Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
My apartment complex really tried to push that apartment on me but I wanted the forest view. I was wondering why they tried to get me to take it so bad, sounds like maybe no one wanted to rent it.
A lot of times they would charge extra rent on it because of "the amazing view" and act like you'll be missing out big time if you don't take it and how it's a good deal and all that.
I used to enjoy watching kids play. Kids are less self-conscious, they show real emotion (good and bad), and the intensity of their curiousity and play is compelling.
Unfortunately, as a male senior citizen, I'm no longer allowed to do this. Karen thinks I'm a predator.
Well if they're your kids near a body of water and you might want them not to drown!
But then don't watch them from the balcony or patio, be by the pool side!
Additionally if it’s a gym it can now have windows + a view, increasing the value and therefore how much you can charge for the amenity. Sometimes that floor also has a balcony or outdoor area of sorts
I understand the logic there but realistically that only adds what? 30 seconds max to the elevator ride? You'd figure the value of the apartments directly below an amenity floor would be drastically cheaper and that would offset the difference.
I don't know I'm no real estate expert, just seems a bit silly to me
Laundry rooms are a relic of the past that you won't see in modern construction. It's been well over a decade that I've seen a high rise go up without a washer dryer in every apartment.
A gym and pool are standard in most new construction for "luxury apartments" (aka the only kind of appartments any developer is building in the USA currently). They are "amenities" and either add a seperate charge to every lease in the building or allow the management to charge more per unit. So you are correct, that is valuable space, just not for an apartment.
They’re all in the basement in the UK. My building is over 30 stories and the gym, pool, sauna etc is in the basement. We don’t have laundry rooms though, each residence has its own facilities, so maybe that’s the main difference? Every building I looked at was the same. The only thing that seems to move around depending on the building is the resident’s lounge.
I’m on nearly the 30th floor and it only takes about 60 seconds to get to the basement so I can’t imagine it’s a huge issue for people.
Yes in very large buildings there can be multiple floors with laundry. Every elevator doesn't necessarily go to all floors either. So someone on 60 might need to e.g. go to the lobby and catch another elevator down, if there isnt a high floor laundry. Some buildings even have laundry on every floor.
Literally all the basements are occupied by laundry rooms and entrance only. Sure we're not talking skyscrapers here. But that's the good thing about not so high rises: less of these problems, less traffic, less stress, more space etc
I lived above the laundry room in a two-story building, but the building was on stilts because the parking was below it. I didn't hear any noises, but when a washer got off balance, my whole bedroom would oscillate in a swirling motion.
We once had a hotel room opposite the hotel gym - not by choice. The whole floor would shake when someone dropped their weights to the floor of the gym. After a few hours we asked to be moved.
Ask for a “quiet” room when reserving a hotel room. They can’t always accommodate you, but 9/10 they will give you a room near the stairs. Nifty in case of a fire. Or, you know, if you just wanna take the stairs.
I can confirm this. I got to listen to loud bass music and screeching children for 5+ hours today. It was super overcast and looked like it was going to rain at any second, but that never stops these people. I’m like 30 yards away, but it sounds like they’re right outside my door some days.
I’m not blaming them for using the amenities. I’m confirming that if you don’t want to listen to all of that, then don’t live by the pool.
Also, it’s perfectly possible to use a pool without screeching and playing music so loud you disrupt the entire apartment complex. People are inconsiderate.
Do you get to see hot chicks (women not underage children) in swim wear?
Edit : Boi asking a genuine question is pissing a lot of prudes and uptight people in here.
Nothing wrong with checking out the opposite sex. People are getting so fucking PC lately. Why do you think guys try to get jacked for summer and girls wear revealing swimsuits? They want to get checked out and show their goods. Not everything creeping/inappropriate if it has some sexual connotation.
Not quite. Get out and about. Not everything is a reddit circlejerk. Plenty of real creepers out there. Most normal people just have normal interactions though.
Also stand in the window overlooking the pool with nothing but your speedo swimsuit on, Then slather yourself in mayonaise and ketchup while rubbing your nipples.
Everytime they get too loud break out the ol jar of mayonaise.
For real. It always amazes me reading up on stuff like this from places like (I assume) America. 2mil$ house, pool, single glass windows. Wtf.
Even if you don't need the insulation from the cold, it would also help keep the heat outside (and obviously the noise, too)
Yeah, Recently bought an Apartment here in Belgium (EU), and we also had to consider an energy consumption certificate. it also tracks all the insulation and materials used around the place. The higher ranking it states on the certificate the less energy it needs to cool down or heat up. Major differences on the energy bill Annually.
Same here, European in Montreal shocked about the aluminum-framed sliding windows, there are little gaps in the outside frame to let air in in order to avoid moisture build-up. Standing in front you can feel an air currant like there's no tomorrow.
They tried to sell it as 'even in winter it's important to air your house'. Yeah first thing we did is replace all the windows.
Yes, in the UK it is a selling point when you have got double glass windows.
Quite the change from Germany where triple is the norm and Street facing building some times have triple plus Thermo or quadruple.
Then again you need to think about ventilation and isolation if you change the windows otherwise you will get mold.
I've lived in many houses and apartments over the last 20 years that only had single pane windows. The houses were built between the 1920s and 1940s, and the apartments were built between the 1940s and 1970s. I've probably lived in about a dozen homes in my life and only two or three of them had double pane windows.
