3 Bizarre Stories from My Noisy Apartment That Will Amaze You
Whether you deal with noisy neighbors, are sensitive to noise, or like bizarre stories, these three anecdotes are for you.
At 32, I was excited to move to my first-ever single apartment, where I lived independently. No roommates any longer, yay! Just me, my 6.7 feet long bed (I’m pretty tall), and all the other basic furniture I used to have as a single person living alone.
Before that, I lived in the city center of Tel Aviv, where the prices were too high to rent on my own. So, an apartment with roommates was the only option available for me.
After five years of such a lifestyle, I became tired of it. I couldn’t stand sharing my kitchen and bathroom with others anymore, and the noise some of my roommates produced was annoying.
I had decided to change my life and pursue privacy and quiet. So, I moved to a cheaper part of the city where I could live alone.
A Booming Noise Several Times a Night
Moving to the city’s suburbs should have started a new chapter in my life. But, unfortunately, it hasn’t. The noise just worsened instead of improving.
Despite having my privacy, the noise part remained. On my first night, I noticed a weird heavy noise I wasn’t expecting.
I was suddenly awakened at 3 am by my window vibrating and a sudden intense booming.
What the hack was that?
I asked myself, totally shocked.
After a couple of seconds, the booming noise tapered. I sat on my bed, took a glimpse from my water cup, and relaxed.
Not more than 2 minutes passed, and then another boom arrived.
The second time, though, I was able to identify the noise. Nothing dangerous or something like that. It was a Jambo airplane flying around 700 feet from my apartment, spreading vibration noise in my street.
I then Googled what just happened and discovered that it’s a known issue in this neighborhood, some areas in Tel Aviv suburbs, and other cities close to the international airport. This is called sound pollution and has been discussed in many forums with no solution for the citizens yet.
How couldn’t I rule out this scenario when I scrutinized the apartment for potential flaws? I asked myself again and again.
I did look for nearby schools, construction sites, main roads, etc. but airplanes? Who would have thought about that? Of course, this was not in my conscious as the apartment was far from the airport.
How do the inhabitants of this neighborhood live like that? I wondered.
My apartment owner told me they had been used to it since childhood. I was speechless. Luckily, at this time, I also had a girlfriend with whom I could spend time at her house.
Nevertheless, I was still thinking about renting another apartment as we were together only five months ago, and it was too heavy to talk about living together back then.
My takeaway from this case is that no matter how thorough your research of the noises around the chosen apartment is, it could be the least expected thing to bring annoying noise.
You can still check around the place during the night, including the early morning hours. However, that’s not always possible in a busy working week.
Anyway, this bizarre anecdote is only the beginning. It was my first milestone towards a long-lasting journey of noisy apartments and poor sleep quality.
Obsessive Cleaner from the Next Building
When I moved to another apartment in Ramat Gan, I thought I should be fine. This is a smaller city far away from big noise like the low flight lane area. So, what can go wrong now?
Well, everything.
It always happens least expectedly. This was the case here as well.
The apartment was pretty small but sweet. All new and well-designed — the tile, the walls, and the furniture were all in place in a welcoming way.
Unfortunately, the nights became nightmares, and not because of my dreams.
3 am, I was awakened by an irritating sound of sweeping near my window. I was living on the first floor, so that I could hear everything in the path beneath the window.
I got up from the bed and gently opened the window.
“Excuse me!” I said without overthinking. I saw an older woman cleaning the path beneath in the yard from dry leaves. That was pretty loud, and it was 3 am, for God’s sake!
The woman was scared by my comment and froze in her place, speechless. “It’s interrupting my sleep. Can’t you please sweep the leaves in the morning instead? I continued.
No comment from her side. She turned shocked to the other side of the building, holding her broom lightly.
“Ok, well. That was a bizarre experience. Maybe she is afraid to do it again”, I told myself and went back to sleep.
The day after, I got my quiet. That was a sign of relief for me.
However, I was celebrating too soon.
