The good news is we were approved for the new apartment. We went back and looked around again; made sure everything was as good as it seemed the first time (it was); got the skinny on security, laundry, dog, and other policies; and eventually signed a lease. On July 12, we move.
The not-so-good news is that the building is in fact 13 units, not 6. This means more people to potentially be bothered by, most obviously, drums. This building, like all biggish buildings (from what I've heard, this is my first time living in one), has a noise policy of none. No noise that irritates your neighbors will be tolerated.
Obviously, this is largely good for us. We are, for the most part, quiet people. Or at least, we're not loud people. Except when I'm practicing drumming.
This apartment is first-floor, which means there are no people below us, a very good start. I got clearance from the landlord to talk with the neighbors above and around us to see what we could arrange. He said, sensibly, that as long as no one has any complaints, of course it's fine. My hope is that we can make arrangements so I can have full-volume practice times every day. My fear is that they will say yes, but then if they have a problem, they'll go to the landlord (or worse, the police) instead of me.
One of the major problems we've faced in our current living situation is people having this weird idea that talking to your neighbors about something that's bugging you, when it's bugging you, is a bad idea. They seem to think it's nobler to just bear it, and then expect the other party to similarly bear whatever obnoxious behavior you have.
Tolerating other people's obnoxious, or at least inconvenient or somewhat annoying, behavior is certainly a part of life that we all have to deal with. However, I don't believe that it should be done without talking first. I sincerely hope our new neighbors will be more inclined to talk with us if something is not suitable.
I can just hear you saying be careful what I ask for.
Of course, the apartment above us is opening up at the beginning of August. Anyone looking for a two-bed in a nice area of north Edgewater/south Rogers Park?