I have lived in apartments all of my life - with the exception of staying in my grandparent's Victorian. I've lived in apartments that were in buildings as old as the mid to late 1800's, early 1900's, the 50's, 80's, and now going on to one built in the early 90's. I've had all sorts of different experiences in them as well. Some good, some not so good, and since moving to the west coast I can say I have had ALOT of difficulties never experienced before in renting. The housing here is more competitive, the landlords tend to be a little lazy, nosy, or pushy.
At least in my experience so far!
The best landlord I ever had was one who lived an hour away, who was never in my business, and whenever something went wrong he immediately had it taken care of!

Anyway, I think I'm about ready for a house LOL
I like the idea of having control over maintanance and doing some yardwork for a change.

Krustytopp sums it up. Your choices are: a nice house and land without a job, a dismal, crowded apartment amid ghetto trash but having a job, or an overpriced house in the middle of nowhere which you don't get to enjoy because you spend all day commuting to and from your job.

I don't see it getting any better as urban blight spreads and developers continue to cut costs (such as on soundproofing). And housing prices are still insanely high, though they may go down soon in some places... but I doubt they'll decrease enough to matter. When the average household income is $60K in a given area, the average home goes for 5 times that, it's a long way from affordable.

I actually don't mind it at all. Funny.

I have been very fortunate in my living arrangements. When I lived in the dorms, the architecture was a style in that concrete was widely used. They were set up in suite style and 20-some floors. We had 5 girls to the suite separated into three bedrooms and a bathroom, pretty nice. They were also a complex of towers that were interconnected with a movie theater, fitness center, two dining areas, two laundry facilities, a branch of the CITY police department, and a convienence store.

When I moved out, it was to a house that was shared with a few others... needless to say I moved into an apartment a year later. I lived there for a few years without any problems.

Our managers lived onsite and were always very timely with helping with all work orders. If any appliance broke, their theory was get the best and most energy efficiant to replace it to hel with bills. Speaking of which... that place paid for heat.. this is key for wisconsin winters! (When I lived in the house, our heating bill got up to $371.00 on the BUDGET PLAN) So again free heat = AWESOME!

The construction of that building was very well done, the only time I had ever heard a neighbor was when I was next to my front door and they were in the hall.

Our place was very clean, cheap rent, spacious, laundry on site, and security cameras in the lobby and the undergound garage. I couldnt have felt safer.

The next place only came because work was further away. I changed it up a bit and moved to a townhouse. It still has the feel of the apartment though. It is a complex managed by a company with a clubhouse that all the residences share the amenities to. My 'building' is my townhouse and a mirrored townhouse on the opposite side. There are nice garages, the management company is great, the property is kept up, I am on a lake (actually 3) in the middle of the city. Here I am allowed to show a bit more personality in my home. I am able to paint garden, build a fence, etc. easier access to the outdoors and about double the size for the same amount in rent.

I will eventually buy a house, but I cant afford it yet, so I will continue to enjoy my townhouse.

I like living in my apartment now, but in general, I don't like apartments. My apartment isn't a typical apartment, we live in the historical downtown section of a semi-small town and I love the personality of the buildings. We have no one above us, a hair salon under half of us and no shared walls with anyone. We also are hidden from the street by the building in front of/somewhat connected to us and the alley behind us is level with our roof. We have a old stone wall and a huge brick patio, stone stairs to the front door, and a gated, arched brick walkway. All to say, it's really more like a house than an apartment. We do live next door to a bar, but that's just part of living downtown (and it blocks the noise from our summer parties ;).
What I don't like is not being able to just go ahead and repair things ourselves or fix things up the way we would like. Our landlord is pretty awesome, he built the patio for us and got us a great stove when ours died, but our fridge, dishwasher, washer and dryer and garbage disposal are on their last legs (to the point that we have to run clothes twice or more to get them dry) and we would rather just replace them as we get the money than wait for them to break and then wait for a replacement. Plus, it's just frustrating to not be allowed to replace heinously ugly light fixtures, or fix burnt, stained linoleum.
I would never ever be able to live in a high-rise or generic apartment building. They seem so soulless (and just scary, what happens during a fire and I'm 14 floors up?) to me. Plus, I need outside space. Gotta have my garden and my grill!

