Before we bought our house, we lived in an apartment and then in a townhouse. We left the apartment because of the folks upstairs. No HOA though. The kid was bouncing a ball that was really annoying. Then someone was in a rocking chair in a room just above our bedroom. Wouldn't stop until after midnight. We didn't complain. Just broke our lease and moved. The townhouse was better because there was no one above us or below us but..............the outer walls were so thin, you could hear folks outside in the parking lot and they would congregate just outside our door. The guy next door played guitar and would serenade his girl. We knew it was time to find our own house. Communal living is an acquired taste or you're just used to it. They don't make units like they used to. I've stayed in apartments in the Bronx (NY) and unless someone was obnoxiously loud, you would not hear a thing from another apartment. Not only that, the sounds of people outside along with the trains was mostly white noise. That man most likely never lived in an apartment before.
