Do you have a QUIET home/condo/apt?

[mountainsoft]

We live about ten miles from town out in the country. We love that it is so quiet and peaceful. Although, even nature can be noisy. Wind blowing in the trees, birds chirping, owls hooting, coyotes howling, crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and we even have a peacock running wild on our hill that calls out occasionally.

We do hear some road noise from cars driving by, mostly log trucks or dump trucks when new lots are being developed. Or the kid that drives by occasionally with his booming stereo. We've also got some guy with a motorcycle that sounds like some kind of jet engine. Very fascinating, we always want to stop him and ask to look at his bike to see what makes it sound that way.

The neighbors landscapers show up every Friday with their mowers and leaf blowers. That's a bit annoying, but I run my woodworking equipment occasionally too so fair is fair.

We also have a gravel mine a few miles from our house. Once every week or two they will blast for new rock. We don't really "hear" the explosion, but you can feel the vibration, cabinet doors rattling, etc. Strange feeling.

It used to be a lot quieter out here, but noise has picked up over the years as more people have moved into the area. Thankfully, the major developments are over, so we don't have the daily caravan of trucks and construction equipment we had for a year or two.

 

[pacergal]

We live in a very quiet neighborhood. There is the usual yard care noise during the daytime, and a school nearby. But evenings and weekends are peaceful.
Our house is over 60 years old. Very little wall insulation, we have added insulation in the ceilings and floors, and when we replaced the windows several years ago, we noticed a good reduction in noise.

 

[bevette]

BTW - One possible cause of noise sensitivity is magnesium deficiency, which some health experts believe may actually be pretty common.

This is interesting. I'd never heard that. I just googled 'high magnesium foods' and I seem to eat many foods on the list regularly, if not daily. But I'll ask my GP if she can test magnesium levels at my next annual exam.

 

[bevette]

I too have a low tolerance for external noise, especially when I am listening to music. So, I completely feel your pain.

Most people here in Switzerland, myself included, live in apartment buildings. So, there are noise laws -- normal sleeping hours are considered to be from 10pm to 6am; therefore excessive noise during this period is not tolerated (loud parties, using a loud voice on your balcony, hanging a picture with a hammer...that kind of thing).

Sundays and public holidays, and workdays between noon and 1pm are also considered to be rest periods--so no noise. It's a cultural norm here that on Sundays there can be no noise from yard equipment (blowers, mowers, clippers), no vacuum cleaning, and no car washing. I'm in heaven with respect to this.

Everyone has the right to call the police when infractions occur and the police will respond. Landlords (most people rent here due to cost of buying) have been known to evict noisy tenants. This generally screws them for future rentals. So your reputation for being quiet is important! That said, normal noise, even sometimes a bit excessive, during non sleeping/non rest hours is tolerated quite well.

Most buildings are very solid -- concrete, brick, etc., and all windows here are double-paned at minimum, which helps a lot.

-BB

May I rent a room from you?

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

May I rent a room from you?

Ha ha. I forgot to add that apartments (at least the affordable ones) tend towards the small size!

-BB

 

[Freedom56]

Our primary home in Southern California is extremely quiet. We are at about 1900 feet of elevation on a cul-de-sac. We have enough separation between neighbours, so that noise doesn't become an issue unless someone is throwing an outdoor party with music or when a police helicopter is circling overhead.

In Florida, our Condo is downtown and as expected there is a lot of of Urban noise - ambulances, police busting rowdy visitors to clubs, night clubs playing loud music. Our unit is 6 floors up and the building itself is quiet (concrete and impact glass windows). The location is great for an urban setting and so are the Intra-coastal and ocean views.