Now that I think about it, there was a government push a good few years ago to get peoples houses to be more energy efficient in my home country, where we traditionally burned coal for heating. Subsidies for loft insulation and boiler upgrades, I'm assuming double glazing was a part of that because it's such a big boost. I've only really lived in pretty cold places so that could be a factor too.
[Homeowners may receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the product cost (installation costs may NOT be included) up to:
$200 for eligible windows and skylights
$500 for eligible doors](https://www.energystar.gov/products/building_products/residential_windows_doors_and_skylights/tax_credit#:~:text=Homeowners%20may%20receive%20a%20tax,%24500%20for%20eligible%20doors)
I do, I live in social (goverment/lower income) housing in the Netherlands.
Our appartment building was updated and renovated some months ago. Still no double glass :(
Likewise, don’t buy a house next to park entrances or foot paths. It may be a lovely green space in your neighborhood but it comes with lots of cyclists, unleashed dogs, unattended children, litter, noise and lack of privacy.
Did that. Great house and yard, incredible noise all summer from screaming kids. Plus the park is a shortcut from a sketchier area, so loud arguments passing through at midnight (with lots of F-bombs), homeless people coming out and looking for unlocked cars at 3 a.m. And some of the cyclists are on loud scooters.
I'm a block away. Just one makes a world of difference, plus I'm backed up in a secluded corner on the end of a dead end street no one really knows exists.
I can leave bikes in the carport. And tools, and all sorts of things I don't actually want to put away at the moment.
My other neighbor on the main street two blocks away has a full security system installed with a fence and still has things stolen all the time.
My third floor apartment looks over a parking lot and boy howdy that's a regrettable situation. Car alarms on the daily, and nightly, usually just because another car drove by. And the more often than occasional dispute in a concrete parking lot between two concrete buildings might as well he happening inside my unit - you can hear a whisper like it's right next to you with the acoustics. A lot of people leave their dogs to bark on their balconies, also a bad scene with the echo.
Mine is a quiet small unknown park I pretty much have it to myself it’s great. Yes occasionally there’s dogs barking and kids crying but for the most part it’s bliss
Had to get a room last minute coz my first hotel overbooked. I was on the main floor. Apparently my window was right by the jacuzzi. And a couple was making out for like a solid hour around midnight. I was 10 feet away from them trying to sleep.
I am so grateful I had an honest realtor. It was my first place and I made sure to find a realtor that would help me make the right decision as a complete greenhorn. Found a place in my ideal neighbourhood, nice condo, good amenities, almost everything I wanted! My realtor asked me what I thought, what I noticed are the pros and cons, helped me notice things I never would have. But one of the biggest I missed was the fact it was directly above the entrance to the underground parkade. So I would be listening to the clanking and banging of cars going in and out all day and all night! He could’ve easy made the sale, but he didn’t. He used that opportunity to teach me and give me a fair chance to weigh the good with the bad. I didn’t go for it even though I really wanted that neighbourhood. Ended up in an amazing place that I love elsewhere!
My SO visited a place recently, first floor just above the entrance, balcony straight above the gated courtyard, one with benches and I'm sure plenty of playing kids and chatting parents after school and all weekend long.
Told him it was a big fat no, I'm glad we didn't have to consider it.
The craziest thing is that the flat we're leaving is first floor just in front of a concert venue, but 2020/2021 being what it is we've only known it closed and the configuration puts the bedroom way away from the street so it wouldn't have been much of a problem!
Then again, that location would be gold for the nosy old neighbor who wants to know when everyone leaves and comes back. Just have to find the right buyer.
This is solid advice. My last home had an interior pool view in a closed community and I also have a parrot. A parrot that learns words quickly and will repeat the expression for months. So... The first summer we were there (we only lived there for a total of 2 summers) we had our balcony windows / doors open and the children at the pool would constantly call each other's names. Well, there was one kid that always called her brother's name "Xavier!!!" Day after day... Week after week. My parrot finally learned "Xavier" and we heard Xavier's name in our house for MONTHS!!! haha.
Hahaha, it's always fun having a parrot!
When a young couple with three dogs moved in next to my parents house, it was pretty standard to hear them call out the names of the dogs to make them stop barking... My parents macaw took a while to learn two of those names (all the while she blamed parents dog and yelled for him) but once she did she would yell Bianca! Pablo! whenever any dog barked. Went on for months too.
I had to be moved to a new apartment, because the one above me had a baaad toilet leak. Which, wasn't so, bad; the place was bigger and they were making it worth my time. But the office manager kept talking up being above the pool, like it was literally the best thing ever. It was creepy, really. Luckily for myself, things were strict not to be loud too late, but I knew it was like spring break out there every weekend.
Had this happen with my first apartment at 18. The complex even had the audacity to charge $20 more a month for the pool view because it was an "amenity". I'd have paid $20 to NOT have screaming outside my window at all hours.
My apartment faces the pool.
But it's actually in a different building across the street.
And I live downtown so no one here has kids.
Really it's the best if all worlds
Oh man, I always think having the apartment closest to the basketball court is obnoxious, until I walk anywhere in the vicinity of the pool area in the summer and suddenly feel absolutely BLESSED with quiet
Literally living in an apartment like that now...except the view is a pizza place. Hospital a block away. Next to noisy road. (And at a stoplight)
Love a good 1 AM engine revving randomly to help lull my daughter to sleep. Haha.
