Foo - Ah, apartment living...

is there anything better? ;) right now, i have some wonderfully uninvited music (bass line) creeping from somewhere in the building into my living room. construction is going on across the street and the smell from my neighbor's cigarette is gently blowing in from the window and over me as i relax on the couch.

Nobody in my building smokes (inside) luckily, but the music can be a little annoying sometimes.

is there anything better? ;) right now, i have some wonderfully uninvited music (bass line) creeping from somewhere in the building into my living room. construction is going on across the street and the smell from my neighbor's cigarette is gently blowing in from the window and over me as i relax on the couch.

I used to live next door to someone we called Yuri The Mad Russian DJ, because he was named Yuri and was a mad Russian DJ.

I suspect he probably called us "Those *******s with the loud dog" so it all evens out I suppose.

is there anything better? ;) right now, i have some wonderfully uninvited music (bass line) creeping from somewhere in the building into my living room. construction is going on across the street and the smell from my neighbor's cigarette is gently blowing in from the window and over me as i relax on the couch.

Hmm, sounds like you're me a couple of days ago. :eek:

Unidentified loud bass from somewhere - check
Asphalt smell from a road construction - check
Cigarette smoke from the neighbour below - check

haha. nice to see the joys of apartment living are alive and well in sweden as well. :)

Years ago I said to myself I would never live in a apt ever again. Well, when I met my now Wife 4 years ago she had an apt in Tampa. I had a small place in Bradenton. We all know there is one girl that we would do anything for so I moved in with her. I could not ask her to move to Bradenton and commute cause she had no car. I had to live inthat apt for about 5 months to finish out her lease. Then we bought our own place.

is there anything better? ;) right now, i have some wonderfully uninvited music (bass line) creeping from somewhere in the building into my living room. construction is going on across the street and the smell from my neighbor's cigarette is gently blowing in from the window and over me as i relax on the couch.

Well... you could be on a carrier, out at sea, living in a 150 man bunk room.

Then again, you learn courtesy quickly in that environment.

or in Iraq, sharing, essentially, a container cargo with another person, stacked in with many others.

Or in a tent....

In perspective, life's minor annoyances (I'd have the same complaints!) aren't really that bad.

I can actually put up with a lot of things, but the damn music really drives me up the walls some nights!

edited

If we had gone up to piermont, you wouldn't be enjoying that right now. :p

It's nice to live in an apartment:

- no property tax
- insurance is cheap
- utilities are cheap
- somebody to call for emergency repairs
- get a pool and hot tub (or other similar amenities)
- can pick up and move easily

:)

It's nice to live in an apartment:

- no property tax
- insurance is cheap
- utilities are cheap
- somebody to call for emergency repairs
- get a pool and hot tub (or other similar amenities)
- can pick up and move easily

:)

But no backyard for the pups. No garden for fresh vegetables. Unwanted noise coming through the walls from the neighbors. etc, etc, etc. Been there, done that. I think I'll stick with a house.

It's nice to live in an apartment:

- no property taxYour property tax is part of your rent
- insurance is cheapInsurance is cheap cause you aren't the owner of anything
- utilities are cheapNot much area to heat/cool etc
- somebody to call for emergency repairswhen the upstairs neighbor's water heater blows
- get a pool and hot tub (or other similar amenities)with other peoples 'goo' in it
- can pick up and move easilyLike at midnight

:)


It is nice to live in your own house:)

Not much area to heat/cool etcI know you didn't necessarily bill them as such, but a couple of your rebuttals aren't necessarily bad things. I shudder to think what homeowners spend to heat/cool one of the modern, ridiculously huge, tilt-up homes so favored by builders these days.

My nearest neighbor isn't close enough to hit with a bow and arrow...not consistently anyway.

Could be worse. I have a condo, which brings it the worst of both worlds. For the first couple years, it was good, but its old now, as one has most of the house overhead costs (plumbing, electricity), but no backyard, or ability to just overhaul things. At least its cheap to heat/cool, relatively.

that's the thing with condos....and if you buy one, then what if some couple moves in upstairs with three rotten bratty kids???

boy...apartment living. I live in a duplex now and of course, there are always neighbor problems. Mainly it's slackers who think the world is their ashtray. The top floor is eurotrash, always smoking. NExt door it's these 20something guys...i asked them if they could just refrain from tossing butts into the driveway. I'm not a prig about smoking, live and let live, but it's gross when it rains and they smell.