In Switzerland, our home is in a quiet upscale neighbourhood around Lausanne. Our property has a lot of land for an urban setting (we sit on over one acre). The rear of the home faces Lake Geneva, the French Alps, and Evian France. The home is divided into 3 apartments are about 211 M2 each (about 2200 sq ft each). We have an empty lot next to us where the owner just got approval to build a home for his daughter. It took him 7 years to get the building permit and plan approvals. The tenants are extremely quiet and so are the neighbours around us. The tenant upstairs is a single woman that likes to sing and play acoustic guitar in her spare time. She doesn't sing that well but she is so hot looking that nobody cares. We usually warn people before we through a party in our backyard. Sundays are quiet days when no lawnmowers are permitted or outdoor event that can generate noise.

 

[grasshopper]

We only have one other family living in our section(640 acres) with a half a mile driveway. To our west a half a mile is a 100000 acre wilderness area with flight restrictions. There is a farmer that allows deer hunting about 3 miles away so we hear a few gunshots at times. The loudest noise this time of year is the wings of 50 hummingbirds at the feeders.

 

[Kimo]

I had the same problem

I had tried everything, condo, townhouse, single family dwelling....

I bought 17 acres 20 minutes outside Reno and had a house built. My wife and I always comment on how quiet it is here.

We are more worried about when the time comes that we need to live in the city again to be closer to HealthCare options, we know what we have now is a once in a lifetime opportunity (For us at least)

 

[zaqxsw]

I hear you! It's tough. No amount of acreage will make a difference. The farther out you go the more likely there will be guns and the dreaded ATV's. My wife's family owns 500 acres and will literally shoot at any ATV that comes close.

2-3 acres on a cul-de-sac is your best bet. But, neighbors change and what's up with super loud trucks driven by someone over 18? You want attention? A woman? Don't think that is the way.

I love dogs, but I hate a whole lot of irresponsible dog owners. You know who you are....

 

[indiajust]

Move to New England, or anywhere else that's empty. I suspect vermont will be down to 2 senators and a rep sharing an empty house with a part time governor. No airports, no interstates, few trucks. I don't even hear planes fly over.

 

[gooddog]

Have a 2nd home, which is a condo in Cocoa Beach, FL. Have never once heard a neighbor, but the units are built like tanks. The only way you should ever hear a neighbor in a concrete block condo building is if the upstairs unit has tile/wood floors with someone in heels walking around like an ape. An interesting point regarding noise & floors in condos: Florida just passed a law this past year that all new flooring in condos that is tile/wood (anything that makes a click when walked on) must have a sound barrier between the floor and the cement. This adds about $1/sq foot in floor costs to do.

 

[Choices]

Move to New England, or anywhere else that's empty. I suspect vermont will be down to 2 senators and a rep sharing an empty house with a part time governor. No airports, no interstates, few trucks. I don't even hear planes fly over.

It isn’t quite that bad, yet. We do hear the lawn mowers and tractors in summer. ATVs and snowmachines, gunfire, coyotes and sand trucks in the winter. Oh, I think one of the neighbor cows was in heat this spring. But there are no kids on our road, just a few dogs and quiet chickens and kitties.

Most of the time it is very still out here, just birds and a woodchuck’s whistle.

 

[denstl]

We live in a stand alone villa in a development that is mainly attached homes (2 attached) and a handful of the stand alone villas. The stand alones are actually smaller than the attached but I really did not want to share a wall, and certainly not a floor or ceiling. Not only didn't I want to hear my neighbor, I didn't want to have to worry about being quiet myself. Mainly watch movies on the big screen TV where the dialog is so low you have to crank it up and then of course, action scenes blast you out of your seat.

So we get all the convenience of the condo life but still feels like a free standing home in a neighborhood of mostly older folks (older being 45+) and not really any children.

 

[mabuhay]

I am sensitive to noise and carefully evaluate properties before purchase. I can tell you that you don't need to be on 40 acres in the country to avoid noise. Just choose a single family home in a better part of town, away from heavily trafficked roadways. Often a more mature age bracket will be less likely to party, drive loud vehicles, etc.

My primary home currently is of Adobe block construction in the foothills of tucson. With 180 degrees views, super quiet.