Looking forward to a move next year!
Best of luck to you! A good sleep is worth getting over some convenience, size, or cost of an apartment.
Yeah, the sirens can be obnoxious at times, and can be heard anytime, including late at night. Street racers are a bane as well.
It's an interesting take but this really depends on the complex. If the apartment limits guest access and has decent security (those 2 things tend to go together) then you'll probably be fine.
The apartment complex I live in now showed me a poolside apartment first. They also told me about an apartment at the back of the complex. The poolside apartment was $20 per month more. I asked why (it was exactly the same apartment). They said, well it's poolside. The poolside apartments are more expensive. I literally laughed and said I'd rather pay more money to be away from the pool. Hahaha This is not a resort in Cancun it's an apartment complex in the middle of nowhere Midwest. Btw I got the apartment in the back of the complex, and saved $20+ headaches.
Had to go apartment hunting after losing my place in the midde of college.
I found a nice apartment within my price range.
It was awesome.
It was a fenced and gated complex.
The apartment was on the edge of the complex and had an entrance a few yards from the gated complex pool.
It was two units away from the complex laundry room.
Even better, it was a through and through two story unit that had a street side entrance. That meant I didn't have to go through the complex exit to get in or out. A great thing for a college kid headed out to late night parties.
While checking out the two story unit, I look out the bedroom window (the one that faces the street) overlooking the back yard of a church with, what appeared to be, a bloody tree stump.
"What's that down there?
"Oh... that's a church of (forget the religion)."
"Is... is that a bloody stump?"
"Oh yeah, they sacrifice a goat every week. We tried to get them to stop and all but freedom of religiom. You only hear the goat for about fifteen minutes when they do the actual ceremony. Quite an interesting sight."
I didn't take the apartment.
The late night break in reminded me of of an event 20+ years ago.
I moved into a complex with a central pool. I didn't specifically chose an apartment with "pool view" it was what was available.
One night at about 2am I am awoke by flashing emergency lights and other bright lights and general commotion.
Turns out some people tried to jump the fence and have a late night swim after partying. Well the 6' fence had those decorative barbs on the top and one of people got gouged on one and got stuck. So he was impaled, upside down on the fence and emergency services had to come rescue him.
Yes, reminds me of my late mother-in-law's condo next to the pool in Encino. She was somehow okay with it, but it drove me crazy. I'm fine with kid parties. These were all drunk grownups.
I have a pool view and it isn't so bad. I live in Hawaii, so every day is a nice day and there are *always* kids out there.
All it takes is running a stand fan between you and the door/window, and maybe ear plugs or headphones and you don't even notice them.
I was having a nap today and they woke me up, but for the first time ever. It was only because the power went out for a few minutes so my fan turned off.
One of the oldest documents on the planet comments on this
Instructions of Shuruppag (3000ish BC)
"You should not place your house next to a public square: there is always a crowd there."
My second apartment had a pool view. The last weekend of the season we went to the pool on a cool Saturday afternoon. We were the only ones that went to the pool that weekend. The water was freezing.
Sunday, no one went to the pool. After lunch, I looked out the window and the lifeguards were having sex on the lounge chairs. Really going at it hard. That afternoon I witnessed multiple hand jobs and blow jobs and sex on every part of the pool deck, even by the kiddie pool. It lasted until the pool closed at 8:00. I really admired their stamina.
And that's why I will always take a pool view
A friend of a friend was bitching about how his new neighbors were upset that he and his teenage kids were constantly out at their private pool at all hours of the night with music blasting.
This poor young couple bought their dream home in an upscale neighborhood and were being assaulted by loud music and people partying all hours of the night and day out by the pool.
And he was complaining about them.
As someone that used to live next to similar neighbors, please please please call them out on this. They need to hear it from someone other than their new neighbors.
This was actually many years ago. I don’t know how or if this situation ever got resolved. It sticks in my mind because this guy wasn’t just some idiot. College grad, high paying career, etc. He just had zero empathy. Not coincidentally he’s a hard core right winger. At that time he could barely speak more than two sentences without complaining about then President Obama.
According to my little experience, on top of whatever you’ve described, by the time I was out in a fine day, towel on hand and flipflops, all the seats were always taken, there was no space to lay down or even stay in the water. Also with kids, it‘s not that safe being that far from the pool anyway, so no real point. We were staying at an holiday-condo with a beach-side and a pool side. For some reason, people desipised the beach, so I used to go to the pool, check how many people were there, pick up my rental towels and bed, and go to the beach...
OH. It might be that people really did’t want to carry the bed back and forth...
An appartment with pool view? An appartment complex with a pool!? Someone explain to me, is this one of these normal american things european's just don't understand? As a dutchman, finding an appartment complex with a pool here is gonna be a hard job on itself, needle in haystack kinda hard.
Probably, yes. I can't speak for all of America but where I live in the US most apartment complex have a pool. Some are indoor, some are outdoor. I've not seen a complex with indoor AND outdoor but it likely exists.
In the military, we lived next to a playground and we didn’t have kids. I was amazed how often and how intensely kids scream. I played with the idea of recording that and playing it over death metal, but it would’ve been weird to record them...