I own a house. It is nice, in a nice neighborhood, but boy am I tired of housework and yardwork. I used to love my garden, now it just stresses me. My neighbors are subdividing, with dollar signs in their eyes. They have caused problems with the property line, septic, etc. The house is too big for me to keep up with. I would love a nice apartment. My sis and boyfriend say it is a relief to no longer own a house. So thank you for these apartment stories.

I had to smile when I read your post paulaj...my friends think I'm crazy when I offer to mow their lawns for them. Its the thing I miss most about having a house - just walking out the door and having a yard to mow, play in, sit in, plant in. I don't miss the other things about a house, but I sure do miss the yard :-)

allen, don't let anyone discouraged you, it's not in your head. living in apartments is hell. you're at the mercy of other people, and that's rolling the dice. could be good people. good be a bunch of anti-social f***s that'll make you wanna off yourself.

apartments are not normal or natural living environments for humans or any other mammal as they violate our need for living space and safety. when a neighbor plays loud music or stomps around, it's not just the noise that bothers you. natural defense mechanisms kick in telling you danger's a foot. of course, in "modern" society we're taught quite the opposite, and apartments have come to be seen as normative rather than the disgusting product of a resource-hungry, production-based social constellation.

you have every right to be angry because by sticking us in unregulated apartments where developers and bad tenants pretty much have carte blanche to terrorize the good people of this world, society is denying you of the ability to live life happily.

and i don't want to hear from folks who have apartments that are so good and rare it's like they won the lottery...that doesn't necessarily help alleviate the pain and suffering..

Wow. I am sorry that you have had such a bad time living in an apartment. I've lived basically all of my life in apartments; most of that time in NYC. If you don't own your apartment I know that the whole heating thing can be kind of a bummer as it seems most apartments are overheated there. If you own your apartment you can change out the building heat for your own system and keep a bit cooler.

I think that there are many advantages to apartment living. There is always someone in your building to fix stuff for you. You don't have to worry about being home for deliveries for a FedEx or UPS pick up. If you are worried about your apartment when you are out of town you can call the building and have them check on it.

I truly can't imagine living in a free standing house...unless it was a townhouse. It would freak me out. I'd feel a bit too alone.

Well I actually enjoy living in an apartment. But I will admit that I have certain issues with it. I have two really stupid roommates who have their boyfriends over all the time and one of them even has a baby that cries like there's no tomorrow. All this in an apartment complex designated for students. We don't have much of a bug problem except for an occasional cockroach and sometimes these little bugs that fly around and irritate the hell out of you. They usually show up when the others leave their food sitting out for a long time. I think our biggest issue is the utlity bill, which gets split 4 ways. But I will admit through all this that I love living in an apartment because of my roommate Peggy. She's been here as long as I have and meeting and living with her has had an adverse effect on me. I love living with her and she has become my best friend. When the other two move out in August one of Peggy's old high school friends will be moving out of the dorms and in with us and that leaves one room open, which will probably end up being the roommate he has in the dorms now. I only hope that when we receive our new roommates we can work out a system for getting along and living together in peace and harmony.

But yeah, it has its ups and downs, but overall it's been a fairly enjoyable experience for me. It's more like living with a family than living by yourself in a house is. The noise can also be troublesome at times but it always reminds you that you aren't alone in the world.

I like living in apartments...I dunno why either but I do. I would rather live in an apartment then a house. I think I'm just weird though...so make no never mind about me :)

At this point in my life, apartment living is alright, but there is something to be said about owning your own home. That's my dream. Right now my hubby and I are the Proporty Managers of our 2 apt. buildings. It's hard work, but the people here are super...well most of them. We cut the grass and shovel snow for our tenants. Anything that needs to be repaired is our responsability, not the tenants. Pretty much if you can deal with the small space and occasional noise, it's pretty sweet here.
I do feel for you though. I can see why you're miserable. I would be totally horrified to move to a place like that. It's true there are worse places to live, but thight now that's your home and you should feel safe and comfortable in your home.
Talk to your landlord about the rad. I don't know if it'll help, but he/she should be looking after you, not just collecting the rent.

