If you absolutely love the place and the ONLY negative is Saturday morning trash pickup, buy some good earplugs and pack your bags! Of all the crazy things that people have to deal with in new places, once a week trash pickup is very low on the totem pole. Also, realize that as you live there, you'll get used to the sound to the point it might not even wake you up anymore.

Also, I have a really awesome sound machine and can't hear a thing when it's on. It's the top rated one on Amazon, the one that looks like a big smoke alarm.

Have you considered the smell? Anytime I so much as walk near the dumpster at my apartment building I almost vomit. The noise I could probably handle, but the smell, not a chance.

My concern wouldn't be the noise from the Saturday morning garbage pick up, i would be more concerned about the smell from the dumpsters when the windows are opened.

I wouldn't do it! How often will those dumpsters be emptied? If it's multiple times per week, it will be noisy. If it's just once, it will be smelly. The discount's definitely there for a reason.

Keep looking!

I don't think it's worth it. I use to live in an apartment that was directly above the dumpsters but 4 floors up. I'd get woken up every week at 5AM by the sound of the truck's hydraulics and the thundering clangs of the dumpster being foisted up and slammed to the asphalt.

Earplugs didn't help. No amount of soundproofing will block out the sound, especially if you live on the first floor. Your pickup is Sat morning? Stay far away.

even if the trash is picked up once or twice a week, i would wonder how often during the week people would be tossing their trash in. depending on you tolerance for noise, several people per day could be annoying.

keep looking. chances are that apartment won't be snapped up as others without this issue. best of luck!

I'm guessing that you may have trash pick up more than once per week. You might want to check on that, depending on the size of the bldg, you could easily have daily trash pick up. If not, the smell could be a much bigger problem than the noise. Also, if you have trash chutes in your bldg, that is a noisy thing at any time that people could use them...

Smell in humid DC summers is also a concern. If the unit is deeply discounted it sounds like it has been an issue for someone in the past, but a discounted apt in DC is a gem and if you love it maybe you can find a way to deal. You are never going to find the perfect apt in the city. I live in a practically perfect 1 bedroom apt in an old (but sound proof) building from the 1920s. I have great neighbors, hardwood floors, big rooms and the best view, but I still get noise off of 14th Street to the point where I can't open the windows. I deal because everything else is just right.

No white noise machine will block out that sound - with that said, the sound of emptying dumpsters will affect a large number of apartments (not just those in the immediate vicinity of the dumpster). How much are you willing to pay to avoid the noise? Are the savings significant enough that you'd be willing to "suffer" occasionally?

If its only Saturday morning noise, I think it would be worth it. But you should do your homework - stop by at different times during the week (and at different times) to see what condition the dumpsters are in and whether they're noisy at other times.

I used to live 4 floors above dumpsters, and the smell was never a problem but OH MY GOOD LORD the sound was SO LOUD. Every. Day. Multiple times a day. The trucks. are. loud. I just recently moved into an industrial loft next to train tracks and a busy street though. While at first I got annoyed with the trash trucks and sirens from the city, I embrace the noises now. Makes me feel a little closer to the world out there, a little less in an isolated bubble. If you LOVE the apartment (as I love this industrial loft), maybe you could just change your attitude about the noises and go on with your happy life.

Could you talk to some of the tenants who live there now? They would know better about the sound and smell.

You can get used to the sound of the trash truck. I did. It just becomes a "regular sound". There is another issue, though. Smell. Will you be opening your windows at this apartment? Go by the dumpster on a good hot day (in abundance this time of year). How whiffy does that thing get at about mid afternoon? Do any restaurants or grocers put stuff in there or is it just residential?

Forget the noise, what about pests?

A friend of mine lived in a garden unit next to some dumpsters; in the summer she had swarms of fruit flies, and in the winter a mouse or two made their way in.

Needless to say, she no longer lives there.

Keep looking!!! Smells, noise, rodents, insects, germs, corpses, etc. No way!

Have you actually gone on a Saturday morning? I live above a subway stop in NYC but I'm so used to city noise nothing wakes me up.

I moved from the quiet suburbs of Fairfax to DC in May, right next to Howard University on Florida Ave. I thought I would never get a nights sleep with the constant sirens and loud trucks going by. I live in one of the busiest intersections in all of DC. I do have a white noise maker but it only covers up so much. I was frustrated for the first month and wanted to move, but my boyfriend kept saying that I would get used to it and by gosh he was right, three months later and I can sleep through it. So all this mumbling is me telling you that you will get used to it, the noise.