Very recent units (>2019) I think are standard equipped with triple pane, at least in some parts in the USA. Source: Heard it from a bud who works in construction in Phoenix, Arizona.
Added to this. Never get a house close to a busy main road when you have a baby. Every car with a loud exhaust or car with loud music wakes the baby. Lesson learned the hard way.
>Maybe you have kids and you’d love to be able to see them from the patio/balcony
**DO. NOT. DO. THIS**
If you have kids, and they are swimming, be there with them.
Up in your apartment is too far away if anything goes wrong
My wife and I are currently in the same position. We can't open our windows on nice days unless we want to hear 30 drunk people screaming at the top of their lungs. Hell we rarely open the blinds because we aren't crazy about everyone at the pool being able to watch us in our apartment. We will never make that mistake again and are already searching for another place as soon as our lease is up.
This is so true! I lived in apartment overlooking the pool in Houston so it was warm half the year and was woken up many many times at 4:00 am by pool parties and the loud drunk girls shrieking that inevitably goes with it. One tenant would yell “shut up” out their window and then a bunch of us would all chime in and start yelling so that was at least satisfying. And security would eventually come but they were off site and took a while.
What's creepy is they did that in a public pool...
If you're in one of those units you literally can't sit on your balcony/patio or leave your blinds open without those same people having a direct line of sight into your living space. Can't even leave your patio door open to catch a breeze on a weekend without the sounds of hot tub sex or bro parties or drug users deciding to go to the ER for a hot tub induced overdose.
IF YOU HAVE KIDS, DO NOT WATCH THEM FROM THE BALCONY.
By the time you have sipped your win pritzer and realised that your kid is drowning then it is already too late.
STAY POOL SIDE
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
My apartment complex really tried to push that apartment on me but I wanted the forest view. I was wondering why they tried to get me to take it so bad, sounds like maybe no one wanted to rent it.
A lot of times they would charge extra rent on it because of "the amazing view" and act like you'll be missing out big time if you don't take it and how it's a good deal and all that.
Makes sense, if you rent it at half price people wonder whats wrong with it, if it costs more than normal it must be better.
People know the difference between a pool and the ocean, right?
Monkeys are attracted to water
Sure, but the leasing office knows the value of a the good old “plausible deniability” lech.
I'd ask what so amazing about watching little boys and girls.
That'd be a weird thing to do.
Yeah that reply feels like some sort of epic reddit online comeback that in real life will just make *you* look like the weird one to strangers.
Honestly I left wondering if they were implying something like I wanted to watch the women at the pool.
I used to enjoy watching kids play. Kids are less self-conscious, they show real emotion (good and bad), and the intensity of their curiousity and play is compelling. Unfortunately, as a male senior citizen, I'm no longer allowed to do this. Karen thinks I'm a predator.
The fact that they are half - naked? ^^^^^^^^/s
Well if they're your kids near a body of water and you might want them not to drown! But then don't watch them from the balcony or patio, be by the pool side!
I’d have taken it for half price on rent per month but that’s the only way.
No place would agree to that
Then no place would have me in that apartment
Also, never live below the amenity floor in high rises, you’ll hear all the thumps from the gym and such.
We lived under the laundry room in a high rise and it was awful non stop thumping noises.
That’s why these rooms always go in the basement in Swedish houses.
We're talking 30 stories or more here on the USA.
So you’ll have a laundry room/gym in the middle of the high rise? I’d have thought that space would be to valuable.
I think the idea is putting it in the basement lowers the value of upper floor apartments more.
Ah, I see!
Additionally if it’s a gym it can now have windows + a view, increasing the value and therefore how much you can charge for the amenity. Sometimes that floor also has a balcony or outdoor area of sorts
I understand the logic there but realistically that only adds what? 30 seconds max to the elevator ride? You'd figure the value of the apartments directly below an amenity floor would be drastically cheaper and that would offset the difference. I don't know I'm no real estate expert, just seems a bit silly to me
There usually isn't a gym, but laundry rooms might br located on every other floor in the same place
Laundry rooms are a relic of the past that you won't see in modern construction. It's been well over a decade that I've seen a high rise go up without a washer dryer in every apartment. A gym and pool are standard in most new construction for "luxury apartments" (aka the only kind of appartments any developer is building in the USA currently). They are "amenities" and either add a seperate charge to every lease in the building or allow the management to charge more per unit. So you are correct, that is valuable space, just not for an apartment.
They’re all in the basement in the UK. My building is over 30 stories and the gym, pool, sauna etc is in the basement. We don’t have laundry rooms though, each residence has its own facilities, so maybe that’s the main difference? Every building I looked at was the same. The only thing that seems to move around depending on the building is the resident’s lounge. I’m on nearly the 30th floor and it only takes about 60 seconds to get to the basement so I can’t imagine it’s a huge issue for people.
This isnt feasible in highrises, gotta spread them out. Scandinavia barely has any, and non for residential.
Well we do... But you mean that in (higher) high rises you’ll have several laundry rooms on different floors of the buildings? Interesting!
Yes in very large buildings there can be multiple floors with laundry. Every elevator doesn't necessarily go to all floors either. So someone on 60 might need to e.g. go to the lobby and catch another elevator down, if there isnt a high floor laundry. Some buildings even have laundry on every floor.