I wish I could own a house/townhouse than live in an apartment, but with the way the housing market has shot up in California, I will never be able to on my income. I lived in my first apartment for over six and a half years and I liked the little place, but different neighbors over the years made it miserable. Management was always good at fixing the situations and I even got my upstairs neighbors evicted because they were just downright awful! Now I live in another apartment complex and just like my old apartment, I really like it, except for my upstairs neighbors. They think that the complex rules of "quiet between the hours of 10 to 8 a.m." do not apply to them. At 11:30 p.m., they vacuum and bang the vacuum into the walls. They do a lot of hammering as well. Sounds like they are knocking out walls. They do laundry and I can hear their washer/dryer. They slam their sliding doors and their cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathroom. They have little kids over sometimes that run through the apartment and out on the balcony over and over. They have very loud, spring squeaking, headboard banging love sessions. I have contacted management and they gave them a notice to quiet down. They have quieted down somewhat. I still hear the loud intimate sessions, the sliding doors and occasional hammering. I have to sleep, if I can sleep that is, with ear plugs and noise reduction headphones. At my old complex, it was always quiet at night, well except for the nasty neighbors I had evicted. I keep thinking that they are the ones that live above me now! The only reason I moved from my old complex is because the property owners want to turn it into condos. So, if it wasn't for nasty, disrespectful neighbors, I wouldn't mind apartment living.

no. no, i don't like living in apartments. i've lived in NYC for the last 12 yrs & have yet to really like any of the apts i've lived in. it could be, that maybe i just haven't had an amazing apt (they exist i've heard). anywho... mine is dark (gets No light), can't completely open bedroom door (hits the bed), can't open closet door (hits the bed), kitchen is horrendous (not even a real kitchen- it's a closet that has a tiny stove & sink &) and i live next to a drug invested building (which my only 2 windows face) where drug deals, fights and cops showing up are constant (at least they show sometimes).

so... i can't stand it when people try to talk me into looking on the 'bright' side, too. that annoys the hell out of me. in fact, yeah.. i'll say i hate living in my apartment. thanks for the rant.

I lived in lots of apts. over the years. Looking back, most were 'just okay', but I enjoy having people close by. Majority of my neighbors were fabulous, a few were horrid; it's always a toss up which type will move in next/over/above you.

My only complaint is the noise factor - enough posters have covered this area, so I won't add to the horror stories.

My best experience was when I rented a condo apt, Great price & pretty much rent controlled because the owners adored me (no rent increase in 4 years). I didn't have to deal with the "rental office" when something broke, and my landlords always responded quickly to any request I had. After a few years, the neighborhood started going to pot (literally), so I bought a TH. Had some noisy neighbors for a few months when I first moved in (they had an awesome dj/sound system :)

I'm currently in escrow for a SF, but worry about being "alone" since I'm so very used to having really close neighbors. With nice, decent neighbors, I prefer apt. living, hands down.

well i`am new to apartment living, its an apartment style condo, so i own it. but so far i love it, beats the heck out of home maintenece, mowing,snow shoveling, gutter cleaning, etc etc the list goes on forever. plus we are in a very nice city, with bike paths and great sidewalks, very important to me, and we saved so much buying this place after selling our home that we dont have a mortgage anymore. thats great allows us to save for our retirement. at this point i dont see a downside.

I hate living in an apartment, I have never felt like I could live freely. I never had my own room as a kid and I still don't. I'm living with 3 other people and the bathroom is not rlly a bathroom, it's just a toilet. The tub were you shower is also in the kitchen. wtf. It is so crappy, I'm 14 and I never had the feeling of having my own room.

