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I didn't buy my first house until the age of 44, so before then it was all apartment living. Some were well-built buildings where I rarely if ever heard anything, some were so bad I could hear my upstairs neighbor cough.
OP, you don't seem to make any distinction between noise that is there because of the crappy way a building was built -- like being able to hear flushing toilets, neighbors having sex, neighbors talking, etc. -- and noise that is caused by jerks doing whatever the heck they want even when they KNOW it will bother others.
I NEVER complained about "normal" noise (people walking, etc.). But people blasting their music at 3 a.m. (or, frankly, blasting it in the middle of the day) WAS cause to complain.
Where I live now, my next-door neighbors are several hundred feet away, each. My closest neighbor is across the street, probably 150' away. The only time I have ever heard "neighbor noise" was when someone was having a kids' birthday party in their backyard in the middle of the day on a Saturday (and even then, I could only hear it when I was outside myself). THAT kind of noise, I don't mind at all.
I do find it kind of mind-boggling when people talk about buying an outdoor movie screen, putting in an outdoor stereo so they can listen while they swim, etc. I would never in a million years do those things. Why on earth should my neighbors be forced to listen to MY music? I don't get it at all.
Thoughts, yeah, were you thinking when you wrote that post? There is a huge difference between acceptable noise and someone making a constant sound like bouncing a ball against your shared wall which can be torture.
You make it sound like people have the option to live where they wish without any concern for money or employment. In some places, money really doesn't matter since there is no country estate to purchase in an urban city.
And that's why I used things like footsteps or the TV in my example, not bouncing a ball against the wall.
Obviously, some things are unacceptable -- like blasting music at 3 in the morning. However, some people are incredibly sensitive about very normal living noises, and for those people, I think living in a single family home is going to be the best choice.
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.
Both my condos were/are quieter than the 5 acres I used to live in. There, I had to have a white-noise machine and could STILL hear the roosters, barking dogs, guinea hens, peacocks and other random "rural" noise. Sometimes I could hear the neighbor, acres away, talking in a "normal" voice.
It has been way quieter in these condos (built as "luxury" condos) than out in the country. Or when I had a "normal" suburban home on 1/4 acre....
We were a bit apprehensive about the 3rd floor above us, but have heard nothing except a very occasional dragging furniture sound. Nothing from our shared wall neighbor even though he hates us! LOL.
Can never get away from barking dogs though. The complex next door has them. It's my lot in life....
I hate when the neighbors are having crazier sex than I am. It makes me look bad. I suppose I could just up my game but sometimes I think they're just showboating.
They are showboating. LOL. Noise makes no difference whatsoever in the quality of sex, except to people who pay too much attention to movie sex, which doesn't depict real, quality lovemaking.
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.
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
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.
Just don't buy a condo that was a conversion from apartments. I'm dealing with an issue of someone's bass but we can't figure out whose unit is causing the disturbance because it reverberates through the walls but we don't hear it from outside the doors.
I've lived in apartments on and off for years when I was single and after my husband died. This current issue is the first problem I have had other than the upstairs neighbors with the wood floors and cement shoes.
People have an expectation of some peace and quiet in their own homes. Naturally not much can be done about normal noise like the kind that happens with everyday living. It's the really inconsiderate people that annoy me.
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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 