 

[bevette]

I am sensitive to noise and carefully evaluate properties before purchase. I can tell you that you don't need to be on 40 acres in the country to avoid noise. Just choose a single family home in a better part of town, away from heavily trafficked roadways. Often a more mature age bracket will be less likely to party, drive loud vehicles, etc.

My primary home currently is of Adobe block construction in the foothills of tucson. With 180 degrees views, super quiet.

This is very encouraging, as I really don't want to live in the countryside. I think rural living sounds lovely, but I've been in urban/suburban environments my whole life and it has suited me well aside from the noise.

I think I need to just accept that I must work a few years longer to afford a home or condo with exceptional construction quality to maintain my sanity.

 

[Caskem]

Noise

During my lifetime, I've lived in apartments, condos and single-family homes and all of my housing decisions have been epic failures with regards to noise.

If you currently live in quiet place, what qualities make it quiet? And luck doesn't count. I once lived a blissful existence in a condo for years until the upstairs unit turned over and the new owner walked like an elephant. I put my unit on the market immediately.

Thanks for your input!

I feel your pain. I generally dislike being around people other than family and friends and we moved to ten acres in the country to get some peace and quiet. No such luck. It's amazing how trashy neighbors can influence your serenity.

So, looking for about 50+ acres in Kentucky. I will sit on my porch looking down on the pastures and woods and not seeing a soul for days. Sounds like heaven.

 

[l8_apex]

SFH in the burbs was/is my solution.

I had the luxury to take my time and choose. Here was what I was concerned about:
1- not a major street
2- not close to highway/freeway
3- not on a flight path
4- not a 'small' lot. I'm on a 1/2 acre and there is open space between the back of the homes on parallel streets, so it seems bigger than that.
5- HOA strict enough to prevent too much unanticipated issues
6- fortunately lawn maintenance here doens't involve using leaf blowers very much. When I lived in CA, the paid lawn crews were always starting up their gas equipment right at 8am. That was the reason I didn't like keeping my windows open on the days I could sleep in.
7- I was also interested in too many lights at night, and except for one neighbor, I'm satisfied on that count as well

 

[imoldernu]

Not totally quiet... if the window is open, we can hear the hummingbirds arriving at the feeder.

 

[NoiseBoy]

My best friend bought his modest 3BDRM ranch home from the estate of the owner of an HVAC business. He put me up a few times when I was home for the holidays during my stint working out of state and one thing I noticed is how quiet his house is. I believe it is because the previous owner worked very hard at sealing up the doors, windows and otherwise insulated the home very well. His front door closes with a "shnuook" sound. If you go with a SFH, call the HVAC people and have them do air leak test and fix whatever issues are identified.

I've lived on the ground floor of a condo. It wasn't bad, but I could definitely hear the upstairs neighbor's kids playing on the tile kitchen floor, so if you go this route, I'd vote for a top floor unit.

 

[meleana]

I was born in the Bronx, but our family moved to the country when I was 3 and I grew up playing in the woods, an apple orchard and by a farm.


Fast forward to when I got married at age 21, we bought a fixer-upper on a half acre on a dirt road near a lake in the country. Did have neighbors- one was an old farmer and his wife whom we loved- the others built a house right next to our property line years later and it would annoy me when I went out to the dog pen and the owner would be sitting there on her deck looking down at me and start up a conversation when I wasn't in the mood. LOL!



Then, at my age of 31 when we had our son, we purchased a salt box colonial on 10.5 acres of wooded land, with a small bridge that goes over a stream that is part of our 700 foot driveway.



Yes- our house is set back that far into our land and it is dead quiet, except for the birds. We are visited frequently by deer, bear, coyote, wild turkeys and all the small critters, like ground hogs, chipmunks and squirrels. Also have bats and snakes and turtles and lots of bugs.