I have had good apartments and absolutely horrendous apartments.
Even the nice ones I wasnt that happy about.Everyone who wrote there just isnt enough privacy I totally agree with.

The ONLY good thing about apartments that I can surmize,is that when something breaks I dont have to pay to fix it.Be it water heater,kitchen appliance,whatever.
Other than that,as soon as I can afford a house~I will never look back!

If you rent you are not responsible for repairs. You can rent a whole house if you desire, rather than an apartment.

Kev - most 14 yr olds don't have their own rooms either, so I wouldn't get too upset over that yet, though I know the idea seems pretty cool. Once you're older and paying your own way, you can live however you want to!

I just feel embarrased whenever I visit my friends places, they either all live in nice houses or nice apartments. Whenever they ask to come over.. I usually just make up some excuse not to.

Kev, there are lots of 14y/o kids out there in the same situation and worse. It might help to find a forum where young teens hang out and talk about things like this with them. Yahoo has lots of teen groups. Sometimes having an online buddy who shares our same experiences can help us through the bumps in life. Right now, concentrate on your education so that as an adult you will be able to have better options in your life.

Well I have to say I like it a lot. When I first moved in 18 years ago it was my first apt alone.(divorced) All the neighbors were nice and I had plenty of people to talk to. I didnt feel so alone. So many ages and did become friends with one who were still friends till this day.
It is a 4 story 32 family tenement. I lived on the first floor so if I went to the window I always saw someone I knew, and it was a nice friendly place to be.
Since then I have moved to the 4th floor and bought my apt as it is a co-op building, I still love it, maybe not walking up to the 4th floor, but that is the only real annoyance. I had bad neighbors live on the side of my bedroom for 6 years and 3 months, (dont ask) but they are gone now (is that angels I hear).....anyway, quiet neighbors now....

So all in all I'm there 18 years, most have moved and me and 5 others are still the originals from when I moved in....
and I'm in no rush to move............

I really like the apartment I'm currently living in. I have hated every other apartment, and I had major stress about moving back to an apartment when I moved here. It has been incredibly quiet, there is a market on the bottom floor, so I can pick up anything I forgot at the grocery store, there are tons of closets (two walk-ins, two regular closets in a one-bedroom!), I can paint, and my utilities are included. A five minute car ride (okay, without traffic) will have me at any number of the DC memorials/monuments, and everyone delivers here. I like it.

I gues it depends on were you live and the type of building you live in. I love my apartment. It good for the life I want now i.e not having to mow the lawn, clean gutters, have a whole house upkeep etc. I don't have time or the patience to deal with all that right now.

I do realize I am very lucky for a New Yorker. I don't pay nearly as much as most are paying for thier apartments and I have hardwood floors, an eatin kitchen with dishwasher, loads of closet space including two in my bedroom (one is a walk in) and I can control the heat an ac on or off. I don't pay lights or gas. There is a laundry room on the premises and not in a dark dangerous basement but on the first floor. I get indoor parking in a garage for only $44 bucks a month. If anything breaks or needs repairs I simply call maintenance and they set a date to come out and fix it. There is a office where I myself can go and pick up say a lightbulb for the bathroom or kitchen when they go out instead of buying one. There is security that patrols the area and keeps it safe.

Overall I love where I live. Apartments are only pains in the butt when they are too small, nothing gets fixed, are filled with insects or rodents, you have noisy neighbors, have stupid rules like you can't put holes in the walls to hang photos, or paint or wall paper.

I thankfully don't have any of those issues so I am thrilled to not have to deal with the upkeep of a house right now when I have so many other things going on. Someday I'll get a house but not now and NOT in NY unless its upsate. I happen to like land with my home.

Generally people who have money move out of apartments and into townhouses or detached houses. The amount of money needed to do so varies, and NYC is extremely expensive (but most people I know in NYC don't spend much time at home, they're out enjoying the city).

