Neighbors...Who Needs 'Em?

Sometimes I really hate condo living. Since our next door neighbor moved out and started renting her apartment a few years ago, she's successfully managed to rent it out to the worst tenants possible. They're not psychotic or anything, they just suck.

First there were the noisy college kids who partied all night long, squeezing as many loud, obnoxious people into their tiny space as possible. Then came the also noisy but slightly older 20-somethings, who were not only loud, but also had horrendous music taste consisting of techno, techno and more techno. Oh yeah, and they were home all the time and blasting it at all hours of the day. I'm sure it was really great for my career to be doing business calls when it sounded like I was in the middle of a club at noon on a Monday.

Next came the seemingly sweet married couple who were so nice in the hallways and elevator...but were so loud behind closed doors.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that all of the past tenants, with the exception of the marrieds, were chain smokers? Awesome. Love that second-hand smoke pouring right through our paper-thin walls, especially the one that comes right into my office.

Now, we have a new guy. At first he seemed harmless. He was quiet and older, so he must be responsible, right? Wrong. Turns out we have yet another chain smoker.

Honestly, I don't know why our neighbor insists on renting her place to all smokers. I'm guessing the apartment stinks like stale cigarettes so only smokers would want to rent that place. But, it's really starting to make me mad.

And poor Jody. He's stuck with the unfortunate job of going next door when I'm at my wits end with second-hand smoke and everything else and asking the new neighbor to please keep it down or to please try to smoke out on the balcony. He hates doing it, but he's much better at doing these kinds of things than me.

So my question for anyone out there is, are there any good air filters or purifiers that can help us breath a little more safely? The second-hand smoke is disgusting and totally unhealthy, and I've had enough. Also, anyone know how to go about making your condo building smoke-free? I mean, I'm pretty tight with our association president and he's just not into it. Maybe it's just time to move...