If you live in a flat or an apartment, you probably know that you can hear other people moving around to the side of you and above you - it's usually small noises that you can get used to and they become almost like white noise after a while. Some people's apartments are much noisier though, and one woman headed online to complain that she could hear her neighbour's conversations clearly.
The unnamed woman took to Reddit's ' neighbours from hell ' forum to complain that the walls are 'practically made of paper' and that they only have a downstairs neighbour, but they can hear them constantly.
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She wrote: "I guess this is less of a neighbour from hell and more of an apartment from hell, but we just moved into a very new apartment building that seemed like such a dream come true.
"We've been here for about two months now and quickly found out the floors and walls are practically made of paper. We only have a downstairs neighbour, and we can hear every single step they take when they walk around. When they're on the phone, every word. Music, TV, movies, anything; crystal clear.
"We're dying to move out. We're planning on buying a house as the end of our lease approaches, but until then we shall sleep with earplugs and a white noise machine."
People sympathised with the woman and their predicament.
One wrote: "Cheaper cost of construction and vagueness about noise in the law which makes it easier to get away with.
"As long as people as a majority/group don’t start complaining and demanding change about this issue seriously, things will never change because there will always be a demand for apartments. Lots of people also are unaware of their rights as tenants.
"And yeah, people think top floor is the ultimate solution but no. Lots of stories of people who moved top floor expecting peace and quiet finally only to be in a worse hell hearing everything downstairs or to their side."
Another said they'd been through a similar thing, commenting: "I lived in a newish apartment building winter before last. I was on the top floor of a four-storey building. I thought I would be safe from noise but I didn’t count on how thin the walls were. I could hear everything."
The original poster replied to the comment, writing: "Ugh, it sounds so similar to our situation! I'm glad you moved out. I'm lowkey dreading finishing out the remaining nine months of our lease...I suppose we'll survive."
One said that designs are much cheaper nowadays, meaning things are more echoey. They wrote: "Along with cheap building practices, I'm going to guess it has the design concepts that are so popular now. Hardwood (fake) flooring instead of carpet, open concept everything. Kitchen island instead of a wall separating rooms. Floating shelves instead of cabinets.
"Sure, it looks great but what you have is a beautiful echo chamber and it echoes every noise whether in the room or outside."
Someone else said they related, writing: "I had the exact same experience. Moved into a brand new build, first person ever in this unit and I was thrilled!
"Then the first night I clearly heard my neighbours TV right through the wall. I don't think they could have cheaped out on this building more. All the fixings are cheap as hell too! And yet the rent? High. I'm 100% not renewing my lease if I can next year."
Have you ever lived somewhere that turned out to be too good to be true? Let us know in the comments.
