So I spied with my little eye through the cloudy peephole in our door until they revealed themselves. And they were not gamers. Phew. They were a family with multiple young children. In a two bedroom apartment. With walls that touch ours. Ree ree ree!
Gamers and little ones. What is, groups of people who make a lot of noise doing almost nothing, Alex?
I already know how this is going to go, because Sarah is currently living out this magical dream in London. The tykes that share her bedroom wall have kazoos. I probably don’t have to tell you how awesomely I’d take to that bit of musical exploration. In fact, it’s through Sarah’s twitter feed (sorry, she’s got it all privatized or I’d link) that I’ve been able to participate in the joy of having wee young neighbors without actually having wee young neighbors. What I’m saying is, I didn’t need any of my own. All set.
Stuff I Don’t Need that I’d be Okay with Getting Anyway Because I’m Adaptable
More black shoes
A piece of chocolate cake
a la mode
Presents
Is it redundant if I list Oreos after we’ve already covered cake? No? Okay, then, Oreos.
See how nowhere on that list is three small children living in a two bedroom apartment adjacent to the place where I get precious, precious sleep and routinely participate in activities the sound effects of which are not appropriate for small ears? Yes, well. Got it anyway. And seeing as we have a lease renewal sitting on our kitchen counter the next two weeks are going to be used for research. Which reminds me, I need to google “apparatus which measures how loud stuff is. In decibels. Or whatever,” because if those new little fellas are louder than the disappointment of missing the Really Big Coin on Level 2, I won’t make it.
It may not be that bad-I have three little ones (6, 2 and 8 months) and yes, during the day they make their fair share of noise but nights they are all in bed by 8:00. Hopefully it won’t be the torture you are expecting…..
Wow. I’m feelin’ for ya and I hope that all works out great.
The last two groups that lived next to me were really into domestic violence. I found myself calling the police more times than I care to recall. Very sad and scary situations.
Guess what I’m saying is, the potential sounds (child noises) that you may encouter on occassion are really nothing.
Good luck with this one, Fish. Keep us posted.
Check out http://www.greatnewplace.com
I lived near Mockingbird and 75 for 4 1/2 years before my condo community went down the toilet. I stumbled across Great New Place while frantically searching for a new home.
They have been really wonderful – checked us out and approved us very quickly – - spent tons of time going over all of the amenities (programmable thermostat, intrusion alarms and motion detectors in the units, side-by-side fridge with ice maker). And, the owners have around 40 different properties (purchased and renovated themselves).
And – they’re extremely affordable – which was a big bonus in my book.
You crack me up fish. My boyfriend and I just recently bought that multiplayer Mario brothers and I have to say, missing that Really Big Coin is a big deal.
I think I remember seeing a decibel meter in the car audio section of Wal-Mart. Normal conversation is around 50db, a vacuum 70db, a jet 150db. I really really hope you don’t have jet planes as neighbor kids, good luck!
At least you don’t have stairs – or live BELOW them. I have little tykes that live behind me (I live in a 2-story townhouse that has neighbors on both sides and behind), and they run-run-run-run up and down the stairs at least 14 times an evening. One of the things that makes me grateful I work late most evenings……
On the other hand, the little kids across the courtyard are wicked cute. Now that they’ve started school, I even miss the little critters.
Some kids might be in bed by 8pm but they wake up at like 5am… ON SATURDAYS!!!!! And then when they get sick and cry all night… I say make a run for it.
Disclaimer: I am single and don’t know anything about children except what I hear through thin walls.
If I ever met the kazoo-giver, I would kick them in the shins without a second thought. Every Saturday morning we lie there at 7 am, trying to fall back asleep and say with eyes still closed, “We’re not having kids.”
continue with referenced sound effects. maybe they will move
I was so happy to see the house behind me had been foreclosed upon, happy due to their three young, sreaming, naked children that loved to straddle the shared fence and tease my dogs. I know it sounds heartless to take joy in another’s unfortunate circumstances, but being subjected daily to the sounds of screaming, and I do mean screaming, unsupervised children while I am merely trying to sit on my patio and read a book will drive me to it. And besides, the little boys were bound to suffer an agonizing injury sooner or later while straddling a chain link fence in only t-shirts, sans even underwear.
Research indeed. You never know when The Universe might be giving you a push to go somewhere else. (Even though moving is, admittedly, a pain in the tushie.)
But if it seems do-able in this 2-week trial, then moving your bed away from the shared wall and adding wall-hangings (framed pictures, tapestry…laundry that looks sort of avant garde, whatever) can make a big difference between wanting to kill the little buggers every Saturday morning, and mostly being okay.
Also, cultivate a very friendly, warm, neighborly relationship with them now if you can. That way, when you or DL have to make the “Your kids sound like Wrestlemania” visit, it’s a little easier on all parties. (And it’s easier to scope them out from right across a welcome-to-the-complex chocolate cake than through a peep hole. But no one would blame you if you had a shot of whiskey before you went over to steel yourself. No one at all.)
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten way less tolerant of noise from any age-group. Truly, I understand the little old people who yell, “get off my lawn!” and shake their fists at people.
I’m sure it’s tempting to move, but then again, you might be going from kiddie noises to frat boys thumping their bass at 3 am. It’s always a crap shoot.
That why when I finally buy someplace, it’ll be surrounded by at least half an acre, in the middle of nowhere
Good luck!
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten way less tolerant of noise from any age-group. Truly, I understand the little old people who yell, “get off my lawn!” and shake their fists at people.
Hahaa totally agree! My threshold for noise level depreciates rapidly by the years. Though I´m sure there´s a certain age where your ears become accustomed and you decide you can handle children, but it only lasts a certain amount of time…then you move into the chasing kids off the lawn phase!
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten way less tolerant of noise from any age-group. Truly, I understand the little old people who yell, “get off my lawn!” and shake their fists at people.
Hahaa totally agree! My threshold for noise level depreciates rapidly by the years. Though I´m sure there´s a certain age where your ears become accustomed and you decide you can handle children, but it only lasts a certain amount of time…then you move into the chasing kids off the lawn phase!
Don’t be too quick to assume they’re going to be the neighbors from hell. Sure, kids are loud sometimes but they also color pictures and bake cookies and give big hugs to people they like. They also usually (in my house, at least
) go to bed by 8:00 and–if their parents are decent human beings–will be kept occupied with quiet activities if they are early risers.
Well, so far I know that one of the wee ones expresses his displeasure at bed time by kicking the wall. Over and over and over.
Um. Birth control? Seriously, research is a good thing. Fingers crossed that you guys will find an awesome new place.
The kicking the wall thing might require a hurried “is everything OK? I heard this banging on the wall and was afraid someone had been injured!” call on the neighbors. If you go over there expressing (mostly) sincere concern over their wellbeing, that goes over much better than curmudgeonly complaining about the noise.