apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Ha! And I've heard Vince Vaughn doesn't drink.

The scariest sound I've woken up to is the sound of breaking glass from a house fire two doors down.

Wrigleyville. Without a doubt. When I first moved to Chicago, I lived within blocks of Wrigley Field, and by the time my two-year lease was up, I was no longer a Cubs fan. The parking, the nightly noise, the annoying El ride north home from work, the car packed with drunken fans... never, never again.

Cable cars in San Francisco - on the other hand the sound of streetcars in New Orleans makes me sleepy.

We used to live in Chicago in the Logan Square neighborhood and about twice, three times a year, there would be some kind of Latin parade that would last into the wee mornings. I had my husband called the police once just because I was so annoyed.

It's a toss up between Lakeview with drunken Cubs fans screaming and yelling (and peeing onto my front steps) and the West Loop.

A few months after moving into a beautiful condo on Madison, the restaurant across the street closed - and reopened as a martini bar, complete with drunken partyers screaming for cabs and having high decimal conversations under my bedroom window at 2-3-4am. I became a big fan of those foamy ear plugs...they even come in neon colors!

I live across the street from a church that rents out the basement for parties. Many a reception, qunicenera, christening, etc. have gone long, long past the noise deadline.

Current 1st floor neighbors who neglect their dog. I woke up last week to the dog bark/crying at 11:45pm. How do you tell your neighbors they're terrible dog owners, and could they please have it stop barking at me when I walk in the front door?

Equally as bad have to be the people that honk going through alleys. This isn't actually a law here, is it? And I don't just mean *tap* honking. I mean *honk-honk-honk-h-h-h-honk-HONK!!* I guess it's better than running over neighborhood children but, here's a thought -- COME TO A STOP at the sidewalk at the end of the alley.

My neighborhood every 17 years when the cicadas visit. It's like having an airport in your backyard. Thank goodness they sleep for the next 16.

Years ago, the unemployed scumbag that lived directly under us that was always berating his (employed) wife. One morning at 5 am, he was screaming, she was screaming in PAIN, and I was calling the police whan my ex yelled at me to not get involved. (That is one of many reasons why he is my ex.)


Last Labor Day weekend, a bunch of teenagers converged on a house in the neighborhood, and we had that one busted. But not after the street was littered with bottles, neighbors woken up, and I caught one of the little psychopaths peeing in the yard, who had the nerve to say "can I help you?"

Drunk eurotrash and b&t partygoers walking back from Chelsea clubs, yelling stupidities at each other.

ooops, I meant "not BEFORE the street was littered".

When I lived in Laguna Beach, the alternately cracked out or drunken always partying neighbors were all passed out, door open, stereo full blast, CD skipping to some Kid Creole and the Coconuts song. I had to go in and shut the thing off.

$&%*@!!!!!!!

We must be neighbors Lourdes. I just moved to Chelsea, and the number of drunken idiots on the yelling on the streets is astounding. But the worst noise was my upstairs neighbor in my last apartment. He moved in two months before I moved out. He rehearsed his band there. Guitar, keyboards, and a full drum kit. He would always stop when I complained... until the next rehearsal. He also would jump rope. So glad I am gone.

Oh sweet mother - my bedroom had this bay window, where the head of my bed was. Bad move (though only possible way to arrange the room) as the noise from the street traveled down the alley and right into my face. Not so much drunken assholes as the Foster bus. And all the ginormous trucks that use Foster to get to wherever they go. Funtimes.

For me, it's the frequent "band" practices in a raw loft space about 50 feet north of my building. When the weather gets nice they open all of their windows so that the whole freaking block is bombarded with their extremely loud "music" (can you tell I am NOT a fan?!).

The building is for sale, so I'm just hoping a developer will buy the place and kick them out.

boystown. anything and everything.

My first apartment was on Belmont directly across from Mt Carmel. Saturday nights were super loud with traffic and drunks. Sunday mornings you had the church bells. They're not easy to sleep through.

Living right next to Wrigley Field (literally two doors down), it's a toss up between the noise from Murphy's Bleachers, where apparently no one knows how to adjust the speaker volume, or the frat-boy party house across the street. I don't know if I'm more annoyed by the Rick Astley song the frat boys blast during EVERY Cubs game or when they were yelling "step, step, step" as any person walked by on a Wednesday night at 1 a.m.

Seriously, I'm too old for this neighborhood!

nothing like random gunshots waking you up in the middle of the night....three times. when i first moved to chicago, i lived in a garden apt. in west bucktown. i'd dive onto the floor in the middle of the night since gangstahs aren't exactly known for their sharpshooting skills. i love the ukranian village!

The other night my partying neighbours threw a roman candle into my backyard at 3:30am. The noise woke me, the flashing lights scared the shit out of me, and the smoke billowing through all of our windows made me bloodthirsty.

After going outside yelling obscenities, in my pyjamas, completely irate, I couldn't get back to sleep. I spent the next 2 hours plotting any form of revenge I thought was cruel enough.

The first 3 years I lived here I lived in Boystown and the bar noises and leftover Wrigley foot traffic at 4 AM were bad.

Then the last 3 years have been in Logan Square and it's a toss up between the neighbor kids yelling until 10 at night, people honking when they arrive to pick up a friend and car alarms constantly going off!

