Holy crap man I 100% feel the same way. I've lived for several years with noisy upstairs neighbors, noisy neighbors in general, people blasting rap music down the road, all manner of shit. After a...
Holy crap man I 100% feel the same way.
I've lived for several years with noisy upstairs neighbors, noisy neighbors in general, people blasting rap music down the road, all manner of shit.
After a lot of looking I've found a decent apartment for now. Its attached to my landlords' house, which is just a quiet old couple. The people next door are young people and on a few occasions have sat outside just talking. No music, nothing too lound, just talking and laughing much the same way I do when I'm with my friends. I wonder if I'm fucked in the head from years of noisiness but my god I cannot stand hearing them. All I wonder is "how long will they be there, will I be able to get to sleep, will they stay out late???". I've spend HUNDREDS of dollars on noise cancelling crap, and its all just so uncomfortable and useless.
You're lucky you can move in with your mom. In all of my situations I've been locked in place by my lease and my job.
I also like living in a small city, having stuff to walk to and whatnot. I wish people could be more considerate. After some recent events and all these years I've decided I need to move to an even smaller city than I'm currently in and find some cheapo house out in the sticks. Its probably the only way I'll find the peace I desire.
I don't have any suggestions for you. Its all a miserable struggle. Just wanted to say you're not alone in your abject hatred for hearing other people's lives.
I have similar (but lesser) inclinations, but I don't know that his is really achievable in an absolute sense without a very large amount of land in a very rural area. I have a house on 10 acres...
I want to be able to sit in a room quietly for an entire day and hear no sound except for the sound that I choose to make. I want to be able to make sound of my own without having to worry about others hearing me.
I have similar (but lesser) inclinations, but I don't know that his is really achievable in an absolute sense without a very large amount of land in a very rural area. I have a house on 10 acres with a handful of neighbors on two sides. I almost get there, but I can still hear the occasional tractor or similar noise.
I lived in an apartment for years with a very noisy family above me, and it was bad enough that I'd sometimes put earplugs in just to get some peace. Your situation sounds similar, and your...
I lived in an apartment for years with a very noisy family above me, and it was bad enough that I'd sometimes put earplugs in just to get some peace. Your situation sounds similar, and your heightened sensory sensitivity no doubt makes it all the worse. I'm sorry you have to endure that. I hope you can find relief.
As for your questions, apartments vary greatly in the level of sound experience they have based on structure, layout, and residents. The noisy one I had was in a big complex so there were lots of shared walls that were pretty thin. My next apartment was in a building with all its units in a single row, so the only shared walls were the leftmost and rightmost, and we actually lived in the end unit so we only had one. The walls were thicker, and the people that lived next to us were very quiet. It was also within a gated perimeter to prevent through traffic, so there was little sound from cars as well. It was very peaceful and probably would have met your noise needs.
A house would generally be quieter than an apartment by design, though the neighborhood you choose would be significant here. One with lots of kids riding bikes and playing basketball in the street wouldn't be good for you, nor would one where the neighbors throw block parties once a month. If the neighbors are quiet though, you shouldn't have any issues outside of typical yardwork and wildlife. The space between houses and the fact that each has its own separate walls deadens everything from within other houses and nearly everything outside due to distance (nobody's making noise close to our house because they'd have to be on our property to do so, for example). My husband and I have never heard our neighbors from within our house, nor do we have to worry about being too loud for them. The only things you can hear from within our home from outside are motorcycles that go up and down the street and big trucks that rattle as they drive past.
A different solution might be looking into soundproofing a small room/box in your current/future residences. I'm not sure of the costs or procedures involved, but I know someone who did some minor soundproofing in their apartment to create a little recording space for themselves. It probably wouldn't work against the type of noisy neighbors you have, but it might help in a different situation to lower the ceiling of ambient noise from traffic, air conditioners, distant conversations, etc. Even in our quiet house I can still hear noises from our heating and AC, and there are of course the occasional creaks and groans of a settling structure. These are likely unavoidable no matter where you are, so doing some deliberate soundproofing could be a good way of mitigating that kind of thing independent of your overall setting. I imagine the soundless space you're envisioning in your post to be something like the inside of a recording booth.
I hope some of this helps, and I hope you can eventually get the relief you're seeking.
