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The tips above are great, but you really have to keep in mind that you never know when some insanely loud elephant stomping door slammer with lots of loud personal drama will move in to an adjacent unit. If quiet is really important to you, you should consider renting a detached house instead, so at least any noisy neighbors will not be sharing walls with you.
This is right on. I think if noise is really a big issue, you should probably look into renting a small house. I have seen some 2 & 3 bedroom homes priced quite competitively (@ least in my area). Apartments are almost inherently noisy.
Ask what the STC class is on the floor and walls. The quietest buildings will have cement in the floor and walls. Plaster and Lathe construction can be good. 50's type buildings have poor sound insulation. Look for a buliding with "quiet hours" too. Corner units and top floor units are a little more quiet.
Take the upper floor so nowbody upstairs can play basketball and bounces the ball over and over on the floor...they most likely won't do it on the ceiling...drive by a couple of times and on different times to see who is living there and what the situation is...
We've rented both houses and apartments. One house was actually louder than some of our apartments due to location of our windows (not loud, though, just louder). We've been lucky to never have any significant issues with noise anywhere we've lived though, although in one location there was a LOT of sound coming in from off the street. We knew that going in, and got used to it quickly.
Like others have said, consider the construction of the building as well as the location of the unit within the building. One unit was in the corner and only shared one wall (the bathroom); another also only shared a bathroom wall, as it was buffered on side by the stairs, the other side by an elevator (which we never heard). We have always lived in older buildings (pre-1930), though, and have found them to be very good at muffling the noises of everyday life. My friends in newer buildings have had more difficulties with sound, even fairly normal everyday sound, traveling through the walls and ceilings.
You might want to decide if all noise is bad or just some kinds. For instance, crying babies, people screaming at each other, etc. and I'm out. I left the rent-controlled apartment I had lived in for twelve years because of such a scenario, and now I'm paying $364 more per month. My peace of mind is worth it, though!
I do have some street noise now, and there's a hospital around the corner, so we hear a lot of sirens. However, I'd rather hear traffic and sirens than put up with people's dysfunctionality!
I took a risk and moved in on the bottom floor, but the guy above me is very quiet and has lived here for a long time (seven years?). My apartment doesn't share any common walls, because the stairwell separates me from my other neighbor, and I'm at the front of the building.
Apart from doing everything everyone else has suggested, management is extremely important. If you can find a manager who actually enforces the rules about noise, half the battle is won.
Thanks for the detached house idea. It's definitely worth looking into. I guess my current situation is kind of different, though. I live in an apartment complex and none of the neighbors in my building are loud. In fact, they are delightfully quiet. It's the people in the next building over, which is next to my bedroom window. I think there are a lot of two/three bedroom apartments in that building and a bunch of these stupid, annoying kids are living two or three to a room in them. I wish the managers didn't allow that. If you can't afford to live one to a bedroom, go to a cheaper place where people are less picky about noisiness/rudeness/obnoxiousness.
But then again, if I lived in a detached house, I wouldn't have to worry about a big building full of kids next to me.
I live in an apartment complex and none of the neighbors in my building are loud. In fact, they are delightfully quiet.
That's exactly how I felt about my building until the previously mentioned insane elephant stomper with the loud personal drama moved in. In a multi family complex, you just never know.
Try to get an up and down condo if possible. (no one on top or below you). We had a 'lower' apartment and the noise was TERRIBLE. We finally got the management company to move us to a new unit which is up and down and it is a pleasure. I don't have to listen to any teenager dropping his boots or weights over my head. I don't have to wonder when the tenant above is coming home and if and when they will wake me up.
We didn't have a big building full of loud kids next to us, but my experience in a detached single family house was that our bedroom window was near the neighbors' window, and they were loud. Ironically when we did live in a building full of loud kids it was far quieter because they were separated by walls and hallways, and our windows didn't face any noisy neighbors. I guess the moral of that story is just to check out the location of the windows, but not make any noise assumptions based on whether it's an apartment, duplex, or single family home. Unless it's a single family detached house in the middle of a huge lot, I guess, but in that case make sure you don't live next to someone who has a huge lawn and has made it his hobby to keep that lawn as short as possible. Loud lawnmowers and leaf blowers are my personal can't-stand-it noise generators.
We didn't have a big building full of loud kids next to us, but my experience in a detached single family house was that our bedroom window was near the neighbors' window, and they were loud. Ironically when we did live in a building full of loud kids it was far quieter because they were separated by walls and hallways, and our windows didn't face any noisy neighbors. I guess the moral of that story is just to check out the location of the windows, but not make any noise assumptions based on whether it's an apartment, duplex, or single family home. Unless it's a single family detached house in the middle of a huge lot, I guess, but in that case make sure you don't live next to someone who has a huge lawn and has made it his hobby to keep that lawn as short as possible. Loud lawnmowers and leaf blowers are my personal can't-stand-it noise generators.
Good point. I'm glad you mentioned that. I was just thinking last night about how living in an apartment might possibly be safer--since there are more people around. And I'm living alone. Most houses seem too big for just one person, I think.
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In a multi family complex, you just never know.
