The best apartment is a quiet apartment. You can’t control your neighbours noise but you can choose a view that adds either peace or chaos to your life. If you have the luxury of choosing from multiple apartment locations in a complex then you need this guide.

First thing to check, before even looking outside, is whether the windows open or not. And if they do how do they open? I once chose an apartment purely because it was single hung (means half can slide upwards) and the better apartment upstairs only had casement and awning windows (meaning you can push it outwards a couple of inches). Fresh air was more important to me than the view in this case. But that may not be true every time. I can go more into window styles in another post.

Here’s a list of my apartment view preferences from worst to best:

Pool

Pools are synonymous with noise. I’ve also never lived in an apartment where everyone respects the pool curfew. That means not only shrieking and splashing during the day (particularly in a family building with lots of kids) but late at night too. Not only can you hear them but most of the time they can hear everything going on in your apartment too.

Gym

Another resident amenity that typically has a late curfew, if any at all. People also tend to congregate here and have lengthy conversations whether they’re working out or not. Add in treadmills pounding, weights slamming and music blaring all at once. It’s a nightly headache.

Main Road

Unlike the pool and gym a main road right under your window can cause a constant stream of noise. Despite this, I rank it higher because the pitch and tone rarely change which means you can learn to live with it. The whooshing sound eventually fades into the background. Think of it as a free white noise machine. To me that’s less distracting than the pool and gym.

Other Buildings

It wasn’t until I lived across from another building that I realised just how little time people spend at home and how rarely most people sit on their balcony (if they have one). You may get the occasional social event that goes late into the night that could be inconvenient but if you make friends with your neighbours then you can be at the party instead of just hearing it.

Car Park/Entry

My favourite apartment location – facing the car parking. I’ve lived in 2 apartments with this view. One complex had the car park at the front so I faced the gate/entrance and the other had a large carpark at the back so I overlooked the large square bitumen and a random back road. It’s so quiet. Occasionally you’ll hear a car door thud shut or a small beep but it’s muted compared to voices and music.

The other perk is these apartments are usually cheaper because for some reason no one wants them. It was also a favourite for me when I was living alone because it felt like I got to know what the other residents looked like and I could see when first responders arrived. You can quickly establish if there’s a real threat of fire or if someone just set off the alarm making midnight toast again.

There’s never silence in apartment living but by sacrificing view you can usually get some peace and quiet.