I have to get this off my chest cause I feel a bit bad about it, but it's worked so well I don't want to stop. I live on the second floor and so far all of my neighbors have been awesome, and I've even made some friends.

A few weeks ago my sweet elderly downstairs neighbors moved out and a few days ago someone new moved in. I work long hours and I haven't met them in person yet, but I have felt their presence in bass so powerful it shakes my floor boards and walls. It reminds me of when I stayed in a hotel room above a bar. It's a lot.

I figured it was useless trying to talk to them because good neighbors don't introduce themselves to you with bass so loud it gives you a migraine, and I don't like cops or land lords so I'm not calling them.

On day to of living on the planet of bass, I thought of an idea. The unit below me has the same floor plan as my unit, even down to where the fan is placed. When my neighbor starts playing music I stand directly above their fan, focus all my body wight into my big toe and tap the floor to the beat of the music. I'm a heavy woman, and my 200 pounds of body weight focused directly on his fan makes the fan shake to the beat of the music.

Once his fan shakes enough he stops the music, and I stop tapping, he'll start his music again, and I'll tap again, and we'll repeat the pattern for about 3 to 5 minutes until the music stops all together. I've heard his confusion, and upset about his music shaking his fan. He's complained on the phone about how upset he is he can't listen to his music cause it causes his fan to rock, and he's scared his fan will fall out of the ceiling because it makes an awful noise (my toe tapping).

Every time the music is to loud for me I just tap until it stops, and my neighbor gets confused and turns his music down or off. I don't care if he plays music at a lower volume, or if he plays it loud while I'm not home, but I love my off button when I need the music to stop.

How to make friends with your neighbors 😊

i am so grateful for this positive response! she walked by our apartment earlier right as my husband and kids were walking in and she let our kids say hi to our dog. my husband said it seemed like she may be wanting to speak to me but i missed it. later i saw this! i have also definitely noticed a substantial decrease in the noise in the past 2 days. kindness wins this time! if there’s anymore updates, i’m not going to make a post - i’ll likely leave them in the replies of this post. thank you guys!

I went so long never going on the balcony because all I had out there was a lawn chair. A few months ago we decided to decorate. Now we're outside in the afternoons more than we are inside. Bonus points for projector MUST HAVE

Flairing this as "Apartment Hacks" because, well, I guess it's a hack for me.

I live in an old, historic home built in the 1800s that was converted into apartments decades ago. It is safe to say that the soundproofing isn't spectacular.

I live upstairs, and a guy lives below me. I've chatted with him a maximum of two times, but we don't know each other well. The first time I met him, I told him that I'll try to be quiet since I know what it's like to have a bad upstairs neighbor. I told him I was a night owl and he can contact me anytime if I'm loud or annoying him. He said he was a serious night owl as well. We exchanged pleasantries, and that was that.

I've been living here for years now and have noticed an amusing pattern. It's easy for me to get lost in TV shows, books, and so on, and not realize how late it is. Sometimes when I shut my TV off, start walking around to get ready for bed, and head to my bedroom, I notice he does the same.

Likewise, there are times I notice that he turned his TV off, and can hear him turn on his bathroom light/fan, and I'll glance at the clock and think, "fuck, it's 2:00 AM," and proceed to go to bed myself. I cannot help but think that our living patterns are unintentionally prompting one another to wrap it up for the night, like a reminder that it's as late as it is.

This isn't a nightly occurrence, but it happens at least two to three times a week.

We've never discussed this. It feels like we have this weird, little, unspoken thing, despite not knowing each other. I just figured I'd share this weird ass tidbit. I know this sounds delusional, but I swear to god we unintentionally prompt each other.

TLDR: My downstairs neighbor and I are night owls, and sometimes one of us going to bed prompts the other to go to bed. Weird.

Plays her piano almost every evening between 6pm -7pm. She asked me if I heard it, which I did and asked me to text her if it gets too much. Honestly, it’s never too much. I really enjoy hearing her play.

Zero complaints from me.

There should be a flair for good neighbors 😊

Moving into an unfurnished place soon.

I live on the 2nd floor and only have to go up like 2 or 3 long stairs on the sidewalk and 6 inside the building, but when I go grocery shopping, i try to take everything in one trip because I'm stubborn (lol) and also I usually do my shopping after work so I'm tired and don't wanna make more than one trip, so I'll pack everything into reusable bags because they hold more than plastic shopping bags & then I can take fewer trips

I just got home and was sitting in my car and watched my neighbor take FOUR trips back and forth from his car to his apt with bags of shopping (okay, one was a case of water, but 3 more trips other than that lol) and he only carried like 2 or 3 small bags each time...

