Getting On With Your Apartment Neighbors
The greatest disadvantage of living in apartments is the lack of sufficient privacy for most dwellers. Living quite close to others with your immediate neighbors being able to watch and hear quite a lot of what is happening within your apartment is something that breeds frustration and resentment. You and your immediate neighbors may not be on the same wave length but still you are obliged to meet them daily, nod at them and say hello and even interact with them; all this by compulsion rather than through necessity or good neighborliness!
Although there are many apartment dwellers who get on excellently with one another, there are almost as many who have had at least one open skirmish with one or more of their neighbors. When very small disagreements occur, maybe with regard to their overall attitudes, their political or religious beliefs, the way they keep company with and entertain seemingly undesirable characters, blaring loud music or having their TV sets on full blast most of the day causing you mental distress and physical discomfort, the built in frustrations and anger could emerge to the open one day by way of an argument or something more severe.
These are times when you have to act with a lot of tolerance, patience, understanding and tact. Sometimes keeping silent and ignoring could aggravate the problem to unbearable levels and conversely, taking the issues out and trying to talk things over could also end with same or worst results.
Walls have Ears
Despite the insulation provided in the construction of modern buildings to prevent noises from penetrating from one compartment to another, the usual procedure of separating two apartments with a common wall at least from one side make this situation rather tricky especially at times when one or both units have windows and / or doors open even from their other sides. Sounds and noises do carry causing inconvenience and sometimes embarrassment to all concerned.
Very wise type of renters brought up with good manners and respect for other people’s rights and privileges may take care to minimize any disturbance caused to their immediate neighbors whereas some others simply carry on regardless. The problem of noise pollution is more acute during the night time than during the day time and those who regard keeping the peace with their neighbors a top priority should take extra precautions during this time to keep their TV sets and other media volume levels low so that those who need sleep and rest will not be unduly disturbed.
Be Considerate To Others
If many apartment dwellers had this quality, a lot of unnecessary heartburn and conflict between neighbors could be averted. You should take special care at times when you are throwing parties with liquor flowing free when even one or two may get a little boisterous. Remember that you are responsible to the neighbors for what your guests do and take all possible precautions to ensure that your party does not end on a sour note.
When You Have To Keep To Unusual Schedules
There are people who work shifts when they may work at night and understandably sleep at day time. This category is likely to suffer much more discomfort and loss of sleep and rest during the day time in an apartment than in a home which is far more secluded from the outside world.
They are an unfortunate lot whose problems are not capable of easy reconciliation. You can of course alert your neighbors to their nocturnal habits requiring to rest and sleep at day time and to show some consideration of this fact: but you cannot expect them to do their occasional vacuum cleaning, floor polishing, spray painting, house maintenance and repair work and plenty of other chores that emanate noise, all during the night time!
If the renter with this peculiar work schedule finds life unbearable during the day time on a fairly consistent basis, some of the options available to him consist of using ear plugs or consider going for a machine called “white noise” that are designed to absorb and drown noises picked up from the surrounding neighborhood and the environment.