Upstairs Neighbors

I REALLY don't get my upstairs neighbors.

First of all, they're about my parents' age. Which is fine, except that I don't exactly live in an apartment building (or neighborhood) that I think really appeals to that demographic. My building is an older building, with shared laundry rooms and no dishwashers in the units. Like much of Seattle, we have no air conditioning and the building could seriously use a paint job. But my apartment is pretty big and in a great location and REALLY cheap for what/where it is. The LQA is great for me because it's a short bus ride or walk to my office, there are lots of shops and restaurants and stuff within walking distance and I'm close to downtown. But I'm also a 20-something year-old single girl who does not have a lot of money. If I had been working for 30 years and were in a dual-income housing situation, I would not choose this apartment; I'd live somewhere nice. If I were my parents' age, I'd want to live in the suburbs. And if I had a pied-a -terre, it would not be on the lower east side of Queen Anne; it'd be a Belltown loft. So the fact that these people live here perplexes me.

Second of all, they have odd habits. They vacuum. A LOT. And right now (9:30pm on a Sunday) they're moving furniture around. And they're heavy walkers. And sometimes they yell.

Third of all, I have seen them sitting fountain side, reading and sunning by the fountain in my building's courtyard. The dude has creepy toenails. They are really long and crusty-looking and yellowish. Ew.

I havent figured out which car in the parking lot is theirs, but that might be another item to add to the WTH list.

New Neighbors

I got some new upstairs neighbors recently. I remember seeing them move in, but I dont remember exactly when that was. Maybe between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Anyway, new neighbors who I've not yet met.

I really don't know if the apartment was vacant for a while or if the new people are just thumpier than the previous tenants, but I have noticed a SEVERE increase in noises from above since the new people moved in.

To be fair, their thumping hasnt woken me up or prevented me from having fun, entertaining, sleeping, showering, etc. I just hear them. When I'm up at odd hours, I hear that they're up. They take showers around 4:30am-5am and go to bed 10pm-ish. I dont know who he/she/they are but I know their schedule.

They also seem to vacuum a lot. I mean, A LOT. Maybe they vacuum a normal amount, but compared to how much I vacuum, it's a lot. I hate vacuuming. I didnt own one until a few weeks ago.

And like Pavlov's dogs, every time I hear their vacuum, I look at my floor. And realize exactly how dirty my rug looks and I feel bad and think I should probably get up and vacuum. Which is exactly the kind of judgment I was trying to avoid by living alone. Crap.