The maintenance guy even "threatened" me a bit by banging on the table. I refused to pay and asked JJ to come to my apt to check, and then found several of the maintenance workers already there to help defend for this guy. I do believe there are more than one maintenance worker doing this, if not all.

Ok, so you called JJ, and the problem was resolved, so why all the fuss. Really, living anywhere in St. Maarten is not perfect, and everywhere on the island has it's pro's and con's, but overall, for me, since I have the experience of living in the Dorms and Off-Campus, I can say that the dorms are good.

When I moved to St. Maarten, this was the first place that I lived, and I was pleasently surprised that it was as nice as the pictures. Sure, the super tiny ants, and the unreliable internet bothered me at times, but being 100 yards from class, the Gym, and the Anatomy Lab sure made up for these inconviences.

I think the problem is that the maintenance people know that it's nearly impossible for them to be fired. If you aren't afraid of losing your job and the culture dictates no reason to care about your job, then there is no incentive to do it well. When I moved out of the dorms, I also had to pay my way out of a large clean up fee, even though my room was already nearly spotless. Fortunately, I had something they wanted (a very large carpet), which I wanted to get rid of anyway. They agreed to clean my room for free if I left them the carpet. Of course, I watched them take the carpet, lock the door to my apartment, and I'm sure they never came back again to clean. It's definitely a scam, but nothing is going to change.

About living in the dorms, they are definitely a rip-off compared to American standards, but not bad for the island. There are electricity and water issues, but they're not nearly as bad as GEBE issues once you move off campus. They also rip you off a lot less than the Solutions people. The rooms are decent, A/C is included (which is typically very expensive), and the proximity can't be beat. Will I ever live there again? No. But, are they a bad deal for first semester? No.

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I'm an AUC student...that's all you need to know

what floor did u live on??

The only advantage of the dorms is that they are close and it is easier to meet the other students in your class (at least the other ones who were foolish enough to live in the dorms). If you stay away from the dorms and Solutions managed apartments you will have a much better living experience assuming you choose your apt carefully. I have been here 2 semesters and have yet to lose power, water, or internet. I laugh everytime my friends come over to shower because they haven't had water for 2 days.

Student Dystrophy - I may end up living in the dorms for first semester in Fall 08, but still haven't heard anything from school regarding that. If you could, would you please PM me with some apts that you find to be better than school/solutions so I can check them out when I come down in June? Thanks!!!

...or when they come over to use the washing machine (which I wish they'd stop) because they either don't have one or can't afford theirs!

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I'm an AUC student...that's all you need to know

6 dollars for a load!!! (washing = 4, drying 2)

Actually, the problem wasn't solved. Anyhow, I am not sure what housing had put on my check-out report after I signed it, but I am hopeful that something will be done.

I lived on the 2nd floor, and I regard myself as one of the more fortunate ones already. I heard from other classmates living on the 4th and 5th floors about water problem (e.g. insufficient water pressure to take a shower in the morning) and those on the 1st floor about the pest problem.

I concur that dorm is a reasonable choice for anyone new to the island and the school. I just think if I get the chance to do this all over again, I would get acquainted with the island in the first 2 weeks (when the school work was not as heavy) and then move out to a decent apartment elsewhere, anywhere but the dorm and Solutions buildings.

I guess I also need to emphasize to the newcomers that most staff here at AUC are very helpful. These several maintenance workers I talked about were probably the very exceptions.