If you don't want to rent/buy a house, I would suggest either a basement apartment or an end-unit with no one above you. A basement unit will filter out a lot of outside noise, but you will still...
If you don't want to rent/buy a house, I would suggest either a basement apartment or an end-unit with no one above you. A basement unit will filter out a lot of outside noise, but you will still be at the mercy of the tenants above you. If you are allowed to make changes, and the unit has something simple like drop ceiling tiles, it wouldn't be too hard or expensive to add rockwool insulation between the floor joists. That should help dampen the upstairs noise.
Another option is a garage unit. If the garage is used for storage and not for parking, it seems like it would be fairly quiet.
Since you mentioned you don't mind cars, you might want to move to a louder area. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but a place near a highway can create a lot of background noise, like a white noise generator. Just don't choose a place near a stoplight or anywhere with a lot of stop and go traffic. I used to live next to a highway and after I moved, it was so quiet, I had trouble falling asleep.
If all else fails, you may need to move to a lower cost of living area and buy/rent a house to get some reprieve. Research neighborhoods that are quieter and choose something further from parks and schools, preferably a quiet cul-de-sac. Don't bother getting a townhouse or condo unless they have a finished below-grade basement you can escape to.
I've lived in basement apartments for years and I don't think OP will find them to be suitably quiet. Obviously it depends on the building, but a ton of noise can come down through the ceiling. I...
I've lived in basement apartments for years and I don't think OP will find them to be suitably quiet. Obviously it depends on the building, but a ton of noise can come down through the ceiling. I recently moved out of a basement apartment and didn't realize how loud it was until I wasn't hearing constant footsteps and dog barks anymore.
If your goal is to have privacy and quiet in your own home, but to still have somewhat easy access to the city, then renting a small house or maybe a well insulated apartment in a suburban area...
If your goal is to have privacy and quiet in your own home, but to still have somewhat easy access to the city, then renting a small house or maybe a well insulated apartment in a suburban area might be what you're looking for. You may be surprised in terms of affordability - if you currently live in the center of a city, sometimes renting a place in the surburbs is actually cheaper than somewhere in the city. I definitely wouldn't consider buying any property until you've personally lived there or at least visited on different days, given your sensory conditions, so that you know it'll work for you.
Generally, houses are much better than apartments because they usually don't connect to any other living spaces that can make noise, and if you close all the windows, you'd be hard pressed to hear any ambient noise at all if you work somewhere near the center. I used to live in suburban Virginia, and it was deathly quiet on weekday afternoons if the rest of my family was gone.
That being said, suburbs have their own disadvantages, namely a commute for most jobs. But even then, you'd likely be commuting in your own car, or perhaps by bicycle, and so you wouldn't have to worry about hearing or talking to other people like you might if you take public transit or walking down a crowded street.
Holy crap man I 100% feel the same way.
I've lived for several years with noisy upstairs neighbors, noisy neighbors in general, people blasting rap music down the road, all manner of shit.
After a lot of looking I've found a decent apartment for now. Its attached to my landlords' house, which is just a quiet old couple. The people next door are young people and on a few occasions have sat outside just talking. No music, nothing too lound, just talking and laughing much the same way I do when I'm with my friends. I wonder if I'm fucked in the head from years of noisiness but my god I cannot stand hearing them. All I wonder is "how long will they be there, will I be able to get to sleep, will they stay out late???". I've spend HUNDREDS of dollars on noise cancelling crap, and its all just so uncomfortable and useless.
You're lucky you can move in with your mom. In all of my situations I've been locked in place by my lease and my job.
I also like living in a small city, having stuff to walk to and whatnot. I wish people could be more considerate. After some recent events and all these years I've decided I need to move to an even smaller city than I'm currently in and find some cheapo house out in the sticks. Its probably the only way I'll find the peace I desire.
I don't have any suggestions for you. Its all a miserable struggle. Just wanted to say you're not alone in your abject hatred for hearing other people's lives.
I have similar (but lesser) inclinations, but I don't know that his is really achievable in an absolute sense without a very large amount of land in a very rural area. I have a house on 10 acres with a handful of neighbors on two sides. I almost get there, but I can still hear the occasional tractor or similar noise.
I lived in an apartment for years with a very noisy family above me, and it was bad enough that I'd sometimes put earplugs in just to get some peace. Your situation sounds similar, and your heightened sensory sensitivity no doubt makes it all the worse. I'm sorry you have to endure that. I hope you can find relief.
