A guide to living in Berkshire

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The local area is vibrant and well-connected, with a good range of restaurants, coffee shops, and independent boutiques just a short walk away. Public transport links are excellent — multiple bus routes and a nearby underground station make commuting into central London very convenient. There is also a good mixture of people from all walks of life ranging from students, to workers to families from all backgrounds. It is a really nice place to live and connect with others.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

To the best of their ability as we had an issue that was out of the building managements hands.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Rent increases. Please clarify before renewing because we had very irrational 37% rent increase although this had nothing to do with the people on site we weren’t really happy with how the issue was resolved as it wasn’t resolved and we feel what we were charged was unfair especially as no one else we knew in that building was paying that much and we still have not had a valid explanation but didn’t have enough notice time to move out.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Multiple stores nearby, and the trainstation is a two minute walk away. It is easy to get out of town by car too.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Any maintenance repairs were resolved promptly and efficiently

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Some detailing in the appartement like the finishing of the kitchen cabinets was not done perfectly.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Good area with easy access to train station. Restaurant variety no where near the level of reading or Bracknell.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Not active in following up on essential issues, not very satisfied.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish I had known that the Microwave in the gym was for display only and would be removed right before we moved in.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Good: 2 min walk to train station, plenty shops, takeaways, and parks around. Bad: 1.Teenage brawl or group-vape can be seen at the doorsteps of this apartment brawl. Football fans very loud and friday night groups are really loud when walking pass the apartment sidewalk. Today I saw the whole punching incident and so much blood on the floor (5 steps from the entrance of our apartment). 2.Many Construction Sites - loud noises and irregular working hours: So multiple site are all under construction, the ground floor commercial units, the round office unit near station, and the fenced up land right in front of the apartment. So many thundering noises from 7:30am to 6:30pm, really affects adults', baby's, and pets' sleep and mood. I'm writing this down cuz during our viewing our sales said it won't be loud... 80-120 Decibels could be heard in the bedroom. 3.Transport Link:Elizabeth line is very unreliable especially weekday mornings, it's not 20 min to London as advertised - you have to add a lot of buffer time and transit time to mitigate the risk of being late to work, and weekday ticket price is quite high, people should be aware of this before moving to Maidenhead.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Very passive aggressive attitude and gaslighting attitude regarding a pressing flat problem when we just moved in. Very appaling. We have to keep following up that urgent issue ourselves or else they won't solve it or give a timeline. no sorry in the first 5 email exchanges, only say it after we demand an apology, ridiculously oblivious. Event frequency they didn't improve after raising the issue, still very low frequency and bad food (twice was good only)so we'll wait and see if things get better.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The following is not true:"You’ll have Wi-Fi included and set-up so you can get connected from day one." This quote is listed on website (still there on May 31 2025) and I am telling you it's not true because oh boy you have to contact a number and set up yourself and our neighbours got it from day 7 we got it from 10... And the setting up process affect our moving in/unpacking because the only way to set up is call a number and wait on the line for almost 3 hours, and it is time-consuming and very anti-modern. And then you have to wait a few days for the wifi to be successfully connected. Get Living should eliminate this process like other built-to-rent companies, or else it will be false advertisement to list that sentence on their website. Also, if you work from home then you can only rely on you iphone's hotspot to do your work in the first week. I wish they at least let us know when we did our viewing or signing the contract. Construction around and under the flats are noisy. We didn't hear anything when doing our viewing. electricity metre number mismatch situation is a mess when we moved in, and they haven't emailed everyone yet whether or not it's resolved.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The area around Ebb and Flow is lively and convenient. There’s a good mix of local shops, supermarkets, and cafes within walking distance. Plenty of green spaces nearby for walks or relaxing. Public transport links are strong with nearby buses and train stations, making commuting easy. The street is generally quiet with minimal traffic noise, and we haven’t noticed any anti-social behaviour so far. Bin collections are regular and parking is manageable, though it can get a bit tight at peak times. Overall, it’s a great place to live!

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They’ve responded quickly and helpfully to any questions or issues we raised. Communication was excellent, and everything was handled efficiently and with care.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

It would have been helpful to know a bit more about how the Flatfair deposit process works for international tenants, especially the banking codes required for payment. Also, bringing proof of right to rent on move-in day is essential, so have all your documents ready.