Some people who could afford a house choose an apartment because there is no maintenance to do. Toilet broken? Call the janitor. Snow on the steps? Call the janitor. It is a pretty easy lifestyle, if you match the building to your needs (ie if you are 72, don't live in a building full of students, and vice-versa).

As someone who grew up in an affluent suburb in both small and big houses, I've always been an urban dweller at heart. I've lived in quite a variety of apartments over the years, and you can't generalize "apartment living" any more than you can generalize "house living". You can live in a tiny cape cod house on a postage stamp lot with loud and obnoxious neighbors, or you could live in a mansion set back on 15 acres of wooded property. One person's "house living" experience is completely different from another's, and it's usually dictated by economics.

It's no different with apartments: you get what you pay for. I'm sure the experience of the socialite living in a Classic Seven on Park Avenue is hardly the same as the college student sharing a tenement studio in the East Village.

I think many of the concerns raised in this thread are more accurately aimed at RENTING versus OWNING, rather than apartment living versus house living. Many of the problems I'm seeing here are landlord and privacy issues that simply don't exist for those of us who own co-op apartments. Even condos don't afford the same "privacy" as co-ops do, thanks to stringent controls on who can and cannot buy into the building, imposed and governed by the co-op board.

Frankly, I feel like I have the best of both worlds. By OWNING my apartment, I enjoy many of the benefits of "house living": I'm building equity ... I have a fixed rate mortgage that will NEVER increase ... and I can repair/renovate/upgrade my home to my heart's content. However, I also have the full benefit of apartment living: No driveways to shovel, no gutters to clean, no lawn to mow, and I'm within walking distance to everything, so no need for an automobile.

I found this years-old thread when I was about to ask the same question!

I want to emphasize that NOISE is the biggest issue for me and probably most others. I live in low-level dread of when noisy people will wreck my calm, especially when a unit next to me is vacated and unknown people are pending. Old timers call it "waiting for the other shoe to drop" but it can take many insidious forms over long periods of time. I reduced the risk of noise as much as possible by taking a top floor end unit, but it's usually not enough. Some self-centered moron always has to ignore common decency.

As for someone's comments about NYC apartments being "really thick" by virtue of age, is that really true? Thickness or air gaps or cement, maybe? I'd like to know exactly how such walls and floors are made so I can pre-select something similar. I assume most older cities have apartments of that caliber, though I don't want to live in a downtown multi-story place if possible. Traffic noise would seem to outweigh some of those insulation benefits.

Here is a link that might be useful: Noise Free America

I think living in an apartment building offers little privacy. There are people who spend their days and nights monitoring the comings and goings of everyone in the building. If you live in an apartment building with shared interior hallways, the level of privacy decreases even more. Homeowners, have the option of building fences along their property lines. As far as what goes on in the house, you control the âÂÂvolumeâ of your activities, you can be as private as you want to be.

I also hate living an earshot from my neighbors...there's always ONE damn nosey parker in the bldg. And I keep my distance from her. She seriously needs a life of her own. Thankfully no rodents or bugs! That would send me packing. But yes, a lot is left desired by living in an apartment. Hate it. No privacy. And still expensive. ANd if you live in the coop--they can inflict and change the "house rules" on you--at any given point.

I moved to an apartment after living in a house for 12 years. Overall, it's been great. No lawn, no weeds to pull -- I just call the landlord and he comes and fixes anything that's broken.

I'm living in an apartment for the first time since 1996, and it's definitely different. Luckily, my apartment is single-story and pretty quiet overall. Still, it's better than the last house I rented in a neighborhood where my neighbors played very loud rap music from morning to late at night. I work at home, so it made it impossible to concentrate. They knew it bothered me, even knew that's why I was moving, but they didn't care. Now I have only one neighbor who bothers me, and that's because they let their dog poo all over the place and trash up the sidewalks with their cigarette butts. My next door neighbor and I had to have a conversation about his stereo bass shaking my walls late at night, but he's calmed down considerably now, and I never hear him. It's still better than the apartment I lived in years ago where the upstairs neighbors had parties every weekend with dancing that made the ceiling sound like it was going to collapse on my head.

