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| Smith Housing Area, Baumholder, GE |
Not the best picture but you get the idea. The architecture (and I use that word loosely) reminds me of the projects, minus graffiti. They're just stale looking and all the same. On the upside the unit accommodates our furniture nicely (with the exception of our dining room table, anyone want to buy it?!) and the Master Bedroom is actually bigger than our last one.
But lets get real, the major issue with apartment style living is the other people. Us human folk need interaction from others... we crave it. While this is true I'm not always such a fan of people. There are 4 stories to each building. I live on the 3rd floor of the first stairwell. The only problem (outside of something rotting in the stairwell on the 1st floor) we have is with the people above us. They have a small child (not a problem, in and of itself) who doesn't appear to have any regular bedtime and likes very much to run and jump and scream (and be screamed at) when he or she is awake. Kids will be kids, I understand- truly I do and I know none of us chose this apartment-style living arrangement but since we're all in it I think we should go the extra mile as to not cause the people above, below, and beside us any undue discomfort. Seriously, I'm just looking for a little consideration: Don't blare your music so that I can not only hear the thud-thud of the base but can also clearly make out the words (I don't care if you're into country, rap, r&b or currently really loving Justin Bieber), Don't allow your small child to cause a huge ruckus at 1030 at night during the week (we're married to soldiers for goodness sake- they're up EARLY).
Ok, so I'm the first to admit, I'm no one's mother so I have no idea first hand the stress that comes with being with a child 24-7; dealing with all their wants and needs has to be daunting and extremely stressful. But here's what I do know. If and when I have my babies and they are pushing their Terrible Two's and I'm forced into an apartment style living situation I'm going to do my damnedest not to allow my child to put my business out in the street. Here's what I mean: when your kid throws an un-Godly fit for 20 mins+, daily that reflects on what's going on in the household, especially when the mother screams "SHUT UP!" about 5 minutes into the thing which only prompts Junior to scream louder. (parenting at it's finest)
It's just annoying. Especially (which I think I've said that word like 18 times in this post) when the hubs is coming off CQ. Things may get ugly today... eeeek. Hopefully Junior (upstairs) catches on soon. I know that we try to be considerate of the people around us. When we're watching a movie with the surround sound on we constantly adjust the sound, when there's shooting or explosions and a lot of action we turn it down a few notches, when there's more dialogue we turn it up so we actually have a clue as to what's going on. We TRY, I wish others would too!
8 comments:
Staircase housing isn't the finest, but hey, the neighboor will eventually move out ;)
Is there anyone you can complain to???
PS. I liked the shout out to the Beibs
We have been blessed in our apartment and the only thing we hear from our neighbor upstairs is her washer. But I know exactly what you mean about the surround sound. We have to do the same thing!
I remember when we first moved to Europe, we went to look at an apartment, and out front was a collection of clothing that had been thrown in front of the door. Once we stepped inside, we saw that the guy's wife had thrown all the rest of his belongings all throughout the stairwell as well. We passed on that option...haha. If only people were more courteous and had a mindset like you. Apartment living isn't ideal, but also not terrible as long as everyone does their part. I give you loads of credit for continuing to be so courteous, though...I have a very low tolerance when it comes to questionable parenting and misbehaved children.
I'm right there with you! We have people downstairs who love to blare their loud music. To make it worse, we were being blamed for it and threatened to get kicked out of our lease for a time! (We have since complained when the music is on and thus proved it's NOT us.) I am looking forward to hopefully renting a house at our next duty station!
That sucks! I've never lived in an apartment but my MIL did & even though she was on the last floor she had these neighbors that loved blaring their tv & tossing balls against the wall. It was horrible! She actually went over & talked to them about it because she wasnt able to get any sleep & being an RN for an ER, she sorta needed all the rest she could get. I hope it gets better!
I am currently in a second story apartment with a 2 and 4 year old. It is HARD! I think I say, "Stop running" and No jumping, people live under us" about 1000 times every day! My kids go to bed at an early time, but that means they wake at an early time, so my poor neighbors below are probably woken around 6 every morning. But, I do the best I can and get them out of here when I can, keep the TV down, remind the kinds that people live under us, etc.
Sorry yours are not so considerate.
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