But apartment living! horrible music blasting from downstairs; the family with three psychotic kids who lived upstairs from us for six months. THe teenagers who decided to hold Raves every night in their basement apartment, stupid students who leave their garbage outside for days, the skank barmaid who had screaming fights with her boyfriend that lasted SIX HOURS! The last building i lived in was okay, in fact most of the neighbors were pretty nice, but it was the surrounding neighbors who made all the noise. In the building, it was mostly the plumbing which made a lot of noise.

I agree, apartment buildings generally suck.

I'm moving in a couple months, and it looks like apartment living is the only way I'm going to be able to afford anything. You guys aren't helping :p

that's the thing with condos....and if you buy one, then what if some couple moves in upstairs with three rotten bratty kids???

boy...apartment living. I live in a duplex now and of course, there are always neighbor problems. Mainly it's slackers who think the world is their ashtray. The top floor is eurotrash, always smoking. NExt door it's these 20something guys...i asked them if they could just refrain from tossing butts into the driveway. I'm not a prig about smoking, live and let live, but it's gross when it rains and they smell.

But apartment living! horrible music blasting from downstairs; the family with three psychotic kids who lived upstairs from us for six months. THe teenagers who decided to hold Raves every night in their basement apartment, stupid students who leave their garbage outside for days, the skank barmaid who had screaming fights with her boyfriend that lasted SIX HOURS! The last building i lived in was okay, in fact most of the neighbors were pretty nice, but it was the surrounding neighbors who made all the noise. In the building, it was mostly the plumbing which made a lot of noise.

I agree, apartment buildings generally suck.

I don't see how people in densely populated areas such as Berlin, Tokyo, or other areas can deal with apartment life on a day to day basis. Are apartment buildings over there built differently so as not suck and isolate noise compared to American ones where usually its a sheet of drywall separating you from the neighbors?

I just find it funny how in Austin residental condo towers are being built like mad (as if the market isn't soft enough.) Unless they are pitching the condos to people who have a resort home and want a place in town, why would one want to deal with that type of life? Suburban life has its issues, but its a lot better to have a house and some distance from noxious neighbors.

I don't see how people in densely populated areas such as Berlin, Tokyo, or other areas can deal with apartment life on a day to day basis. Are apartment buildings over there built differently so as not suck and isolate noise compared to American ones where usually its a sheet of drywall separating you from the neighbors?

I just find it funny how in Austin residental condo towers are being built like mad (as if the market isn't soft enough.) Unless they are pitching the condos to people who have a resort home and want a place in town, why would one want to deal with that type of life? Suburban life has its issues, but its a lot better to have a house and some distance from noxious neighbors.

It's simple. Lots of people are willing to put up with neighbors in order to get the benefits of living close to all the amenities that the city has to offer. I would much rather deal with neighbors than sit in traffic for an hour and a half every day on the way in from Round Rock or Lakeway and then do it again at night if I want a good meal or to go see a show. When I first moved to Austin I lived at the Arboretum and even that was too far away from all the things that I had to do/wanted to do.

It's also a question of what you're used to. I grew up in a Baltimore brick row house that shared two walls with neighbors. You tend to just tune out most of the noise.

It's nice to live in an apartment:

- no property tax
- insurance is cheap
- utilities are cheap
- somebody to call for emergency repairs
- get a pool and hot tub (or other similar amenities)
- can pick up and move easily

:)

utilities aren't cheap. they don't even bother to insulate the horrid things!

we own the apartment, so at least it will be an income asset for us when we leave and lease it out.

i actually feel like i have more privacy living in an nyc apartment. generally nobody cares what you do and people aren't popping their heads over the fence to ask how you're doing or inviting themselves over.

i guess each has it's advantages and disadvantages.

ideally, i'd like to live at the top of a mountain with a bunch of molten lava surrounding it to keep people away. :)

is there anything better? ;) right now, i have some wonderfully uninvited music (bass line) creeping from somewhere in the building into my living room. construction is going on across the street and the smell from my neighbor's cigarette is gently blowing in from the window and over me as i relax on the couch.

call a lawyer!

