As it happens, I have always lived on the top floor of whatever mulit-unit building I have lived in. Dorms, apartments, whatever. I never demanded the top floor, it just always worked out that way.
Having never had anyone living above me, I'm not really sure how much noise transfers to the people below. I think we're pretty quiet - no shoes indoors, no loud music, mostly just sit with our laptops in the evenings - but I just have no sense of what they can hear. It makes me nervous to have parties. I really really want to have lots of parties but I'm too worried about my neighbors.
Now we're on a middle floor, but in a building that is much better noise-insulated than our last. We haven't heard a single noise from any of our neighbors. Until today. Today I can hear all manner of noises from above. I wish I knew what they were doing! Are they just moving around (so that means the people below can hear us moving around)? Or are they, like, moving out or something that requires moving all the furniture (so a party wouldn't be so bad)? I can hear a mechanical sound - is that the vacuum or a floor sander? I wish I knew!
4 comments:
Oh man, I hate living below people. In college, I heard all sorts of scandalous sounds when I lived beneath an apartment full of guys. It was pretty funny. Barking dogs, country music and domestic disputes have made me never ever want to live in an apartment again. I'm like you, I hate making too much noise that would annoy the neighbors but it seems like they don't feel the same.
I lived in an apartment, on the lowest floor, so no worries about noise going down. However, we did have neighbours left and right (noise moves sideways as well over here), and above. I was soooooo happy when we finally had the money to live in a house. And we specifically looked for a corner house as well. Not that we are that loud. Its just that I feel really conscious about noise others can hear, so I never had loud music on, only do little parties, take my shoes off etc etc.
However, I did walk upstairs when some really weird noise was going on, the best way to meet all the neighbours is to stand in the hallway together looking at / helping out at some water-leak problem of some upstairs neighbour
I've only lived below people twice (out of all my places) and it bothered me the first few weeks.... and then I sort of overcame it. The noise from the side neightbours were much more annoying that time.
That said, I loved when I moved and went back to "being on the top floor". I'm a quiet person though, and walk barefoot most times, so I don't think I'm that much of an annoyment for the people underneath. The vaccuming though, need to tell some people that "no, it's not ok to vaccum aftee 10 pm on a school night. sorry."
I only lived on a bottom floor apartment once in the last ten years...and that six months of bottom-unit living was hell. Hope it's quiet again soon!
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