Well, I lived at Vista, and it really was not that bad. It has been a few years, but they still had the reputation of being Vista Lay (the bus drivers told us all the stories). Anyway, I am not a partyer and was never really bothered by the parties. I did see them, but maybe I was just fortunate that they were never in my building? I don't know. I do know that if I was out walking late at night, I could usually find a party. Another thing that may have been on my side, I lived on the top floor. I know usually people have more noise problems the farther down in a building you are. I did get woken up a few early mornings by the maintanance people mowing or weedwacking (I swear it was almost every day) and a few times by the guy across the hall fighting with his girlfriend on his phone (in the middle of the night!! - he was nice enough to leave his apartment so as not to disturb his roomates, but then he just ended up waking me up). I'm sure this isn't everyone's experience, however. I had the bedroom next to the front door of the apartment, and my bed was beside the window (so he was literally sitting outside my window arguing - you'll see what I mean when you get there).
But all in all, I loved Vista, especially if you are not going to bring a car. Again, things may have changed, but I know Chatam used to have to catch a bus to Vista just to catch a bus to many of the places the buses take you. I would also recommend getting an apartment on the top floor. Ours was a two bedroom, so four roomates, with a bathroom in each. And, while it didn't actually make the apartment bigger, the cathedral ceiling and larger window certainly made the place seem plenty big. We all worked odd shifts, so it was rare that all four of us were home at the same time, and all four of us were very quiet people, too. Great experience at Vista!