Well... you could be on a carrier, out at sea, living in a 150 man bunk room.Then again, you learn courtesy quickly in that environment.

or in Iraq, sharing, essentially, a container cargo with another person, stacked in with many others.

Or in a tent....

In perspective, life's minor annoyances (I'd have the same complaints!) aren't really that bad.

been there, done that, never again

call a lawyer!


Yeah!
And the lawyer will charge you $XXXX.00 to tell you to shut your window because the smoker is doing absolutely nothing wrong within the law.


(edit) BTW, the people next door to me smoke on their back porch and their smoke drifts toward my back porch. They are completely within their rights to smoke there. I am at a disadvantage other than to hope the wind goes the other way and be white about it.

I lived in an apartment for a year. 1st last only year in one! neighbors' music blaring from 6am to 3am dogs barking, where'd those dents in the car come from?? don't know who lives where exactly and if X even belongs in that apt. cause everybody's moving in an out all the time. Convenience? yea it was pretty convenient, about a 5 minute walk to the station. Not worth it to me, in my opinion.

Now I live in an old early 1900's built residential neighborhood, in my own Edwardian (built 1911) house, 10 minutes from the station!

the girls upstairs were out today on the balcony, it's a nice day...unfortunately their music is s*** europop...then this bummy looking guy who looks comes by and asks them if they want some company so they're like yeah sure...they don't even know this guy from adam. Do they lock their doors, do they even ask him anything? no they invite him in....duh....

is there anything better? ;) right now, i have some wonderfully uninvited music (bass line) creeping from somewhere in the building into my living room. construction is going on across the street and the smell from my neighbor's cigarette is gently blowing in from the window and over me as i relax on the couch. I've been there--group living at its finest. Stuff like that was the catalyst for moving out of a condo, and buying a house, which has ended up being a pretty good place to raise a family. Being that you're in NYC, I suppose there is no alternative to group living, unless you're the mayor.

That said, I would MUCH rather live in a one-room efficiency in or near the city (Washington DC) than in a mansion in Leesburg (not near the city).

Yeah!
And the lawyer will charge you $XXXX.00 to tell you to shut your window because the smoker is doing absolutely nothing wrong within the law.


(edit) BTW, the people next door to me smoke on their back porch and their smoke drifts toward my back porch. They are completely within their rights to smoke there. I am at a disadvantage other than to hope the wind goes the other way and be white about it.

right over your head (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/second-hand-smoke-at-the-ansonia-prompts-lawsuit/).

some condominiums, townhouses, and apartments look pretty nice if someone isn't into yardwork or shoveling snow in wintertime.
i can see how others might like the extra square-footage to chill, do some home gardening, hang with friends, not worry too much about disturbing others, etc.

right over your head (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/second-hand-smoke-at-the-ansonia-prompts-lawsuit/). again.



Botto, again you are incorrect. It states that it was the condo association that adopted a resolution to curb second hand smoke. "The condominium’s board of managers adopted a resolution", not a city or local ordinance. Therefore my statement is again correct even with your link to trash talk my statement.

Botto, again you are incorrect. It states that it was the condo association that adopted a resolution to curb second hand smoke. "The condominium’s board of managers adopted a resolution", not a city or local ordinance. Therefore my statement is again correct even with your link to trash talk my statement.
Oh, i dunno, a precedent has been set over here, where a unit owner was forced not to smoke within their dwelling under EPA legislation (i think, and i'm too damn lazy to go find the case)

It's not far off being normal for strata units to be non-smoking over here. This comes at the same time as a tax increase for cigarettes to 'curb smoking'. That's worked so well before :rolleyes:

Unit living is rubbish, but suburban wastelands are worse.

I don't see how people in densely populated areas such as Berlin, Tokyo, or other areas can deal with apartment life on a day to day basis. Are apartment buildings over there built differently so as not suck and isolate noise compared to American ones where usually its a sheet of drywall separating you from the neighbors?

Suburban life has its issues, but its a lot better to have a house and some distance from noxious neighbors.

I spent three years in central Germany, and lived in apartments the whole time. They weren't 'stick-framed', like buildings here (referring to the 2x4 construction), but a lot of stone and concrete. Wood is a pretty precious commodity over there, and stone is rather plentiful (so I was told by the German wife of my buddy).

