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Single family homes are not a solution. Noisy neighbors are everywhere. I've seen million dollar homes in expensive neighborhoods with noise issues--blasting music, parties, etc.
If you do enough research and find the right place, you can, in fact avoid the noise issue. Or as you say, live out in the country. But the fact is, you can find places to live in a civilized area where people respect the privacy and peacefulness of others. You kind of have to find a neighborhood, subdivision or building where most are respectful and considerate of others. It does exist.
No you can't. Why? Because a homeowner has no control over who their neighbors are, no matter what type of home they live in. I live in a single family home in a suburban neighborhood, and recently the home next door was sold to another family. They have an outdoor dog who barks all hours of the day and night. They just ignore the poor thing and leave it outside by itself. The neighbors who lived their before were quiet as could be. You wouldn't even know they lived there were it not for them leaving the house and coming back.
That means that you can't afford to be picky about noise, then. Or, if you don't "want to deal" with the things that go along with living in a single-family home (such as lawn care), then you "have to deal" with the things that go along with sharing walls, like noise.
How about the flip side? If you don't live in a single-family home, you can't "afford" to be an inconsiderate jerk about loud music, noisy fights, and parties that last until the wee hours of the morning.
Cuts both ways...
Also, a single-family house, even one you own, is no guarantee of peace and quiet. I live in a house on a two-acre lot in an affluent neighborhood, and it still doesn't protect me from the people two blocks over who insist on entertaining us all with their crappy band every single weekend.
How about the flip side? If you don't live in a single-family home, you can't "afford" to be an inconsiderate jerk about loud music, noisy fights, and parties that last until the wee hours of the morning.
Cuts both ways...
Also, a single-family house, even one you own, is no guarantee of peace and quiet. I live in a house on a two-acre lot in an affluent neighborhood, and it still doesn't protect me from the people two blocks over who insist on entertaining us all with their crappy band every single weekend.
I don't disagree about all of that. I suppose I should have been more clear in my post. I think throwing huge parties is obviously not acceptable in an apartment setting. But things like simply walking around your unit, maybe late at night (maybe you work night shift and stay up late on your days off?), or listening to your TV at a reasonable volume...some people still complain about these things. I don't think that's reasonable in a shared walls type of setting.
And yes, for some, options are limited. But I think some people want to take advantage of the lower rent and whatnot of an apartment but aren't willing to accept the other things that go along with apartment living. There are pros and cons to everything, and it's not really realistic to only want the advantages without having to take the disadvantages, too.
You're manufacturing situations that don't widely exist and you have no data to support them. If you look at income statistics and what percentage of income people spend on rent or a mortgage, then you would know the vast majority of people live well above their means. There aren't people making $200K a year and deciding on saving money, and live in a slum, and then complain about the noise. That's just fiction. It sounds elitist that you are blaming them for where they live.
A friend of mine lives in a neighborhood where the homes sell for $600K-$800K. A very nice quiet place to be, most people living there did their best to be able to afford such a nice place. But when one couple passed away in one of the homes, and who moves into the home is their son who has been a problem for the family for years. He inherits enough money to meet his living expenses in the home, but throws loud parties all the time, plays around with motorcycles in the front yard all the time, and doesn't care about his new neighbors. The police have been called and he manages to get away with this behavior. Meanwhile, people who live on that street want to know what the hell they did to deserve this horrible situation after spending as much as $800K for their home. And no, they don't have 20 acre lots because this isn't the country.
Noise is an encroachment. It is about decent living conditions for human beings. It doesn't matter if it is a slum or not. To tell people that they have bought into the wrong area and must put up with it, is simply lacking any sort of empathy for someone else's suffering. It's OK to say "Not next to where I live", but when it happens to someone else you want to tell them to suck it up and blame them.
Regardless of where you live, you deserve common courtesy/a reasonable level of quiet, particularly at certain hours of the day. And there are laws in place in most places to punish/fine those who don't abide by such common courtesy expectations. You shouldn't "have to deal" with unreasonable noise because you couldn't buy your way into a better situation.
Agreed. Like the person on here with a neighbor who bounces a ball against the shared wall. I have asked my neighbor to not let her grandson slam doors (he does like 18 in a row) and I have found the max volume on the TV I can use before it affects her. Any volume the TV will do by itself is fine, it's when the speakers, especially the bass, are used that create a problem. That's just part of community living.
Even in a single family home there is noise. When I house-sat for my brother I wanted to slap the neighbor. For running his very loud trucks forever early in the AM. There is a vibration along with the sound. ugh.
I have had loud neighbors in the past. If the noise was long and persisted, I would talk to the noisy neighbors about curbing the noise. Sometimes that works and sometimes it simply does not.
The noisy neighbor can pop up in about most any living situation, whether it is shared walls or not. I prefer not to live in apartments or condos again for that reason.
One of my biggest pet peeves of a noise maker is the loud barking dogs who bark all night. (Sigh)
Please call animal control or the non-emergency police number for a barking dog after your town ordinance says it should be quiet. I feel sorry for these poor dogs whose owners think keeping them outside 24/7 is the right thing to do. It's not.
It's the solution for me. My neighbors will be trees in the country The problem finding the neighborhoods you speak of are when someone sells and a problem moves in. Out in the country trees don't sell and move
There was a thread awhile ago on here about people who lived in the country dealing with noise of neighbors shooting guns and driving their loud ATV's at all hours. Even though they all had great acreage the noise of gunshots was a big annoyance. So you never know what noise you might have even in the country.
My thoughts are you don't know what you are talking about. Your opinion on apartments being the same as condos prove it.
A purpose built condo is quiet. It is nothing like an apartment. You also have pride of ownership that you don't get in an apartment which can also affect noise.
Ha! where did you find such a place--the Land of Oz?
Our first dwelling was a condo---no one lived upstairs at the time, but when they did, we were ready to move out! You could hear every little thing We could hear the phone ring, footsteps (on carpeted flooring), the sliding door open and shut--seems like they open/shut a thousand times a day--vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, laundry, etc, etc----we were stuck there while learning a new word--upside-down, or under water. We owed much more than it appraised, unless we could bring about 50K to closing, there we were!
My suggestion---if you really think a condo is for you, try to get someone to go upstairs and walk around, etc, and next door, too, to see how insulated the walls are. Of course, if someone lives there that won't work. Then, I would request a second showing at a different time, when neighbors are likely to be home, and see how it is.
If you want a maintenance-free place,get a small, detached home and hire a yard crew, handyman, etc. The cost to you would be about the same as the HOA fees for a condo!
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The problem finding the neighborhoods you speak of are when someone sells and a problem moves in. Out in the country trees don't sell and move 
We could hear the phone ring, footsteps (on carpeted flooring), the sliding door open and shut--seems like they open/shut a thousand times a day--vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, laundry, etc, etc----we were stuck there while learning a new word--upside-down, or under water. We owed much more than it appraised, unless we could bring about 50K to closing, there we were!