I really think it depends on the overall amount of street noise. I lived in quiet Van Ness for a while in an apartment that was behind Connecticut Ave above the dumpsters. They are loud and obnoxious and woke me up every other morning at 7am. I lived there for three years and never got used it. Although, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a deal breaker for the apartment - i just learned to accept it as part of living there. Now I live along 16th Street near Dupont. The garbage truck noise just blends into the background of rush hour traffic and fire engines. With the help of a fan for white noise, it doesn't bother me in the least any more.

Price out other similar apartments, and compare to the price of this one - how much will you save? How much will you save in transportation costs? Will you be able to move if you can't live there or will you be locked in for a year or more with a lease? If saving money for a down payment on a condo or something else is more important than the possible smell/noise, then go for it. I would check with the other tenants and see how much of a nuisance it really is.

I agree with @set2sit - you can get used to city noise once you've grown acclimated to it. Your brain will start processing it less and less as a new sound (therefore potential threat) and just start glossing over it as part of the expected background noise. I used to live along the main thoroughfare for the local fire department in a college town. Needless to say the trucks were blaring by on a regular basis. After a few months I barely registered the sirens anymore, my brain having incorporated them into the background.

That said, my concern would be similar to what was stated above by other posters. In such close proximity you might have to contend with the smell, insects, rodents (rats, mice, raccoons, squirrels, etc.), alley cats and dogs, humans rummaging through the trash or tossing bags in. And as it's on the first floor, you might want to consider the security aspect. If it's right next to the dumpsters, you might be at more risk for a break in. First floor apartments are higher risk for break ins as it is, but the placement might make it an easier target because the entrance points might be more secluded. Unfortunately I don't know the layout of the building, so it's hard to factor that in as much. But it's something to keep in mind.

Keep looking! I once had an apartment across the street from a grabage dump in NYC and I ended up having to move out. It's not just the sound of the dumping itself, but also the beeping of the trucks as they back up. I always had to keep my windows closed which is a real shame if you are the kind of person who, like me, enjoys sleeping with the windows open in the fall, spring, etc.

When I was a grad student I had a fantasitc apartment that I loved, but it was right next to the dumpster. I would move back their again if I could regardless of the noise. That being said....I would literally cry with frustration on saturday mornings because I couldn't sleep-in due to the noise. Cried. In my bed.

Really depends on the time - my recycling truck stops by at 6:30 Wednesday mornings, and they're louder than the garbage truck, but I have to get up for work then anyway.

I thrive on low noise and a little bit of light, though, which is probably why I live near the airport, next door to the fire station, and back up to the railroad tracks.
...seriously.

Thanks for all the help guys! I'm definitely going to keep looking, I think I was just awed by the building's amenities that I was nervous about compensating for things like noise!

There is absolutely no place in the city where you will not hear trash trucks once a week. Or sirens, or protests, or honking cars. This is not New York, but it still a major metropoliatan city. If peace and quite is your thing, think suburbs. However, there are many places that would be more removed than RIGHT BESIDE the dumpster.

I would worry about pests and smell. There are rats the size of small dogs in DC, and mice, and roaches. You might want to check on how your new landlord deals with such things. Will they call an exterminator for you? Will they spray for bugs?

As far as smell goes... a good Hepa Air Purifier will rid the air of smells, clean the air in your apartment, and act as white noise in the apartment. All in one!

One final thought - are you sure they come on Saturday? My trash gets picked up at 6:00am every Tuesday morning.

I'd say go for it. If the dumpsters are just residential, it's doubtful the smell will be that awful - nothing a little air freshener or tiny bowls of vinegar can't fix. The noise is something you learn to block out eventually. You'll never find a place that is absolutely perfect near no dumpsters or noisy neighbors or anything and within your budget.

Whew! Tough call!

I think you need to do more research witht he neighbors, ask the landlord specific reasons for the discount (trash schedules, problems in the past) and be very honest and introspective with yourself -- none of us know what you can put up with -- or not!

You could add sound-dampening material to the bedroom so it's the quietest room in the apartment. Replace the glass in the windows with double-paned glass. Upholster the walls. Find a great discount fabric store and make triple drapes (sheer, translucent, heavy). Use highly textured fabrics, such as velvet, corduroy, thick felt, etc. You'll create a sleeping environment so cozy and quiet you'll sleep through sirens and riots.
This is easier to accomplish if you have a small space for the bed. I've seen images of beds fit into large closets, dining nooks, etc.
A four poster bed with a tester could help. Here's a page that shows (very elaborate) examples: http://bit.ly/dx6EDw

There's a reason it's heavily discounted:
Nobody in their right mind wants to live there!

Are you sure that the trash gets picked up saturday morning? I somehow doubt that. It is more likely to be picked up on a weekday, which you might be able to live with if you have to get up early anyhow. Ask the neighbors.

When I lived in Boston, I got woken up at 3 a.m. once a week when the trash truck unloaded the Dumpster at the neighboring apartment complex. No biggie. At that hour, I just drifted back to sleep.

