We’ve all had to put up with them. The late night parties, the loud music, couples and kids shouting at each other, stomping in the upstairs apartment – noisy neighbors can really be a nuisance.
Maybe you’ve even been the noisy neighbor? But are they really worth losing your cool over?
As annoying as noisy neighbors can be, it’s never good to fly off the handle and blow up in their face about it. If you have some noisy neighbors like those that some BYU-I student housing residents sometimes come across, then take a look at some of these options for dealing with it.
Pick Your Battles
Sometimes you really just need to know when it’s worth putting up a fuss over. Do you really want to be in a feud with your neighbors through the duration of your stay in your home?
It’s good to determine if it’s just a one-time thing or a common occurrence. Maybe they’re having a bad day and just need to come home and stomp on the floor to let out some pent-up frustration.
If your neighbors are regular loud noise offenders, then maybe some of the other steps will work for you.
Meet in Person
First, don’t leave written notes or report your neighbors for being noisy before you’ve even met them. Passive aggressiveness never solved anything.
Go meet your neighbors in person (preferably when you aren’t frustrated about the loud noise) and get to know them. Becoming friends, or at least closer in acquaintance, can help them to realize there’s someone who lives close enough to hear their disturbances – hopefully resulting in less noise.
When you do know them personally, it’s much easier to bring up the issues in person and ask them about the noise. Sometimes that’s a great way to bring it up to – simply ask in a nonchalant way what the noise was the other night or if they heard it. Then they’ll likely respond with something like, “Oh, you could hear that?” and “We’ll try to keep it a little quieter in the future.”
Are You a Good Neighbor?
Before losing it, ask yourself if you are a good neighbor. Do you ever listen to loud music late at night?
Do you get up especially early on the weekends to mow the lawn? Think of some behaviors you have that might cause an annoyance to your neighbors and try to change yourself first.
Be Courteous
This might seem obvious, but sometimes all you need to do is be kind. Instead of telling your neighbors how annoying they are, ask them politely if they could keep it down.
You catch a fly quicker with honey than with vinegar.
Relax
Before you do anything, take a deep breath. Don’t go confront your neighbors while you are still fuming from the lack of sleep you got.
Take a few minutes to relax and really think about the situation – and if it’s worth a confrontation – before you do anything about it.
Once you have a clear head, you can then go meet your neighbors or talk to them with all of these other steps in mind.
Do you have noisy neighbors? What did you to get them quiet?
Or are you a noisy neighbor? How did your neighbors “encourage” you to be quiet?