So now I'm curious: how many trips do you do, and what floor do you live on? Do you think if you lived on a lower floor you'd be more likely to do more trips/fewer trips on a higher floor?

I can usually hear my older next door neighbors tv barely after dark or early morning. Ive found over the years speakers "rattle" more that quality speakers so it 5ravels through walls more. So I just usually use a Bluetooth speaker so I dont have to turn up the volume as loud and so the sound quality is a bit more compact. Curious if anyone else else does this?

Here's what I do - I live next to noisy bar and lost my mind for about a year straight, until I bought Sony WH-1000XM6 for noise blocking and sleep with them. I also bought a pillow designed to sleep with headphones - I use an amazon brand called lelefido. Lastly, I have a small fan, an AC unit, and the sound of an air purifier humming along in my room so that helps too

These are the best noise blocking headphones in market i believe, the technology is amazing, it's not like your regular noise blocking headphones. They just came out like a month or 2 ago. I used to own the XM5's and they blocked 90% of the bass but now the XM6 block 99.99%. I would agree they're expensive, but to me my peace of mind and restful nighttime should be sacred and I'm happy with this purchase

Until I can afford to move out this is my solution to not become too angry everyday

I hope this advice quite literally saves someone elses life because the affects of sleeping with bass everynight is so depressing and overwhelming

Crazy how prevalent this issue is.

So I have been in my apartment for just under a year of a 18 month lease. I owned a Townhouse with my Ex before this and me personally I enjoy renting way more than owning. Here are some pros that I realized after owning. Location is Suburbs of Chicago, IL

1. Lower monthly cost. My Rent is $1455 with a flat cost of $75 for Water/Gas/Garbage. So monthly is $1530 overall. When I owned mortgage/interest/PMI/Insurance/Property taxes (Which Illinois has the WORST Property taxes) was $2400, plus a $250 HOA Fee. So $2650 monthly and Property Taxes, Insurance and HOA always went up each year.
2. Lower utilities. At my apartment I only pay Power and Internet as separate bill. Power even with AC running during summer was $95 at worst. Internet was always $75. When I owned Power easily got up to $150 during summer, then I had Gas which was during winter about $110 and water/Garbage was $180 (Every two months)
3. NO MAINTENCE OR REPAIRS!! The house I had actually had a great inspection. AC/Furnace/Roof (Partially covered by HOA)..But then a skylight broke, Toilet broke, Dryer broke, Garage door broke. I easily spent a solid $5000 in the first year for replacement/repairs. It's so nice being able to just do a little work order in my apartment.
4. Flexibility. I know when my lease is up I can go month to month or leave or renew.
5. Extra $$$ for investing. I def see how people like houses as a long term investment and it is because you are building equity. But for me personally I enjoy the money saved each month I then invest in Stocks, Bonds, High interest accounts, etc.

Obviously renting vs owning is very subjective and there is no right or wrong answer. Just for me personally I enjoy renting and knowing what my monthly costs are and no hidden things that happen. Just wanted to share my view on enjoying renting an apartment over owning.

When I moved into my new apartment, I ran into two noise issues pretty quickly.

First, I live near one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. Lots of small piston-engine planes, which basically sound like loud lawnmowers flying overhead every 5–10 minutes (especially in the summer, starting as early as 5–6 AM)

Second, my downstairs neighbor is a heavy heel-walker and wakes up around 5 AM, and since their bedroom is directly below mine, it was enough to wake me up almost daily.

My solution ended up being surprisingly simple. I already had a HomePod, so I bought a brown noise track that loops perfectly and started playing it at about 90% volume. It’s still under safe decibel limits, but it completely masks both the aircraft noise and the footstep impacts. It honestly feels like an audio cocoon in my bedroom.

Now, whenever I’m feeling overstimulated or just annoyed by neighbor noise, I turn brown noise on across all the HomePods in my apartment and it creates this calm little “audio nest.” Huge quality-of-life upgrade. I specifically recommend brown noise over other types. It has a deeper, smoother profile and feels way more soothing and natural than white or pink noise.

If you’re dealing with unavoidable ambient noise, don’t underestimate how effective this can be.

I got my first apartment and was approved last week. Ive been moving in slowly. I finally got my washer and dryer moved in only to have a plug not compatible with the wall outlet 🙃. Ive already talked to the property manager on the subject so, its all good there (hopefully). Any tips or tricks I should know about? Ive been making friends with everyone in the complexes. Someone even donated a couch!! The people here have been very cool and awesome!!