The noise was just as bad through the walls, but the overall noise was less, unless you lived in a bigger city. Smaller towns were whisper-quiet most of the time.

That, actually, is part of my problem now. That kind of quiet can be addictive; now, I'm ready to pick up weapons of war and start shredding whole neighborhoods because of the G-D SUBWOOFERS!

I live in a house now, and because of the aforementioned noisemaking devices of satan, I have no more peace than the average apartment dweller. My house is 60-75 feet away from my nearest neighbor, and I can hear a car stereo three blocks away.... There aren't enough bad words in the three languages I can curse in to describe this problem.

Two annoying moving noisebomb types here:

1: The riceburners with the lawn-mower-esque noise. It doesn't matter if a 4-banger can make noise to be heard a mile away... its still a riced out Civic that doesn't stike awe into the nearby people; it strikes resentment and pity.

2: The people who blast music with crossovers set so only the lowest part hits the subwoofer, as boominess appears to be a lot more valued commodity than accurate sound reproduction.

I owned and lived in my own house for several years. Honestly, the only thing I really miss is having a garage.

I have to admit, my apartment is pretty well sound-proofed, and I have my own washer/dryer inside.

My dogs I have to keep on leash anyway, because of their propensity to jump fences.

If I wanted to grow veggies I could do so in pots on the balcony (have done so in the past), but it's not really doable right now with my 50% travel schedule.

And noise? How about neighbors' power tools?

Oh, i dunno, a precedent has been set over here, where a unit owner was forced not to smoke within their dwelling under EPA legislation (i think, and i'm too damn lazy to go find the case)

It's not far off being normal for strata units to be non-smoking over here. This comes at the same time as a tax increase for cigarettes to 'curb smoking'. That's worked so well before :rolleyes:

Unit living is rubbish, but suburban wastelands are worse.


I agree that a precedent is being set. One day it will be illegal to smoke in a confined area of an apt building. It is coming, but right now, in the State of Florida, a person's abode is his castle.

Pluses:
Electricity and water is part of rent.
Knew the roommate before hand so no first/last months rent.
Huge ceilings.
Fairly spacious
Neighbors not too noisy. And they don't complain when I have tv/music loud. I can get quite vocal during a Halo CTF match.

Minuses
No AC, damn hot in summer.
Upstairs. Not fun lugging drumset up stairs from time to time.
Too many kids in complex.
Neighborhood has annoying Ice Cream truck that drives around playing same music over and over.
Neighborhood also has guy pushing Ice Cream cart with bells on it. Also blows a small annoying horn over and over and over again until sundown.
No Garage or covered parking.
One block from Cal Trains. Late night freight trains rumble everything for minutes at a time.

I am in my onwn house as an ower for the first time in my life since January 1st...

I rented houses for several years when I was married, and rented an apartment as a single, and lived in military rooms...

Still, when I drop something and it makes a noise, I think oops, like I have disturbed someone... then I just smile when I realize that I would probably have to knock down a wall before I would actuially disturb anyone.

I do agree with some of the above comments...

When you rent, you pay all the taxes, insurance, utilities and everything else indirectly... your landlord sure isn't paying them out of a sense of love for his or her tenants. :) In addition, in the US, with the current tax code, I feel that renters are subsidizing home owners, since home owners generally get to pay lower federal income tax than renters, all else being equal.

Yeah!
And the lawyer will charge you $XXXX.00 to tell you to shut your window because the smoker is doing absolutely nothing wrong within the law.


(edit) BTW, the people next door to me smoke on their back porch and their smoke drifts toward my back porch. They are completely within their rights to smoke there. I am at a disadvantage other than to hope the wind goes the other way and be white about it.

If this is in an apartment, check your lease to see if they're not in violation of some clause. Our apartment complex just put out their monthly newsletter and highlighted a few key phrases from the lease, regarding noise and drifting smoke since it's now getting on toward 'open window season.' According to the lease, there's no smoking in the public areas (picnic tables, parking lots, maintained woodland trails, poolside, etc.) and the complex will take action against tenants with repeated noise/smoke nuisance complaints.

cigarette smoke is really difficult. it often manages to push through ducts, walls, and ceilings into other's places.
at the same time, it's totally ledgidmet (sp?) for adults as wfin2004 said. people have to learn to get along peacefully, especially if living closely.