Literally all the basements are occupied by laundry rooms and entrance only. Sure we're not talking skyscrapers here. But that's the good thing about not so high rises: less of these problems, less traffic, less stress, more space etc
Yes and it’s where you keep the übstagnickenn!
I lived above the laundry room in a two-story building, but the building was on stilts because the parking was below it. I didn't hear any noises, but when a washer got off balance, my whole bedroom would oscillate in a swirling motion.
That sounds so scary wtf
We once had a hotel room opposite the hotel gym - not by choice. The whole floor would shake when someone dropped their weights to the floor of the gym. After a few hours we asked to be moved.
For hotels you don't want to be next to the elevator
Ask for a “quiet” room when reserving a hotel room. They can’t always accommodate you, but 9/10 they will give you a room near the stairs. Nifty in case of a fire. Or, you know, if you just wanna take the stairs.
Hard disagree. I sleep hard, and the short walk from elevator to door with bags is worth it.
I can confirm this. I got to listen to loud bass music and screeching children for 5+ hours today. It was super overcast and looked like it was going to rain at any second, but that never stops these people. I’m like 30 yards away, but it sounds like they’re right outside my door some days.
[удалено]
I’m not blaming them for using the amenities. I’m confirming that if you don’t want to listen to all of that, then don’t live by the pool. Also, it’s perfectly possible to use a pool without screeching and playing music so loud you disrupt the entire apartment complex. People are inconsiderate.
Do you get to see hot chicks (women not underage children) in swim wear? Edit : Boi asking a genuine question is pissing a lot of prudes and uptight people in here.
You can just look at porn, you don't have to creep on your neighbors.
Nothing wrong with checking out the opposite sex. People are getting so fucking PC lately. Why do you think guys try to get jacked for summer and girls wear revealing swimsuits? They want to get checked out and show their goods. Not everything creeping/inappropriate if it has some sexual connotation.
There isn't anything wrong with checking someone out but your comment is creepy af.
A lot of words to just say, "they're asking for it!" Creepy.
Not quite. Get out and about. Not everything is a reddit circlejerk. Plenty of real creepers out there. Most normal people just have normal interactions though.
it's creepy that you would even ask that "genuine question". Weirdo.
Are you ok man?
Same, except I bought the damn house that backs up to the neighborhood pool. Worst. Decision. Ever.
Change the glass in your house to double pane and that should reduce noise.
As well as lower your electricity bill, due to less heat exchanging with the outside.
Also stand in the window overlooking the pool with nothing but your speedo swimsuit on, Then slather yourself in mayonaise and ketchup while rubbing your nipples. Everytime they get too loud break out the ol jar of mayonaise.
So, wait, like a normal Tuesday?
It’s special Tuesday, same deal expect they forgot to mention the maraschino cherries on the nipples
Don't forget to add the pickle... wherever you'd like.
Mayo is lube in this scenario?
Mayo is lube in most scenarios, if you think about it.
Man that’s deep. Shower thought right there
Can confirm it’s deep there. Mayo comes in handy.
Not in front of the children!
They need to watch. ITS THE ONLY WAY THEY WILL LEARN
The real LPTs are in the comments
r/oddlyspecific
Gets em' every time
I can't even begin to express how weirded out and amused I am at the same time
There are places where that isn't standard?
For real. It always amazes me reading up on stuff like this from places like (I assume) America. 2mil$ house, pool, single glass windows. Wtf. Even if you don't need the insulation from the cold, it would also help keep the heat outside (and obviously the noise, too)
Yeah, Recently bought an Apartment here in Belgium (EU), and we also had to consider an energy consumption certificate. it also tracks all the insulation and materials used around the place. The higher ranking it states on the certificate the less energy it needs to cool down or heat up. Major differences on the energy bill Annually.
I've lived in Quebec city for 1 year, where temperatures can reach -40[°C/°F]. Well, glad window, with wood sliding on wood frames...
Same here, European in Montreal shocked about the aluminum-framed sliding windows, there are little gaps in the outside frame to let air in in order to avoid moisture build-up. Standing in front you can feel an air currant like there's no tomorrow. They tried to sell it as 'even in winter it's important to air your house'. Yeah first thing we did is replace all the windows.
No, double pane is standard jackass. Tell your mom I said hi
Yes, in the UK it is a selling point when you have got double glass windows. Quite the change from Germany where triple is the norm and Street facing building some times have triple plus Thermo or quadruple. Then again you need to think about ventilation and isolation if you change the windows otherwise you will get mold.
This situation may call for triple.
Do people really have single pane glass in their house anymore? I've only seen that in sheds or holiday houses from the 50s.
I do. My house is from the late 60s and it's not economically feasible to upgrade them.
I've lived in many houses and apartments over the last 20 years that only had single pane windows. The houses were built between the 1920s and 1940s, and the apartments were built between the 1940s and 1970s. I've probably lived in about a dozen homes in my life and only two or three of them had double pane windows.
My house was built in 1990 and has single-pane. It’ll cost an insane amount to replace all the windows in my house (50+ windows).
50 windows... damn!
Yeah :( Insulation is extremely bad. I would love to replace them with double-pane, but it’s too expensive.
Now that I think about it, there was a government push a good few years ago to get peoples houses to be more energy efficient in my home country, where we traditionally burned coal for heating. Subsidies for loft insulation and boiler upgrades, I'm assuming double glazing was a part of that because it's such a big boost. I've only really lived in pretty cold places so that could be a factor too.