I lived in DC for a long time. I can with out a doubt tell you this... KEEP LOOKING. DC is known for it's roach problem and the closer you are to any garbage source the more roaches you will have. That is probably the real issue and why the apartment is so cheap. Living in DC is always loud from car horns to constant helicopters. Trust me, I lived in an apartment next to the garbage shoot in a building and I couldn't get rid of the bugs. I had exterminators come every week.

I live in NY on the first floor of my building, have a sound machine, and the garbage trucks at 6:30 in the morning never cease to piss me off. Also, if your apartment would be right next to the dumpsters, you will smell it, especially in the summer. I don't think there's any question...find a different place!

if you let it be a deal breaker, then it's a deal breaker... cities are cities.

on the plus side: hey your saturday doesn't go to waste (and you can take a disco nap before going out)

my bedroom in NY was ten feet away from a restaurant exhaust and I needed the window open to ventilate, so after the first night I said okay I LOVE this place in every other way, let's CALL the roar of those fans white noise... did the trick. slept like a baby.

low rent is worth a lot, and this seems like a little... now as for the person upstairs with the heavy feet and the weak bladder.....

I find the distinction between these comments and the comments on the question about cigarette smoke enlightening. It's essentially the same question, but no one here is telling the questioner to grow up. Or saying that she is the only one to make this decision for herself. Weird.

That said, if this were me, I would find a different place because I'm sensitive to sounds and smells, and no matter how gorgeous the apartment is, it could start to get ugly real fast.

No! Don't take that apartment. I lived on the fourth floor of a lovely apartment building with windows facing the garbage dumpsters side of the building. The apartment was lovely with hardwood floors, amazing molding details etc. But I cursed my decision to take that apartment every time the collection trucks came, which was twice a week. Trust me, the sound of metal banging is so enormous that no soundproofing option will work. And then there is that din of the engines whirring when they raise/lower a dumpster that just drives you nuts -- it feels like it's coming from inside your head.

i dont see how hearing a trash collector would be a problem. living in a city or in a rural area, in an industrial area or a suburb...you're going to hear trash collectors.

and in any apartment, regardless of where you're located in the building, there's always a risk of pests, just from the neighbors alone. most older buildings have some sort of issue with pests.

now, if you're getting a discount i would say go for it. how often is it that you find a great apartment at a discount. it's there as a peace offering for taking the apartment that may have a little more noise than others.

at least your landlord if offering it...that in itself is a gift. most landlords move you right in and make you deal with issues, rather than telling you up front.

good luck with your decision, but it should be yours alone!

I guess the first question is, will you be able to find a place that is, in fact, quiet? Because some places that seem calm are noisy for other reasons.

Here's what I say: run. If you know that you will be disturbed by this noise, as someone who lives in a loud place myself, I say forget it. There were "happiness" studies conducted and they concluded that people can adjust to all sorts of adverse conditons.

With one exception: noise. People don't ever seem to get used to it.

We are currently near the dumpster in our unit. It's not a make or break for us. Our parking spot does risk being blocked if we don't move our car fast enough on trash day. We have noticed we need to be meticulous with the cleaning because we've had MONSTER flies if we open the door for too long, and the dumpster gets too full sometimes, and the truck is noisy (but it doesn't last long). What bothers me MUCh more is the landscaping company- buzzing, buzzing their stupid machines all day long, starting at 7AM, twice a week!

The dumpster location was worth it for now. But we always knew we wouldn't live here forever. Your mileage may vary.

Do you have any information from the landlord or potential neighbors about vermin & pests? Could a call to the city give you information about this? It seems to me to be much more of a deal-breaker than the noise, which could be managed.
At worst, on Saturday mornings you could waken, slip on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, and sleep on.

For one year I lived in a first-floor apartment next to a dumpster. The smell wasn't bad - what was bad was the unnerving presence of homeless men at all hours going through the dumpster. I could usually hear them coming because they rolled up with grocery shopping carts. There were constantly men - many likely mentally ill - outside my window. It made me uncomfortable.

And a stack of furniture and mattresses next to the dumpster caught fire (or was it arson?), leading to a terrifying night as my windows imploded and blinds melted.

I have to agree with Bee T. We live about half a block from the dumpsters and I can deal with the noise of them much easier than the noise of the landscapers. I am also in the doubting field of the trash being picked up on Saturdays - everywhere I've lived it's been a weekday and rarely early. I am sticking to my point from the downstairs smokers - you must and will learn to deal with some things while renting an apartment. If you can't learn to deal, you aren't ready to have your own apartment.

I'd be far more worried about the smell of rubbish on a hot summers day personally.

1. Flies
2. Roaches
3. Ants
4. Rats
5. Bedbugs