My neighbors manage to annoy me in spite of the vast yardage.

I still apartment dwell, though I chose an upper floor specifically for that reason. I have yet to hear a peep from anyone. I used to get the occasional bass through the sidewall of the neighbor, but the walls are so insulated, it was barely noticeable. Besides, he moved out, and all is peaceful again.

Given the amount of spilled beer I've seen in the hallways of my building, it's been relatively quiet. Sadly, it looks like the only type of place I could afford to buy (if I were looking to do so) would be a condo, which might as well be an apartment. Phooey.

Besides, there's always a balance to be struck between being in the middle of things and getting away from it all.

I hit it lucky, I think.

I didn't mention the people in the apartment right next to mine. Both of them have the odd custom of having their phone conversations outside, in front of both our doors (the apartments are mirror images, and my door is right next to theirs) where I can clearly hear everything, not the least due to the fact that one of the women of the house has the harshest, raspiest, most awful macaw-scream of a voice I have ever heard. And when she moved in she was careful to announce that she and her roommate "were quiet people." They moved here from Gainesville, a university town -- I can only imagine they lived on frat row and had a rather different definition of "noisy" than I do.