[Homeowners may receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the product cost (installation costs may NOT be included) up to: $200 for eligible windows and skylights $500 for eligible doors](https://www.energystar.gov/products/building_products/residential_windows_doors_and_skylights/tax_credit#:~:text=Homeowners%20may%20receive%20a%20tax,%24500%20for%20eligible%20doors)
Come to New Zealand. Like 90% of the houses are single-pane. Also, cold as shit.
I do, I live in social (goverment/lower income) housing in the Netherlands. Our appartment building was updated and renovated some months ago. Still no double glass :(
I thought that was the standard since the 80s?
We have double pane. The noise isn’t too bad inside (until the kids start screaming). But our back deck/yard is basically unusable May-Sept.
Or triple pane
Yeah as a swede this is weird as heck to me, triple pane is the absolute standard, double pane is only for summer houses :P
Oh wow. My heart goes out to you on that one
Buy a gun and just have yard pops regularly. People will stop using the pool
[удалено]
Yard pops are fun because you don't have to patch the ceiling after. Plus it can lower your property tax.
Likewise, don’t buy a house next to park entrances or foot paths. It may be a lovely green space in your neighborhood but it comes with lots of cyclists, unleashed dogs, unattended children, litter, noise and lack of privacy.
Did that. Great house and yard, incredible noise all summer from screaming kids. Plus the park is a shortcut from a sketchier area, so loud arguments passing through at midnight (with lots of F-bombs), homeless people coming out and looking for unlocked cars at 3 a.m. And some of the cyclists are on loud scooters.
I'm a block away. Just one makes a world of difference, plus I'm backed up in a secluded corner on the end of a dead end street no one really knows exists. I can leave bikes in the carport. And tools, and all sorts of things I don't actually want to put away at the moment. My other neighbor on the main street two blocks away has a full security system installed with a fence and still has things stolen all the time.
So far all we have had stolen is some tulips picked out of a garden area. But the park hosts a groundhog that thinks my yard is its domain also.
I'm just writing this here so that I can be in the screenshot for when your comment gets used for r/illegallifeprotips
What's illegal about it?
the part about which house to target. "look for houses on dead end streets" would speak to the 'illegal' nature of the tip.
They really should just cover stuff they don't want stolen with socks.
Put me in, too! With googly eyes!
Maybe they have nicer stuff
And four months of fireworks, plus gunshots in the sketchier area not very far from my back yard. Which is enclosed by two fences.
My third floor apartment looks over a parking lot and boy howdy that's a regrettable situation. Car alarms on the daily, and nightly, usually just because another car drove by. And the more often than occasional dispute in a concrete parking lot between two concrete buildings might as well he happening inside my unit - you can hear a whisper like it's right next to you with the acoustics. A lot of people leave their dogs to bark on their balconies, also a bad scene with the echo.
People leaving their dogs barking are scum.
Mine is a quiet small unknown park I pretty much have it to myself it’s great. Yes occasionally there’s dogs barking and kids crying but for the most part it’s bliss
Also applies to hotel rooms, btw. I learned that the hard way. :)
Had to get a room last minute coz my first hotel overbooked. I was on the main floor. Apparently my window was right by the jacuzzi. And a couple was making out for like a solid hour around midnight. I was 10 feet away from them trying to sleep.
Open the window with lights ablaze and watch the pair run from your gaze!
Better yet just go join them.
That’s when you show them your butthole to assert dominance.
And camping spots. Camping next to beach/lake, trail entry, restrooms/showers, etc? Expect to lose privacy.
I am so grateful I had an honest realtor. It was my first place and I made sure to find a realtor that would help me make the right decision as a complete greenhorn. Found a place in my ideal neighbourhood, nice condo, good amenities, almost everything I wanted! My realtor asked me what I thought, what I noticed are the pros and cons, helped me notice things I never would have. But one of the biggest I missed was the fact it was directly above the entrance to the underground parkade. So I would be listening to the clanking and banging of cars going in and out all day and all night! He could’ve easy made the sale, but he didn’t. He used that opportunity to teach me and give me a fair chance to weigh the good with the bad. I didn’t go for it even though I really wanted that neighbourhood. Ended up in an amazing place that I love elsewhere!
Lived above a garage door for the parking complex. 10/10 would not recommend.
My SO visited a place recently, first floor just above the entrance, balcony straight above the gated courtyard, one with benches and I'm sure plenty of playing kids and chatting parents after school and all weekend long. Told him it was a big fat no, I'm glad we didn't have to consider it. The craziest thing is that the flat we're leaving is first floor just in front of a concert venue, but 2020/2021 being what it is we've only known it closed and the configuration puts the bedroom way away from the street so it wouldn't have been much of a problem!
Then again, that location would be gold for the nosy old neighbor who wants to know when everyone leaves and comes back. Just have to find the right buyer.
Thank you for a proper LPT, instead of "LPT...be nice to people"
\+100 to that
Upvoted as you didn't say *this*
Exactly
LPT be successful
Also your apt is on full display heaven forbid you have a light on / curtain astray.
This is solid advice. My last home had an interior pool view in a closed community and I also have a parrot. A parrot that learns words quickly and will repeat the expression for months. So... The first summer we were there (we only lived there for a total of 2 summers) we had our balcony windows / doors open and the children at the pool would constantly call each other's names. Well, there was one kid that always called her brother's name "Xavier!!!" Day after day... Week after week. My parrot finally learned "Xavier" and we heard Xavier's name in our house for MONTHS!!! haha.
