I still live in an apartment. I would LIKE to live in a real house, far away from my neighbors, but right now it just isn't feasible. It doesn't help that we live in a "university" city -- meaning that from September to April there are a lot of university and Kelsey students renting in the city.

MOST students are great tenants, I am sure. I know that Rob and I have always tried to be good and courteous neighbors, and all of our friends are the same way. But there are a few, a select few, who are NOT good tenants, and TERRIBLE neighbors.Unfortunately, a pair of this kind of students has moved into the apartment directly above mine. These two girls moved in on September 1, and for the last 9 days they have been driving me up the wall.

September 1st they moved in... and moved ALL night. Since they are directly ABOVE me their apartment has the exact same layout as our apartment... so while they were moving their couch and beds and various other pieces of furniture around the apartment I could hear everything they did. This wouldn't have been so bad, if they hadn't been doing it after 12am and early into the morning. This continued for the next few days... hearing the scraping sound of things being dragged along the floor while they were being repositioned, thumping and banging... late into the night.

The moving noises finally quieted down the night before classes were to begin (September 6). Afternoon September 6, 7 and 8 I can hear and FEEL the music they are playing in their apartment. Okay, I admit it, I am becoming a crabby pregnant lady now and I relish ANY amount of sleep I am able to get... so this constant THUMPING coming from above me really gets under my skin. But I am hesitant to do anything about it, because it is only in the afternoon and so far the noise isn't THAT loud.

Until tonight... when they decided to turn their stereo up so loud I could hear the WORDS of the music they were playing. Now, I like to play my music as loud as any other student around (although I won't have that pleasure for long) but at the same time I understand how irritating it is to have to turn up your tv just to hear over someone else's music -- especially if you don't share their taste in music. I dealt with this with the girls who used to live in the next apartment, and the guys who lived there before the girls moved in... every day, every night, and EVERY SINGLE weekend before they went out to the bar!! And at this point I am SICK of having to deal with inconsiderate neighbors... And with a baby coming in the next few months, I wanted to nip this in the bud before it became a habitual thing.

The building I live in is pretty mixed. There are a number of young families like Rob and I, some older women with a few children, a few working couples (some with and some without kids), and university and Kelsey students. It is not a "student" building (one where the tenants are almost entirely students), and as such it is a bit stricter on the amount of annoying noise that will be tolerated by the landlord and other tenants. Before I was pregnant I was pretty lax with neighbors who wanted to party and play their music excessively loudly... but with a baby coming I am less likely to put up with it. And I know that other neighbors are feeling the same way...

So when the girls upstairs decided they were gonna "PARTY" this evening, Rob called the landlady regarding this behavior. Apparently we were not the ONLY tenants to complain tonight -- our nextdoor neighbors (who have a 1 year old) and the tenants ABOVE them also complained. In the past the landlords have stated that they can't do anything about the noise until after 11 (when the noise ordinance comes into effect)... but since 2 of the complaints came from long-time tenants, and all came from FAMILIES the landlady wanted to nip the excessive noise...

She called these girls on the phone. They didn't answer. So she came over to talk to them in person. Either they couldn't hear her knocking or they didn't want to deal with it, because they didn't answer the door. Sigh... The landlady said that she would keep trying... and if this didn't stop (if they continued to get complaints) the rental company would take action -- not sure what that means exactly, but hey, if it gets the point across that you have to be a little considerate of other people then more power to them...

~~Pam~~