Luckily, repairs are done quickly and the management is very nice, so overall, I'm lucky. I don't think I could ever live in NYC. I've heard so many horror stories about bad landlords there. I'm not a big city person anyway, so it would make me crazy.

i moved from a manufactured house to an apartment. i've lived in apartments most of my life, and prefer it. it's great to just call the manager when there is a problem. And no more weed pulling! i stayed in my favorite apartment for 17 years. i painted the entire place, put up some wallpaper, and put in new floors in the kitchen and bathroom. i was much younger, and it was a lot of fun. Still friends with some of the people i met there.

I grew up in apartments all my life and never thought anything of it. After Marriage, we bought the ex-mother's house. That was an issue. So everything was changed, and I mean EVERYTHING. I found it a home finally. Then my divorce, then the turn upside down economy and could not swing it all ALONE. Lost my house and am back into an apartment in Massachusetts by the way. Its a nice apartment. However, its not the same. I cant have a garden if I want, I cant have a dog. Although, they are allowed, but what if I have to move? The neighbors are okay, so far. But I feel like I have to tippy toe around. It's just different. Its smaller. Its just different. I wish I could have a small ranch, with a small back yard. Enough for me to take care of. I can't get a loan, I gave my house up in bankruptcy and BoA has yet to take the house....so my credit will take even longer....probably when I am dead I will be eligible :0......oh yes I forgot, I haven't had any food cooked on a grill in 5 yrs, boy I miss that!

My book will be called "Wrong side of the Road"

haha

Sincerely ,

Alyce in Mass

Your posts about the pros was very funny! When i lived in a house, i had rats.

No matter where you live there will be pros and cons.

My best advice in regards to the noise would be to invest in a pair of earplugs, or even opt for headphones. A good pair could save you!

I completely understand that roaches are pretty unpleasant, it may not seem like it now but as time goes on you will slowly get more and more used to them.

I hope this helps you and good luck.

I have had good and bad in apartments. The infestation of cockroaches and bed bugs can be a total nightmare!!! Up side about apartment living, is your landlord is responsible for all repairs due to every day living. But you can end up with what we call slumlords who don't want to shell out any money for repairs. Plus if you want a washer/dryer in your apartment and it is not allowed, you are then faced with using a laundry facility where people are constantly competing to get to.

This is the first apartment I've lived in that I actually liked. My neighbors are pretty quiet, and it's in a relatively safe neighborhood within walking distance to any kind of shopping I want. It has a nice walled courtyard with a deadbolt on the gate, and I'm also allowed to garden outside around the building. The manager is great and the maintenance guy is like my best friend, always doing extra stuff for free for me, lending me his ladders, etc. I've been here about 18 months now, and the only place I'm going to be moving to is maybe to my next door neighbor's apartment when he moves out. He has a privacy fenced yard space that isn't huge, but it's more than what I have to garden in. Plus, he has a huge orange tree in his courtyard. He and his GF said they want to move to a 2 BR when his lease is up, which would be in September or October, I think. Can't remember. Anyway, I'll move next door and then I won't move again for awhile. Just hope I don't get any noisy neighbors!

I quit reading the comments after I saw the one that said to call CPS. Do you realize that a call from an annoyed, possibly exaggerating neighbor could collapse these peoples lives and cause their children to be torn from them, and possibly placed with people who foster children only to receive money from the government for doing so, in order to not have to work for a living- therefore typically not properly caring for the children they foster. (although there are amazing foster parents out there, don't get me wrong) Please, for the love of all things holy, consider the consequences and magnitude of what you suggest to people from behind your computer screen, as they could take your comment to call CPS very seriously. Whatever interaction you think you saw between this child and her pet that one time... don't let the fact that you're angry with your situation make you think you have the right to attempt to be judge and jury to their parenting. You could ruin these peoples lives, their child's life, you could solve this any other way than risking to put that baby in the system. This thread scares me... call CPS if you observe abuse or neglect of a child and are positive of it and THAT'S IT!! I don't care that it's been years since the original post... I needed to say this.

call CPS if you observe abuse or neglect of a child and are positive of it and THAT'S IT!!