As for your questions, apartments vary greatly in the level of sound experience they have based on structure, layout, and residents. The noisy one I had was in a big complex so there were lots of shared walls that were pretty thin. My next apartment was in a building with all its units in a single row, so the only shared walls were the leftmost and rightmost, and we actually lived in the end unit so we only had one. The walls were thicker, and the people that lived next to us were very quiet. It was also within a gated perimeter to prevent through traffic, so there was little sound from cars as well. It was very peaceful and probably would have met your noise needs.
A house would generally be quieter than an apartment by design, though the neighborhood you choose would be significant here. One with lots of kids riding bikes and playing basketball in the street wouldn't be good for you, nor would one where the neighbors throw block parties once a month. If the neighbors are quiet though, you shouldn't have any issues outside of typical yardwork and wildlife. The space between houses and the fact that each has its own separate walls deadens everything from within other houses and nearly everything outside due to distance (nobody's making noise close to our house because they'd have to be on our property to do so, for example). My husband and I have never heard our neighbors from within our house, nor do we have to worry about being too loud for them. The only things you can hear from within our home from outside are motorcycles that go up and down the street and big trucks that rattle as they drive past.
A different solution might be looking into soundproofing a small room/box in your current/future residences. I'm not sure of the costs or procedures involved, but I know someone who did some minor soundproofing in their apartment to create a little recording space for themselves. It probably wouldn't work against the type of noisy neighbors you have, but it might help in a different situation to lower the ceiling of ambient noise from traffic, air conditioners, distant conversations, etc. Even in our quiet house I can still hear noises from our heating and AC, and there are of course the occasional creaks and groans of a settling structure. These are likely unavoidable no matter where you are, so doing some deliberate soundproofing could be a good way of mitigating that kind of thing independent of your overall setting. I imagine the soundless space you're envisioning in your post to be something like the inside of a recording booth.
I hope some of this helps, and I hope you can eventually get the relief you're seeking.
If you don't want to rent/buy a house, I would suggest either a basement apartment or an end-unit with no one above you. A basement unit will filter out a lot of outside noise, but you will still be at the mercy of the tenants above you. If you are allowed to make changes, and the unit has something simple like drop ceiling tiles, it wouldn't be too hard or expensive to add rockwool insulation between the floor joists. That should help dampen the upstairs noise.
Another option is a garage unit. If the garage is used for storage and not for parking, it seems like it would be fairly quiet.
Since you mentioned you don't mind cars, you might want to move to a louder area. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but a place near a highway can create a lot of background noise, like a white noise generator. Just don't choose a place near a stoplight or anywhere with a lot of stop and go traffic. I used to live next to a highway and after I moved, it was so quiet, I had trouble falling asleep.
If all else fails, you may need to move to a lower cost of living area and buy/rent a house to get some reprieve. Research neighborhoods that are quieter and choose something further from parks and schools, preferably a quiet cul-de-sac. Don't bother getting a townhouse or condo unless they have a finished below-grade basement you can escape to.
I've lived in basement apartments for years and I don't think OP will find them to be suitably quiet. Obviously it depends on the building, but a ton of noise can come down through the ceiling. I recently moved out of a basement apartment and didn't realize how loud it was until I wasn't hearing constant footsteps and dog barks anymore.
If your goal is to have privacy and quiet in your own home, but to still have somewhat easy access to the city, then renting a small house or maybe a well insulated apartment in a suburban area might be what you're looking for. You may be surprised in terms of affordability - if you currently live in the center of a city, sometimes renting a place in the surburbs is actually cheaper than somewhere in the city. I definitely wouldn't consider buying any property until you've personally lived there or at least visited on different days, given your sensory conditions, so that you know it'll work for you.
Generally, houses are much better than apartments because they usually don't connect to any other living spaces that can make noise, and if you close all the windows, you'd be hard pressed to hear any ambient noise at all if you work somewhere near the center. I used to live in suburban Virginia, and it was deathly quiet on weekday afternoons if the rest of my family was gone.
That being said, suburbs have their own disadvantages, namely a commute for most jobs. But even then, you'd likely be commuting in your own car, or perhaps by bicycle, and so you wouldn't have to worry about hearing or talking to other people like you might if you take public transit or walking down a crowded street.