Two days after my first incident with this woman, it happened again. It entered my dream, and I woke up full of rage: “no way it’s her again!” I rambled to myself, stepping into that window. I opened it slowly and saw the same woman sweeping the leaves intensely.
“You, again. I asked you to clean in the morning; it interrupts my sleep! So why do you have to clean now?”
This time I was not polite anymore. I was damn angry about the situation.
Yet, she didn’t respond to me. Instead, she just rambled something to herself and walked away.
When I returned from home exhausted again, I decided to talk to her during the day. Maybe then she could feel less intimidated by the situation and explain why she did that.
I asked my neighbor next to me if he knew her and could show me where she lived. He did show me while implying she was a lonely older woman he felt compassion about. But I couldn’t relate to that. You see this situation when you feel disrupted by someone — it’s impossible to be human. I was so angry.
I finally found her apartment and knocked on the door. A thin, older yet energetic woman opened it to me. We then discussed the issue for a couple of minutes. First, she told me she was sorry but had to clean there so the building would stay clean.
“But there is the building cleaner who gets paid for just that!” I noted loudly.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t clean the path well,” the woman answered confidently.
At this point, I realized that there was no partner here. She might have some OCD, or I don’t know. She cleans the path late at night, and it’s not even her building!
Yet, I haven’t given up entirely. I asked if she could try changing her cleaning route to the evening or morning.
Then she explained that she goes to sleep early, awakes early, and will try to start her routine at 5–6 am instead (which is still a bummer as I get up at 7:30 am).
I was drained from our conversation and didn’t expect anything from her anymore. “What bad luck, should I move an apartment again?” I pondered.
The following two nights were quiet, thank God.
But then she returned to clean the same way, this time at 4 am; what a dramatic shift. From 3 to 4 am, yay!
So, I had no choice and put on my earplugs which helped just a little as the noise was so close to my ears. I should start looking for another apartment again, I concluded sadly.
The Neighbor Who Drags Furniture and Fights with Everyone
After seven years of living in big cities, I returned to my origins — A small city in the north of my country. There is a lot of green here — woods, parks, and valleys. I like the place.
I came here to become a content creator as part of my career change, as the area is less expensive and more relaxing.
So, the first two years were OK, and I had a better experience living here until last month. This was when my neighbor upstairs decided to ruin my experience.
She is a single mum supported by social security services, walking in her house impatiently. I hadn’t seen her face to face lately, just once, when she went to her balcony.
She doesn’t have an easy life at all, I guess. I usually would have felt compassion for her. Seriously. But again, it is impossible to see her side when she is ruining your everyday life and annoys you so much.
She used to be making less annoying noise in the past. Lately, I heard her shouting at other neighbors for different issues. Somehow, she was in the middle of many loud arguments in the building. That wasn’t pleasant to hear.
These days, she started to drag furniture and walk with her hill shoes in the evenings. From the living room to the bedroom, over and over again. Once I asked her to be quieter, she first said sorry, but the next time she was angry as “I asked her to change her lifestyle.” which I didn’t. I just asked her to let me live my life more calmly as her neighbor.
Again, logically, I can see her side, but I was too bothered by the constant noise she was making. She worked only part-time, so I heard the noise even during many afternoons.
There are days I am more at home, and her noise drives me crazy. Even non-sensitive people would have been irritated by it.
Final Words
These bizarre anecdotes are only a few from my arsenal. I was faced with more noisy neighbors who showcased more common noise. For example, those who were partying all night or shouting. These were less interesting, so I shared only the most bizarre stories.
Facing so many noisy apartments has been a hassle for me. I hardly told my story to friends because they immediately suspected that it was my sensitivity speaking here. In this story, however, I detailed my noisy stories so you can judge yourself.
I hope my story encourages you if you are going through similar experiences. It may help you feel less alone in these complicated situations and provide relevant insights. The optimistic takeaway is that I could finally write this article regardless of the noise upstairs.
These anecdotes may have been entertaining for you, as these are truly bizarre. If you like the story, please comment and share your thoughts. You can also follow me for more life lessons, self-discovery insights, and blogging tips.