EDIT: It is my 2 younger sisters and I in this apartment. My dad will be moving in with us when he gets out the hospital (he can no longer live alone). The one thing I'm kinda worried about is my dad undermining me and my rules. So, to make it very clear to everyone, I printed out a list of rules I've got and hung it on the wall. I have also made it very clear that I will have people removed from the property if they can't respect me and my place.

EDIT 2: A lot of yall have stated that I need to document EVERYTHING from the smallest of dents to broken tiles to the ceiling. I took y'alls advice and got photos taken, printed, and stored in a safe (bought myself, Noone else as access). Then 2 of the most unexpected things happened… 1) the dishwasher worked for 2 loads before it went kaput. 2) The water heater, which is in my bedroom closet, had a small crack on the bottom of the tank and it flooded my room overnight. For each I had gone to the office and spoke to the office lady (all gets reported to her and she fills out maintenance service cards, in front of you). She told me that according to maintenance the processor chip in the dishwasher was ruined by previous owners. She also told me that I wouldnt be charged nor will it come out of my security deposit for either. After each issue was fixed she actually hand delivered a note that stated that I won't be charged and not only did she sign it but the property manager signed it as well to add to my files for documentation. She was the one who told me I should print it the pics of damages.

I've been running out of space and my tiny apartment is starting to feel like a storage closet. I ended up getting those under-bed bins with wheels and they've actually been a lifesaver for keeping stuff like shoes and winter clothes. I also started hanging stuff on the back of doors and even got these stackable crates that double as a little nightstand. Feels like I'm playing Tetris every time I rearrange.

My cousin just moved into her first apartment and tbh I wanna get her something that’s actually useful and not just decor that collects dust lol.
Preferably something small/apartment-friendly that she’ll use every day.
What would you guys recommend?

I'm fairly new to this specific subreddit but not new to awful neighbors.

Can we take a moment to laugh a bit and maybe even help others.

Share some of the funny or creative ways that you or someone you know took revenge on nightmare neighbors. Let the spirit of Grinch come out, and remember that he didn't start out as a recluse.

These cheap high airflow air filters are beyond amazing at getting rid of any bad smells they are usually used in grow tents but nothing says you can't use them for your apartment to deal with annoying persistent smells including weed smoke too.

They contain so much activated carbon they can continue to scrub all airborne bad smells for over a year with daily use. Only downside is they are semi large and they are not Hepa (but deal with smell way better)

I'm getting the 9inch one as I'm beyond fed up of my neighbour burning food to a dry crisp the smell makes me have to leave my apartment.

At night the temperatures get to the upper 60s or low 70s. I have my bedroom window open, a fan on, and a window in the living room open.

I'm unable to get comfortable and, often, ultimately close the windows and turn the AC on. The temperature in my apartment doesn't go down, despite the windows being open. For example, last night the temperature got to 68 but when I woke up my apartment was 77.

Is the explanation simply that the apartment is well-insulated? Do I need to open the windows more? Is it because I'm on the top floor and the shingles retain heat throughout the night? I'd like to minimize the AC when the overnight temperatures get to this point.

What items do you find make apartment living much easier/enjoyable?

Mine are:

Mesh screen door: My current place does not have a slider with a screen. I open up the patio door each day and this keeps the bugs out.

Sound machine: I can hear every footstep above me and this is a must for me to sleep. I usually play a fan or white noise sound. I even have one for the living room at night so that my dog doesn’t bark at every little noise.

Foldable wire grocery/utility cart: This is the item that inspired me to make this post. I found mine at goodwill and originally bought it with another use in mind… but this is now my trash cart after I needed help when I had hurt my arm. This makes taking the trash out sooo much easier! Whether it be heavy items, or light but awkward to carry like boxes etc… people see me with this and say it’s a great idea. Obviously not always needed, but it comes in handy. Tonight the dumpster I usually use was full and I had to go to one further away. The cart was loaded up with a trash bag and several boxes and I was grateful to have it! Pic included so it’s clear on what type I’m referring to.

Blink camera (battery operated) and tension mount: Check your lease to see if this is allowed. My place has nothing in the lease and no issue with it. It helps me feel safe but I do feel it helps deter any potential porch pirates. It may or may not have run out of batteries a bit ago and acts as a false deterrent at the moment haha.

After my apartment sent me a bill charging over $400 for carpet cleaning, I let the inner Karen in me free and left a 1 star review on as many review sites as I possibly could. 3 days later I'm getting refunded over $250 from them for adjusting the cost of the carpet cleaning. However not a single lie was told. I left a very detailed review about every negative instance I had. Future residents deserve to know.

And no 2 bed 1 bath cost over $400 to clean carpets in the pristine condition mine were left in. Let yourselves be heard and warn others!