It’s the festive season! For some, that might mean partying like there’s no pandemic. For others, snuggling up indoors and laying in has always been the best kind of party. If you inhabit shared living spaces and you’re one of the latter kind, the chances are, you have neighbors who are of the former kind. While you might not mind the hum of conversation and laughter next door (plus you’re glad that you’re not experiencing the social anxiety of actually being at the party!), that doesn’t mean you have to deal with noisy neighbors.

If you’re noticing a rise in the volume of the music, parties on the weekends, or loud movie marathons and discordant guitar practice on weeknights… the chances are, you’re growing tired of it.

If you’re finding it hard to fall asleep and losing your peace of mind, enough is enough…

So now, you finally decide to ask your neighbors in to keep the noise down.

But then you hesitate about what to say or how to say it.

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there! So when we couldn’t think of what to do, we browsed Reddit stories, naturally!

Here are some of our best Reddit stories and tips on how to deal with noisy neighbors when inhabiting shared living spaces.

u/jordanFromJersey gives advice on how to deal with noisy neighbors without saying a word to them.

If you want to avoid being “that neighbor” then your options are limited mostly to things within your sphere of direct control. On that note, I would suggest the purchase of a cheap “white noise” machine, or (if there is a computer with speakers in your bedroom) download a white noise track and set it on repeat when it’s time to sleep. I use a white noise machine every night and it’s very helpful in hiding unwanted “outside” noise.

u/conchobair gives a detailed step-by-step plan on how to deal with inconsiderate neighbors.

You can try talking to them. However, speaking from experience, I have found people who blast music in apartments are already inconsiderate people and this backfires as often as it works and it winds up turning into a ticky tack war between the two of you.

I’d skip #1 and go right to complaining to the landlord. Most places have some kind of noise policy. Contact management and see if they will help you.

If that is no good, call the police. Start off by calling the non-emergency number, but a lot of cities will have you call 911 anyways. Almost all cities have some kind of noise ordinance and they can be cited for the music or at least get a visit from the cops.

u/justsayyesgoddess breaks down the woes of coliving in shared spaces and shares gentle advice to deal with the nuisance.

Pretty sure this is just a side effect of living in shared spaces. Noisy upstairs neighbors have existed since we started living in top of each other.

I’d go and introduce myself and explain that I’m losing sleep, and ask if they could be more mindful in the future. If that doesn’t work, you can take it to your apartment complex and they can follow up/impose a fine if it’s appropriate to do so

u/Honey_Society has a solid plan on how to deal with noisy neighbors, based on previous coliving experience.

Earplugs in the ears, beanie/headband over the earplugs and then sleep with a pillow over your head. If there are windows facing their direction hang some heavy curtains to help muffle the sound. Also, an ambient sound machine or your phone playing white noise. Our previous neighbors had dogs that barked through the night and the above steps helped us be able to sleep. You could also install flood lights on your side of the property that shine into/onto their property making outside a less pleasant place to sit.

u/RearNakedChoker’s Reddit story entails a perfect plan of action

For ongoing, constant noise issues : Check your cities noise ordinances. Google “noise ordinances + your city. Find the relevant ordinances that are being broken.

Speak with the police regarding the relevant noise ordinances. Try them at lease 3 times before proceeding to #3.

Sometimes the regular police suck at dealing with noise. Some major cities have specific units devoted to noise issues, in my city they’re called NET (noise enforcement team). If your regular cops aren’t cutting it, ask them if the have a NET, or an equivalent unit.

If all else fails, file a complaint with the Health Dept. I went the Health Dept. route before I found out about NET, and they were on the ball right away. Within 48 hours, all after-hours noises on my block were gone.

u/iliriel227 adds a hint of revenge when coliving with noisy neighbors.

I used to have techno neighbors, 3am and i’m still hearing UNCE UNCE UNCE UNCE, so what i did is i downloaded this, put my ipod on my ipod tower, put it right against the wall, and played it on full blast all day on repeat, they got the message.

If nothing works, try to make nice with your noisy neighbors or find easy ways to soundproof your room.

Good luck!

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