As a professional and former school nurse with many years experience I wanted to address this comment. One needs to have a good faith belief of abuse or neglect in order to call CPS, one does not need to be positive.

However, just a vague theory that something 'might' happen some day is not enough. In general it is better to err on the side of caution, CPS does not in fact conduct an investigation after every phone call, those taking the report will assess the information and then act only of the assessment warrants it.

Love living in an apartment but I've been lucky.

• In NY, I lived in a loft with windows facing north to an unobstructed view of the Empire State Building. I am not sure these older bones could climb up to bed in the elevated loft bed area now but my bladder was stronger in those days. I rented in a gentrifying Manhattan neighborhood and luckily the building went coop when developers offered incredible insider prices
• I now live in a high rise with a view and a doorman. As a single, I appreciate the safety and the convenience of having someone available to sign for my constant stream of internet purchases. I like the security as there has never even been a robbery in my building - much easier pickings for thieves from the single family homes and less secure apartments/condos in my neighborhood. When I come home late, I never have to worry about anyone lurking around.
• The construction in my building is such that I have never had sound issues since there are thick concrete floors and ceilings. Of course it helps that there are "house rules" so that real noise issues are dealt with strongly
• I love living in an urban environment for all the reasons that make urban living desirable. I lived briefly on a farm - or more accurately what was once a plantation - in Virginia and the crickets made me nervous - to paraphrase Marlon Brando. :-)
• As a single, I don't want the upkeep of a single family home nor do I like the exposure - either live with bars or have an expensive security alarm system

@Lucille ...that's a better way to put it, maybe should've thought that out a bit more but the topic went from 0-100 for me in one comment lol

I'm a life-long apt. dweller, mostly due to $$$. Rent used to be cheaper than a mortgage, but no more. Where I live has exploded with new apt. complexes, and rents are really going sky-high to remain competitive. It's getting scary.

Apt. life has always had its up and downs. You can't choose your neighbors, or stop them from raising elephants above you, or choose the noisy car they drive, or the questionable friends they hang around with outside their door, or what time they come home drunk, or that you might hit some kid while driving through the parking lot (as I did recently, her fault completely by dashing out in front of me). But then again, neighbor horror stories from home owners abound as well. And people will be jerks. Nothing's perfect.

But now that I'm older, I find I like the convenience of an apartment. I like having no yard to mow, no maintenance to take care of. Plus I simply couldn't afford to pay for a new appliance or a broken radiator, or have my HVAC fixed if I lived in a house. Here, I just let maintenance take care of it. Frankly, I don't know how homeowners do it. I'm constantly on the 'edge of affordability', so finding a decent place to live without being relegated to an unsafe area just to save a buck, is getting harder and harder. But I have 2 rules: no more neighbors living above me, and no more roommates! :-)

12 years after the OP...

Thanks for posting this question. I've been grappling with being back in an apt after 4 years in a house and wonder how others cope. The responses here are great, it shows how differently each person may react to a wide variety of situations. I think I am very noise sensitive myself, so it's difficult.

I live below 3 people and they aren't obnoxious, though they can be inconsiderate in terms of wearing heels or yelling across the apt at 6a. But mainly they just are living a normal life. It still drives me nuts, the sound of feet, slammed doors, normal convo. I realize that's my issue, they're just normal people, but I personally need more quiet than I'd thought.

Also, my bedroom is on the front of a very steep hill, which heavy vehicles seem to prefer (possibly because it's overall less trafficked?). So starting at 6 or 7a there is very loud and startling traffic waking me up. My husband works until midnight so we get very little quality sleep and it's wearing us down. That's not necessarily an apt thing but most homes don't place bedrooms front and center to the street....maybe some do.

