Loud Parties Next Door

[lexinonomous]

Tonight I am experiencing a bit of a situation. My neighbors decided to throw a party tonight and normally it goes over fine, but we are reaching 10:00PM and there are no signs of the party stopping. There are numerous people yelling outside of my window. They have a live band playing an assortment of music. The band is great and entertaining, but for the last three hours it has become excessive. I am growing anxious due to the amount of noise and worrying that it might go on throughout the night. I don't know if I'm alone in feeling this way, but I tend to become anxious as time goes on- especially if I'm not attending the party and am just sitting in my room.


How do you deal with your neighbors parties?


Have you experienced anxiety due to loud parties in the distance?

 

[amy88]

I hate confrontation so I suck at this kind of thing...I have never really known how to tackle it. I do find though that noise that invades my space is something that I find super triggering for my anxiety. Once when I was living in an apartment, the people above us had a piano, and they would randomly plonk on the keys super early in the morning or late at night...it would drive me nuts because I couldn't escape it. I ended up having to complain to the building manager because it was just at ridiculous times of the day or night - but I did ask to be kept anonymous. If they're not stopping and it's getting late maybe a call to your local police department is in order...I know it seems excessive but I think sometimes it's easier having someone in a position of authority deal with it, rather than trying to take it on yourself.

 

[kelden]

You can speak with the rest of your neighbours for some support and go there and speak with the party's responsibles.

 

[misszerable]

Most localities in my country implement ordinances against loud party noises in residential areas. The limit is 10 in the evening but many ignore these ordinances and hold parties up to 2 or 4am. I can't recall how many times I had  to call the local authority to stop undisciplined neighbors and their guests. We're not talking about pleasing music here, but people who sing like they're holding a concert. I just hate it. Some neighbors let it pass because they, too, do it. Well, I can't let it go at that and I have to do something about it. It's specially agitating when they do it during weekdays when there's school and work on the next day. 

 

[Alex]

It's happened to me before, but in the UK the time when it becomes a breach of the peace is around 11 p.m. and then you can go and tell them to turn the music down and be quiet or the police will be called.


I've been over to tell them to turn it down, or if it seems to be under control but still noisy then I work around it and put my television on loudly. Most people get one chance and if they do it again , then just call the police as you can say that it has happened before. You don't need to say who you are generally, but if it spilling out onto a public street then they legally can tell the people holding the party to stop or turn the music down.

 

[Sue]

Quiet time is 11 pm here and if you have a problem after that you can call the police and they will pay them a visit and tell them they need to quiet down.  The neighbors do not have to know that ithe was you who called. 

 

[Panic57]

I know that if you go over certain amount of people, you have t get permission from the whole neighborhood before you can even hold it plus get a permit that states the time you hold it.  If they haven't done that, they are being disrespectful.  I would call them and ask them to stop, if not, call the police.  If you haven't agreed to listen to them party all night, you don't have to be disturbed and miss sleep.  I don't usually have anxiety about parties because I live in an apartment and someone else will call the police before I get the guts to.  But I used to when I lived in a house and I would worry that some of the drunks would tear up my lawn or puck on my porch.  I was a little more ready to call the cops then even though they would only tell them to move the party. I used to be really anxious about that because the party could turn violent if they are told to shut down.   But other than that, if I don't have to deal with people, I'm fine.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

If it's something that only happens once in a blue moon, I would say, let it be. In my own apartment building, once in a while, some of the neighbors would gather and have a party around the swimming pool. Sometimes they have very big loudspeakers blaring out very loud music. Even on the 14th floor where I live, I can still hear it. So I can imagine what it's like for those on the lower floors. However, we all take it in our stride because it's not something which happens all the time.

 

[oportosanto]

I have always heard and believe that one's freedom ends when the next guy's freedom begins. Sure, everyone has the right to have fun and enjoy themselves, but we need to respect everyone else around us. If we want to have a party we need to realize that we are not the only ones in the world. Surely everyone agrees that having the police involved in such situations is not desirable.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I usually don't experience anxiety over loud noises, but I have experienced a lot of those situations, especially on Christmas or New Year's Eve, it's the same thing every single year and it's really annoying, but it doesn't goes further. And my alternative is ear plugs. They work perfectly if you want to sleep or read during those times, but I have noticed that not a lot of people feel comfortable with stuff on their ears, but if you're not that type of person you should maybe try it!