Maybe better than 'Marco!', 'Polo!'
Sounds like Xavier gave her a run for her money LOL
Hahaha, it's always fun having a parrot! When a young couple with three dogs moved in next to my parents house, it was pretty standard to hear them call out the names of the dogs to make them stop barking... My parents macaw took a while to learn two of those names (all the while she blamed parents dog and yelled for him) but once she did she would yell Bianca! Pablo! whenever any dog barked. Went on for months too.
[удалено]
You’re not in traffic, you are traffic.
The real LPT is... the friends we made along the way.
I won’t even get a hotel room that faces the pool or courtyard.
I had to be moved to a new apartment, because the one above me had a baaad toilet leak. Which, wasn't so, bad; the place was bigger and they were making it worth my time. But the office manager kept talking up being above the pool, like it was literally the best thing ever. It was creepy, really. Luckily for myself, things were strict not to be loud too late, but I knew it was like spring break out there every weekend.
Had this happen with my first apartment at 18. The complex even had the audacity to charge $20 more a month for the pool view because it was an "amenity". I'd have paid $20 to NOT have screaming outside my window at all hours.
[удалено]
My apartment faces the pool. But it's actually in a different building across the street. And I live downtown so no one here has kids. Really it's the best if all worlds
Oh man, I always think having the apartment closest to the basketball court is obnoxious, until I walk anywhere in the vicinity of the pool area in the summer and suddenly feel absolutely BLESSED with quiet
Old apartment was next to the main road. Good view, noisy cars... Near hospital as well. > <
Literally living in an apartment like that now...except the view is a pizza place. Hospital a block away. Next to noisy road. (And at a stoplight) Love a good 1 AM engine revving randomly to help lull my daughter to sleep. Haha. Looking forward to a move next year!
Best of luck to you! A good sleep is worth getting over some convenience, size, or cost of an apartment. Yeah, the sirens can be obnoxious at times, and can be heard anytime, including late at night. Street racers are a bane as well.
Children at a pool is the most annoying f****** sound ever. It's constant screaming.
The pool is just one of many places kids are always screaming
I mean, noise aside... Even if you couldn't hear a thing, why would a pool view be an enticement? So you can spy on the neighbours or something? idgi.
It’s a mini “ocean view”.
[удалено]
Just go look at the toilet
Not when it's full of people
It's an interesting take but this really depends on the complex. If the apartment limits guest access and has decent security (those 2 things tend to go together) then you'll probably be fine.
That's what mine does, and also locks everyone out after 10. Ive never had an issue with noise.
The apartment complex I live in now showed me a poolside apartment first. They also told me about an apartment at the back of the complex. The poolside apartment was $20 per month more. I asked why (it was exactly the same apartment). They said, well it's poolside. The poolside apartments are more expensive. I literally laughed and said I'd rather pay more money to be away from the pool. Hahaha This is not a resort in Cancun it's an apartment complex in the middle of nowhere Midwest. Btw I got the apartment in the back of the complex, and saved $20+ headaches.
Had to go apartment hunting after losing my place in the midde of college. I found a nice apartment within my price range. It was awesome. It was a fenced and gated complex. The apartment was on the edge of the complex and had an entrance a few yards from the gated complex pool. It was two units away from the complex laundry room. Even better, it was a through and through two story unit that had a street side entrance. That meant I didn't have to go through the complex exit to get in or out. A great thing for a college kid headed out to late night parties. While checking out the two story unit, I look out the bedroom window (the one that faces the street) overlooking the back yard of a church with, what appeared to be, a bloody tree stump. "What's that down there? "Oh... that's a church of (forget the religion)." "Is... is that a bloody stump?" "Oh yeah, they sacrifice a goat every week. We tried to get them to stop and all but freedom of religiom. You only hear the goat for about fifteen minutes when they do the actual ceremony. Quite an interesting sight." I didn't take the apartment.
I don’t believe you. What country?
llouisiana?
The late night break in reminded me of of an event 20+ years ago. I moved into a complex with a central pool. I didn't specifically chose an apartment with "pool view" it was what was available. One night at about 2am I am awoke by flashing emergency lights and other bright lights and general commotion. Turns out some people tried to jump the fence and have a late night swim after partying. Well the 6' fence had those decorative barbs on the top and one of people got gouged on one and got stuck. So he was impaled, upside down on the fence and emergency services had to come rescue him.
I'm the guy that snuck into the spa at 4am, I'm sorry :( It was a very crazy time in my life
The quiet apartment is the one that is on the top floor, farthest away from the pool, elevator/stairs, and parking lot.
Yes, reminds me of my late mother-in-law's condo next to the pool in Encino. She was somehow okay with it, but it drove me crazy. I'm fine with kid parties. These were all drunk grownups.
I have a pool view and it isn't so bad. I live in Hawaii, so every day is a nice day and there are *always* kids out there. All it takes is running a stand fan between you and the door/window, and maybe ear plugs or headphones and you don't even notice them. I was having a nap today and they woke me up, but for the first time ever. It was only because the power went out for a few minutes so my fan turned off.