Living between the subway station and an elementary school. Every morning at 7am (I work late) a zillion kids streaming down the street. The worst was the basketballs..thump...thump...thump..Thump..THump...THUMP!... you could here it for blocks in any direction.

I've since moved to a place right on an intersection. I can deal with the ambulances squealing through in the middle of the night, but I just cant understand why people blast Latin music with their windows down.

When I lived on the main drag in Seattle's University District, I thought my block would be quiet because the notorious student dives were all elsewhere. Sadly, I neglected to factor in the late-night eateries -- one across the street and one directly below my apartment -- that catered to the hungry drunken hoardes once the notorious student dives closed for the night. So instead of noisy drunk people exiting a bar and dispersing, I had noisy drunk people waiting in line to order, then waiting for their food to be prepared, then eating their burgers and kebabs, then hanging around to watch and/or join in the fight(s) that invariably broke out.

Ah, University Way. I don't miss you a bit.

We live in River North on the 24th floor of our building. We can still hear the El but it puts me asleep.

When we lived in DC, our walls were paper thin. My husband and I were getting ready to eat dinner and my next door neighbor was having sex. It was 6:00 p.m. I mean, I'm all for getting it on but at dinnertime??? We had a lovely meal while we could hear EVERYTHING - and I'm not just talking about a headboard hitting a wall.

Everytime we saw her in the hallway, my husband started moaning and then laughed.

In the 14 years I've lived in my apartment in SF:
- Neighbors fighting
- Neighbors partying
- Neighbors flushing toilets
- Homeless people yelling/screaming/raping one another in the alley by the church behind my building.
- Construction work on the church behind my building.
- Church exploding & burning to the ground. (Different Church - had a Meth Clinic in the basement)
- Bridezillas from the Church next door on the street arguing after a Wedding Rehearsal
- Fireworks
- Garbage Trucks
- Traffic, including honking horns, drivers w/ stereos on too loud, over-revving engines and car crashes (someone is always running the red light at a nearby blind intersection)
- Loud Music (School Dances for the Catholic School next door)
- Gunshots - most recent incident resulting in a murdered parent at the Catholic School next door during a basketball game.
- Fire Engine & Police Car sirens
- Car Alarms
- Navy Fighter Aircraft flying overhead (Blue Angels during Fleet Week)
- Foghorns and Ship's Whistles
- Street Parties & Parades

I don't notice the various noises so much anymore - Nowadays, I notice when I travel someplace that it's so quiet that I can't sleep.

Drunk neighbor downstairs puking. The sound traveled right through the pipes and woke me up. That was definitely the worst!!

I live on Main Street which is also a state highway in a small town. Too much through traffic - they swear they have a bypass in the works. Tractor trailers with air brakes are the worst. Also we're between the fire station and the Interstate and next to a hospital. Don't ever let anyone tell you that village life is always quiet.

Apartment over a college bar. It closed at 2 am and opened at 7 am. The drunks left, ate and returned at 5 am to wait in line. They would yell things at my roomies dog who looked out the window at them.

I visited a friend on an air force base and got used to the planes coming and going continuously. (They make a lot less noise than passenger jets) After the first night I was used to it.

Friend on a tour group that snored was a lot worse than the USAF jets. I longed for their soothing sound. I was so happy when we stayed over a bar and one drunk yelled good bye to everyone. I could sleep through that. (One drunk 2 floors down isn't bad. 50 drunks 7 feet down is too loud. ) my friend couldn't, so I got to sleep that night and she didn't.

Children....loud screaming unattended children.....dozens of them for hours on end...out in the yard. Drunk oblivious parents....I'm not talking about the happy sounds of children at play....I mean full tilt screaming for the entire legnth of the sun in the sky...
"What do you mean our precious little offspring annoy you???"

I've just installed a 200 amp outdoor speaker system, put John Denver's greatest hits on endless rotation...and go inside.

I have everyone beat!!!

I LIVE IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA ON INTERNATIONAL BLVD.
1) I live across the street from a fire station. Sirens galore
2) I live in the ghetto (more sirens due to cops chasing criminals)
3) I live in the ghetto (crack heads, drunken people, sometimes prostitutes)
4) I live on a main street, and where I live people think bumping the bass and screeching away is attractive and tough.
5) I live above a mexican restaurant that plays a loud juke box every day.
6) I live adjacent to a Michelin tire store where loud mechanical noises can be heard daily.
7) I live in an ethnic community so I often hear little honks from foot peddling mexican food carts; also I hear lots of "yigh yigh yighsss!" when a particular neighbor across the street is in the mood.

I kind of dislike the neighborhood, but I like my apartment. I just wish I had dual pane windows and more sound isolation.

Chicago's New Eastside, east of Michigan avenue to the Lake near Millennium Park. This area had one hotel and a bunch of office buildings when they built a huge firestation in the area. 25 years later, there are at least 15 residential highrises and five major hotels within an 8 square block block area, yet the fire trucks still blare their sirens at all hours, day and night, with no concern that this is now a residential neighborhood. They're out every 20 minutes blaring their installed double-volume, post 9/11 sirens. And then there's the pack mentality the other downtown fire stations seem to have--when one or two trucks show up, several trucks from other stations show up. Smoke alarm=3 or 4 fire trucks. Garbage chute fire=10 fire trucks, an ambulance, a couple police cars and a "command center" truck.