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Masshole Move-Ins

I've witnessed people being Massholes while they drive, ride the T, watch (talk through) a movie to name a few scenarios. Tonight however, I'm faced with an entirely new experience that rivals the others.

The 10pm Apartment Move-In

I've often asked myself "Is there anything so mundane that it cannot be Massholified?" Apparently not, as moving into one's apartment now takes its place high on my list of things slathered with a thick, putrid layer of Massholery.

It began around 10 pm this evening as I heard several loud, unfamiliar voices in the long-vacated apartment above me. They made their way downstairs by throwing themselves upon every step before making one, final leap onto the lobby floor outside my apartment with a slam that reverberated across three rooms. I heard the lobby door propped open, followed by the sounds of boxes being dropped.

"They can't...they can't really be moving in right now, can they?"

Apparently so. By 10:30 they had only grown louder, and there was something that sounded distinctly like a jackhammer pummeling away at my ceiling from the second floor. It echoed through the stairwell and I can only imagine that my fellow neighbors were thrilled with it as I was.

I thought back to the renovations that went on in that unit 11 hours a day, 6 days a week for 8 weeks several months ago, and how I had hoped that the conclusion of construction meant an end to endless noise. How wrong I was.

I decided it was time to introduce myself and make polite note of the fact my roommate had to be up for work at 5am...you know, because not everyone gets the weekend off. The man who I can only guess is my new neighbor's father managed a meagre "We'll try to be quiet" that came across with the sincerity of Lindsay Lohan talking about her devotion to rehab.

Boxes were thrown on the floor above my head.

Feet ran up and down the steps.

And here at nearly 11:30, the shuffling and slamming continues.

Yes my new neighbor, you have earned a special place in the hierarchy of Massholes.

It's going to be a long, hot summer, and I cannot, absolutely cannot wait until the lease is up at the end of August, though I'm afraid if this is any indication, I will suffer a complete mental breakdown before that liberation comes. If anyone know of a place with easy T access to downtown where one could find a pretty cheap studio / one bedroom and not find their sanity pushed to the breaking point, let me know.

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Comments

You know, not everyone works a traditional schedule (when do you think moving should occur? One can imagine you'd complain if it was on a Wednesday morning because it prevented your mail delivery of the New Yorker). Not everyone can afford to have movers, either. Sometimes it's dad, the boyfriend, friends from the restaurant job, etc. who help move according to whatever crappy window of time is open between being thrown out of the old apartment and being allowed to move into the new.

Lighten up already. Moving is the worst thing anyone can do in this town, and it's never easy for anyone involved (movers, neighbors, etc.); in fact, the only people who make out is the scumbag landlords.

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I understand not everyone works a traditional schedule, but there are limits to what is reasonable, and when you are running up and down the stairwell and throwing boxes onto what is the ceiling of your new neighbors at 11:30 at night after you've been politely made aware of their work schedule, it's a pretty clear sign that you aren't some poor, misunderstood, long-shift working flower.

It's incredible the lengths to which people will go to justify being rude in this city.

And for the record, I'm part of the "My moving crew is my family, friends, coworkers" crowd, as well.

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the people who just moved in above me seem to think that from 10pm to 2 am is when you talk loudly, make furnitiure, throw things around on the floor, and dump out springs (that's what it sounds like)

I thank god for earplugs and that i'm moving in a couple of months.

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Do you live in my building? Because if you threw in a crying baby and really LOUD, really bad music, those could be my downstairs neighbors.

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I'm not sure if I'd prefer a crying baby and really loud, really bad music or a young woman who thinks she can both sing and rap along to said music. Sadly, it seems as though I'm stuck with the latter either way.

Add to that:

- Shouting "WHOOOO!" out the windows in the middle of the day.

- The apparent inability of anyone in the apartment to take off their shoes which results in a *CLOMP* *CLOMP *CLOMP* that is bad enough to shake things on the shelves in my unit.

They finished their moving around 2:30am, and resumed it at 10 am.

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I'm starting to wonder what the premium they could get on decently soundproofed apartments.

Sounds like we are all living in buildings which have no privacy baffels at all. I wouldn't be surprised if my neighbors could hear me on the phone even though I do my best to talk at a person to person level.

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If only! I think it's a problem because of the age of so much of our housing stock in the Boston area.

I'm currently planning to move primarily because my apartment is physically just incapable of blocking noise. I'm kept awake if my upstairs neighbor snores, or talks normally, or just shifts positions in a chair - activities I can't really ask them not to do, but at the same time are driving me insane with frustrated sleep-deprivation.

I would happily pay a premium on top of our exoribitant Boston rent for a little peace and quiet. If only I could work remotely and move somewhere else entirely.

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The age of the housing stock definitely plays a role, but as someone who has worked at much newer developments, and seen others go up, I can say that the trend actually seems to be towards less and less soundproofing.

For an answer to why that is the case, we can look at the market which often works in favor of doing less structurally. If you buy an older apartment building in Boston in a somewhat decent area you are probably going to find someone to rent your units at a price you will be happy with. If you've just spent 5 million on a typical Brighton apartment building, there is little incentive to demolish it, and spend a few million more to replace it with more soundproofing that will allow you to make an extra percentage that will pale in comparison to the outlay required.

When it comes to new construction in hot markets, you can get away with a wood-framed building that only has two sheets of drywall between neighbors. Why spend the extra money if every person who moves out will be replaced easily?

It's a landlord's market out there, and despite our horrific experiences, the thick plaster and brick walls many of us enjoy in Boston are much better than what you would probably find elsewhere.

The floors on the other hand...

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It may well grant you some peace of mind, but be aware that soundproofing generally won't cut out the sound completely. It'll just baffle it some, which is probably best, anyway. In the even that you do decide to have some soundproofing installed, you might want to do some research to obtain info about various kinds of soundproofing, scout around for people who'll do it competently and for a reasonable price, to boot--and who'll give you the best deal all around: The best advice about what kind of soundproofing to have installed, and the best price. Good luck.

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City living is wonderful -- but so disruptive. We have neighbors who essentially host a concert every weekend. Effectively combatting all things other than speakers installed outside, directed at my window, a white noise machine changed my life. Try theearplugstore.com

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I remember the time my new upstairs neighbor decided that she just _had_ to install wood floors the day (er, night) she moved in.

I introduced myself wearing pajamas and holding a brass alarm clock. 'Yes, this is the part where I go to sleep. No, you really shouldn't keep hammering on my ceiling now. Yes, the condominium documents expressly forbid such shenanigans after ten.'

It didn't get much better with her; later I had to shoo her teenage daughter's baby-daddy off my lawn, where he was trying to fix his ride. 'No, I don't care who told you you could. You move it or the police will.'

So what kind of music do you like in the mornings? I remember in college I really liked to listen to the Dead Kennedys before my early morning classes. It's envigorating to just crank it on up; it's like aural coffee. Do your neighbors like aural coffee at 5 AM? I do!

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