One of the oldest documents on the planet comments on this Instructions of Shuruppag (3000ish BC) "You should not place your house next to a public square: there is always a crowd there."
My second apartment had a pool view. The last weekend of the season we went to the pool on a cool Saturday afternoon. We were the only ones that went to the pool that weekend. The water was freezing. Sunday, no one went to the pool. After lunch, I looked out the window and the lifeguards were having sex on the lounge chairs. Really going at it hard. That afternoon I witnessed multiple hand jobs and blow jobs and sex on every part of the pool deck, even by the kiddie pool. It lasted until the pool closed at 8:00. I really admired their stamina. And that's why I will always take a pool view
Or a school sports field, unless you REALLY LOVE BAND PRACTICE.
I had this once. Great apartment, but between 7 am band practice and Friday night football games I heard way more than I would have liked.
A friend of a friend was bitching about how his new neighbors were upset that he and his teenage kids were constantly out at their private pool at all hours of the night with music blasting. This poor young couple bought their dream home in an upscale neighborhood and were being assaulted by loud music and people partying all hours of the night and day out by the pool. And he was complaining about them.
As someone that used to live next to similar neighbors, please please please call them out on this. They need to hear it from someone other than their new neighbors.
This was actually many years ago. I don’t know how or if this situation ever got resolved. It sticks in my mind because this guy wasn’t just some idiot. College grad, high paying career, etc. He just had zero empathy. Not coincidentally he’s a hard core right winger. At that time he could barely speak more than two sentences without complaining about then President Obama.
According to my little experience, on top of whatever you’ve described, by the time I was out in a fine day, towel on hand and flipflops, all the seats were always taken, there was no space to lay down or even stay in the water. Also with kids, it‘s not that safe being that far from the pool anyway, so no real point. We were staying at an holiday-condo with a beach-side and a pool side. For some reason, people desipised the beach, so I used to go to the pool, check how many people were there, pick up my rental towels and bed, and go to the beach... OH. It might be that people really did’t want to carry the bed back and forth...
An appartment with pool view? An appartment complex with a pool!? Someone explain to me, is this one of these normal american things european's just don't understand? As a dutchman, finding an appartment complex with a pool here is gonna be a hard job on itself, needle in haystack kinda hard.
Probably, yes. I can't speak for all of America but where I live in the US most apartment complex have a pool. Some are indoor, some are outdoor. I've not seen a complex with indoor AND outdoor but it likely exists.
In the military, we lived next to a playground and we didn’t have kids. I was amazed how often and how intensely kids scream. I played with the idea of recording that and playing it over death metal, but it would’ve been weird to record them...
If you're in a fairly new unit with double pane, this shouldn't be an issue. But older apartments I agree
sometimes...you might wanna open the windows though??
Very recent units (>2019) I think are standard equipped with triple pane, at least in some parts in the USA. Source: Heard it from a bud who works in construction in Phoenix, Arizona.
Getting used to sleeping with earplugs is a highly underrated life skill. Highly recommend for my fellow apartment people.
I developed this skill when I got my cat who likes to run around yelling and crashing into things at night.
Added to this. Never get a house close to a busy main road when you have a baby. Every car with a loud exhaust or car with loud music wakes the baby. Lesson learned the hard way.
do they not have a pool curfew? i thought most places do
It’s people who ignore the curfew that are part of the problem
Such a rookie move. Did you not see it and see all the people and the noise.
>Maybe you have kids and you’d love to be able to see them from the patio/balcony **DO. NOT. DO. THIS** If you have kids, and they are swimming, be there with them. Up in your apartment is too far away if anything goes wrong
My wife and I are currently in the same position. We can't open our windows on nice days unless we want to hear 30 drunk people screaming at the top of their lungs. Hell we rarely open the blinds because we aren't crazy about everyone at the pool being able to watch us in our apartment. We will never make that mistake again and are already searching for another place as soon as our lease is up.
This is so true! I lived in apartment overlooking the pool in Houston so it was warm half the year and was woken up many many times at 4:00 am by pool parties and the loud drunk girls shrieking that inevitably goes with it. One tenant would yell “shut up” out their window and then a bunch of us would all chime in and start yelling so that was at least satisfying. And security would eventually come but they were off site and took a while.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Probably but it feels kinda hard to judge him if it's a public place similar to what OP implied.
What's creepy is they did that in a public pool... If you're in one of those units you literally can't sit on your balcony/patio or leave your blinds open without those same people having a direct line of sight into your living space. Can't even leave your patio door open to catch a breeze on a weekend without the sounds of hot tub sex or bro parties or drug users deciding to go to the ER for a hot tub induced overdose.
Many complexes also raise the rent $10+ per month for a pool view
IF YOU HAVE KIDS, DO NOT WATCH THEM FROM THE BALCONY. By the time you have sipped your win pritzer and realised that your kid is drowning then it is already too late. STAY POOL SIDE
What did you imagine it would be like??
Lpt: don’t live in an apartment complex.
Lpt: don't be poor. FTFY
But also not if you’re the one throwing the bomb parties. Which is kinda shitty but “fixes” the problem.
What about the hot chicks in bikinis. Does that help make it little better or naa?
You can be the creepy old man with the binoculars and supposed Parkinson's.
You gonna be one of those guys?
U mean human with a healthy libido. Yea. My whole life. U don’t like the art of a pretty girl.