After working all day it is wonderful to come home to your own retreat. No curtains on our windows- the outdoor views come in through the windows. Love the privacy. I can sit out on my deck in PJ's if I want. I did have dogs at one time and an invisible fence and it was great to just let them out to run and play.


I am about to stop working and will be home all day so it will be nice, but also isolating. As long as I can drive and get out amongst people I should be ok. My husband and I are homebodies- a little bit of loners- but I fear aging in this situation will not be good and hence we are planning to move to another state where our son lives when hubby retires- and into a condo or townhouse- maybe in a senior development. Hubby requires a garage, though, so he can putter.


There are challenges when you live like this- we have to pay someone to plow or driveway- it can be treacherous in bad weather because it is steep. Power goes out a lot so important to have a generator, which we do have a whole house one powered by propane. (No natural gas in these parts)



We keep things simple outside as to reduce maintenance- especially landscaping- we almost have none- just keep things natural.


In terms of neighbors- the property next door has not been built on yet and my neighbors in back and on the other side have many acres of land as well. I have a quiet neighbor in front of us- but we are separated by our large tract of land in front of our home. So we see nor hear no one.


To this day I dislike cities or a lot of noise. Too much stimulation for my already overactive mind.

 

[John Galt III]

I live in an end unit townhome. The first neighbor I had played the stereo too loud and I had to call him up a few times and ask him to turn it down (embarrassing) and he did. The next two neighbors have been very quiet. My hearing sucks, though, so maybe I just don't hear it, ha ha. But there are lawn mowing and construction noises that come and go. Every few years the commercial lot next to me erupts in lots of construction noise. It only bothered me when I had a night job, and I wanted quiet from 4 am to noon, to sleep.

 

[MRG]

Our life with shared walls was bizarre. The cokehead couple next door were a lot of fun. They influenced many of our later decisions.

I commuted 125 miles daily for 10 years to live in seclusion. Morel mushrooms in the spring were delicious. Whitetail standing 100 yards from the porch during deer season. We watched bucks fighting during the rut, Tom turkeys trying to kill each other. I'd sometimes catch catfish in a bucket at the edge of one pond. They came up and willingly jumped in(catfish food helps)!

We held hundreds of birds that hit our house. Hummingbirds, cardinals were commonly rescued; a falcon and one screech owl were both caught and released! Sometimes it felt like living in a wildlife documentary.

Many folks didn't know there was a house back that road. Heck there were thousands of acres of farmland surrounding us. The only noise was planting/harvest or deer season.

Today we live on a canyon that backs up to San Juan National Forest. There's 3 million acres of NF behind us, a huge wilderness area to the north . We had a lion a couple weeks ago; mule deer, turkeys, coyotes, foxes, and bear are frequent visitors. We will have neighbors on one side, maybe next year. The rest is open space or National Forest.

This is the first development we've lived in for 25 years. It's odd, but so far I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

[Fedup]

My neighborhood is very quiet, everybody is busy working to afford living here. The high tax state that is. But my next door neighbor is selling his house, so who knows, we could get a crazy neighbor soon.
This is not rural area, city-ish, suburban.

 

[Souschef]

I live a half mile from a small airport. It is not lighted, so as soon as the sun goes down, it is quiet.
I do not mind it (I am a pilot). I love sitting on the porch and watching the planes. There is one pilot approved for aerobatics near our location, and it is like having a private airshow.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Not any longer.

Three-year-old triplets just moved in next door.

Add to that the aspiring rock star that now holds practice on the other side, windows wiiiiddddee open because it’s hot up there, and our pleasant oasis suffers from too much noise from time to time. Led Zep, Kansas, Badfinger, very loud. The same songs over and over again.

If it gets to be too much, here in our little one story tucked between two gigantic family homes, then I guess we’ll move.

But the triplets will grow up and the rock star will go to college, so I’m giving it all a little more time. We have great neighbors.

But we’re taking another road trip this fall and checking out some other areas, this time with a little acreage, just to do our homework.