Maybe I could make an upper unit work with chill/quiet neighbors. Or if we worked traditional jobs it might be easier. But things being what they are we decided to move into a stand alone house. It's gonna cost us the same as our apartment but the trade off it it's a lot older and will need some tlc (as much as renters can do really). I figured it's worth it not to have people above us and to have a little more quiet. But as other posts have pointed out, there are loud and obnoxious neighbors in houses too so there's no guarantee. Just nice not to have shared walls.

Oh! I am with the original poster.... apartment living.. never again. I grew up in single family houses. Well as an adult I lived in a couple houses, and a duplex with roommates. They were rentals so it was actually really nice.. At 24 years old I was so done with roommates and I broke up with my bf so I moved into a teeny weeny expensive crappy apartment complex efficiency. Finally having privacy and having kitchen and stuff to myself is great. But that's where the good stuff ends.. I hate apartments, I will never live in an apartment ever again. I have sensory processing disorder and social anxiety and general anxiety. The sounds drive me to tears. The fear that someone in my building will start a fire is scary. I can't go outside comfortably at all.. there is always staring, smoking, greetings.. I can't even compost or recycle here. I have two dogs and I have to put on clothes to take them out when they have to pee. (i dont wear a lot of clothes because of my sensory disorder) I've been here two years.. and this summer we will finally leave (my fiance and i) moving to a duplex instead... with a yard.

I haven't minded it, since things are maintained by the manager and management company here and has been a quiet building overall. They make a point of keeping the grounds clean and not having bugs, yet had evidence of, early on. Even previous buildings I lived in were fine. However, my complaints have been in regards to some neighbors directly above having affected me by their behavior in later years. (I would like to be in an unattached place or duplex, but is not possible).

Some can make others miserable by their behavior and there is no control over what type moves in near you. Apparently signing agreements means nothing to some, along with their not being considerate and respectful individuals. Besides that, management now appears to have taken a nonchalant approach in dealing with noisemakers, so I am wanting to leave, but have special considerations, also fearing that it could end up being the same anywhere. I don't want to live out my later years that way and hope that other housing will enforce rules.

A quote from a poster on this thread:

No matter where you live there will be pros and cons.

My best advice in regards to the noise would be to invest in a pair of earplugs, or even opt for headphones. A good pair could save you!

I agree, Lucille. My headphones are my best friend. I'm never without them. Whether I'm traveling or just chilling out at the apartment.

I agree with Lucille too.

I just took advantage of yet another amenity at my apt complex- they have a free carwash for the residents, and off to the side of the carwash is a dog wash, with a raised platform for the dog so that one does not have to hurt one's back bending down to get to the dog. Fifi loved her shampoo!

I think an attitude adjustment could be just the thing you need. You sound negative and miserable, and that's going to follow you wherever you go. So many people don't even have the luxury of having a roof over their heads, let alone one in such a vibrant city full of opportunity. I am an apartment dweller now by choice at age 49, after years of home ownership. I hear my neighbor's dog barking sometimes, and they also I'm sure hear mine. I hear kids playing in the nicely landscaped courtyard at night. Sometimes the elevator is broken, and I need to take the stairs up to my 5th floor apartment. I gave up my beautiful home and garden to live here, at least for now. Do I love it? YES. I have literally NO to-do list anymore, my building is relatively new, so it's in good condition. I spend my weekends getting out in my community, having lunch with friends, reading on my sofa and taking guilt-free afternoon naps since I have no maintenance chores to stress me out. I get beautiful light coming in the big windows and door that lead to my balcony. If a lightbulb goes out, I make a phone call. I am going to save thousands of dollars because instead of spending money for a bathroom redo, fence repairs, or whatever, that money is going straight into my bank account where it can grow. I also feel quite safe - my building has restricted access which is a deterrent for crime. Much easier for these folks to just rob a dark suburban home and get away with it. When I want to move, I will do so with virtually no headache at all. I'm living simply - this space is half what my home was so I am not accumulating a bunch of useless things. I must be mindful about purchases as they will take up precious storage space. Shift your perspective and watch your situation improve!