 

[lexinonomous]

I hate confrontation so I suck at this kind of thing...I have never really known how to tackle it. I do find though that noise that invades my space is something that I find super triggering for my anxiety. Once when I was living in an apartment, the people above us had a piano, and they would randomly plonk on the keys super early in the morning or late at night...it would drive me nuts because I couldn't escape it. I ended up having to complain to the building manager because it was just at ridiculous times of the day or night - but I did ask to be kept anonymous. If they're not stopping and it's getting late maybe a call to your local police department is in order...I know it seems excessive but I think sometimes it's easier having someone in a position of authority deal with it, rather than trying to take it on yourself.

Like you, I am very keen to stay away from confrontation. I would never want to cause issues with my neighbors, though I wish they would tone down the parties on the weekend. Sadly, I'm at a point where I am just baring with it and know what to expect when the weekend comes along. I'm starting to think it might be easier to leave the house on the nights they have parties, that way I can go out and enjoy myself and not feel like a prisoner in my own home. I understand that my feelings are pretty silly at some points, but I can't change the fact that their parties give me tons of anxiety.


I could see why it might seem excessive to call the police. I've only called the police on neighbors one time and it was due to a party going on until three in the morning.

 

[HappyKoi]

I stay away from confrontation as well, because when people have parties, there is often alcohol involved, and that makes people more unpredictable, quick to anger, and violent.  I'm also wary about confronting my neighbors because I have to live next to them, and I would rather stay on good terms with people that live near me.  People can be very nasty or passive aggressive after being confronted.  I feel like a prisoner in my home sometimes, too.  I don't like calling the police because they rarely do anything, even when the parties get really scary.  I've been witness to parties where fights break out and racial slurs are yelled in the early hours of the morning.  I mostly just endure.  I know that's not the best way to resolve this, but I'm usually too afraid to do anything else.

 

[mauricioq]

That can be a bit annoying, but they're just having fun, there's no way that they are doing that just to annoy you. So, if you don't want to go there and tell them to keep it more low so you can relax, just put some headphones and chill, that way you won't be listening to them.

 

[DDNatureLover]

Thankfully, I don't often have to deal with this particular issue. I know someone down the other end of this street and her house backs up to one of the party houses in the neighborhood. These people get together 2-3 or more times per week with their bank and amplifiers, etc. They are the 'popular crowd' in the neighborhood, so there's really no point complaining, and if she called the police, she'd be labeled the bad guy and shunned or would have things happen to their vehicles. 


I had to deal with that before in the next room. At one point, my brother and I were living in the upstairs apartment in my parents' house. My brother was a big drinker, and would have the guys in the band over, and would blast music until around 3 a.m. Everyone would be boozing it up and pass out all over the place. It was very stressful, and I was working full time and in school at the time, so it interfered with my studies and sleep, but he's always been my mom's favorite, so if i griped about it, I was the bad guy. I certainly don't miss that. Apparently none of the neighbors ever called the police, which would have forced the issue. 


I agree with the others, there are usually noise ordinances, and you should be able to call the police and report it anonymously. If it's a one time event, I might overlook it, but if it starts happening regularly, I'd make the call. I've always been happy that this was the quiet end of the street. My next door neighbor has parties, but they aren't that loud, and break up around 11 p.m.

 

[John Snort]

I've lived in places where anyone could do whatever they wanted. Call the cops? The local police department was understaffed so unless it's something serious like someone being robbed you'd get no help from them. You ought to buy some ear plugs or ear muffs @ lexinonomous, they'll block out the noise. There are some that are reusable but somewhat pricier though.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

That's right. Those who find their neighbors' noise unbearable has not had the experience of living in some flats where the background noise is higher than that of the traffic in a jam. It's something that we will eventually get used to. Our brains have a way of blocking out unnecessary noise.

 

[Choochoo]

For me I usually just let it pass if it's something that doesn't happen often. If it becomes a regular occurrence then I don't think I would be able to patiently put up with it as much. Where I live it's not even like I can just call the police to get them to stop because the police here wouldn't care, but if it was possible I'd definitely utilize it if i feel like this has been happening way too often. 

 

[sidney]

Oh that happens once in a while over here. I tend to tolerate the noise better since my room is in the back part of the house, but I know it's noisier in my parent's room because their room is found in front of the house. I tend to sleep easily anyway, so it doesn't bother me as much.