[tebo53]

We live in a very nice apartment and have made friends with our neighbours which some are Spanish.

Above our apartment is a holiday rental. Most of the time it's nice and quiet up there and the holidaymakers enjoy their time relaxing.

Can anyone help us understand why it is when Spanish people are staying up there that they are obsessed with moving and dragging furniture about! There is always one person who walks from one end of the apartment to the other and moves furniture about along the way then does the same on the way back They go out for a few hours then when they return they repeat the whole event .........nearly every day until they leave.

This happens nearly every time the are Spanish people are staying there. Is it something that all Spanish do as a pastime or are we that unfortunate that we get them all?

Steve

 

[BobfromFrance]

Unfortunate or it is the same person and he/she/it has a wooden leg.

 

[Juan C]

I had a similar probelm, I supplied the owner of the apartment above ours with some sticky felt pads which I helped him fix to the bottom of the chair legs etc. Solved our problem

 

[Alcalaina]

I have a friend who has a B&B. Apparently the Russians are the worst furniture-draggers. And they don't put it back when they leave ...

 

[Tom1957]

I think I know these people. They follow me around, even when I'm staying in a b&b they always seem to rent the adjacent apartment. Who shifts furniture around at 1am?

 

[Townfanjon]

Yes I have had these people above us on many occasions, exept most of the furniture draggers I have experienced are Women with "heels " on .

 

[desres]

You are not alone i have also had Spanish neighbours as holiday lets next door to me on both sides & above walking in heels, dragging the dining tables and they are so noisy in everything they do plus i had 2 barking dogs for the last 3 weeks oh boy its took everything in me not to go knocking only because i dont want to spoil their holiday .. when i asked the agent could she have a quiet word she said call the Police if its after 12 midnight ..& she is Spanish .. sorry not my style at all, but now they have gone except for 1 side until next year !!

 

[tebo53]

Yes I agree with the 'heels' comments, they must know that it echoes throughout the floor area. Very inconsiderate of anyone who doesn't respect other people.

 

[Alcalaina]

Seriously, I think the Spanish have very different attitudes to noise. Noise isn't regarded as a nuisance or an intrusion, it's just part of life. I've noticed this too many times for it to be coincidence - e.g. at 5 a.m. this morning two men were having a loud conversation outside my bedroom window while they were waiting for their lift to work, then when the van came all the doors were slammed. I've got used to it now but it's part of the culture shock for northern Europeans when they first arrive here.

 

[MalagaMike]

Alcalaina you hit the nail on the head...its just part of life here. Some friends of ours bought an apartment 18 months ago and although they are top floor and don't suffer from sound from above the adjoining apartments either side are Spanish families and even with very thick concrete walls they say sometimes the banging, scrapping and general clattering about is deafening ...especially at 2 a.m......they seem to think that its necessary to wear heels indoors and only pop their slippers on to pop out to the shops. Still after 18 months they have not got used to it.....they say its tolerable in the day but after midnight any sound are pretty annoying. We stayed over a few times and yes its intrusive, but as you say a way of life here.

 

[xabiaxica]

Whoever recently moved in above me seems to be bouncing a ball above my bedroom at all hours.

Literally at all hours. I woke when it all when quiet when the disco móvil about 100m from my apartment finished at about 4am - it's fiesta time. The music no longer keeps me awake, I'm so used to them - but I do sometimes wake when they stop!

But that "·$%&/ ball bouncing above my head stopped me getting back to sleep!

 

[Pazcat]

Could be something else that's bouncing.

 

[Overandout]

Seriously, I think the Spanish have very different attitudes to noise. Noise isn't regarded as a nuisance or an intrusion, it's just part of life. I've noticed this too many times for it to be coincidence - e.g. at 5 a.m. this morning two men were having a loud conversation outside my bedroom window while they were waiting for their lift to work, then when the van came all the doors were slammed. I've got used to it now but it's part of the culture shock for northern Europeans when they first arrive here.

I agree, except for one exception: siesta hours in summer!

At least in Madrid you will be met with quite a strong reaction if you, for example, try to do some DIY which involves drilling the walls between 15.00 and 17.00 in summer!!

 

[xabiaxica]

Could be something else that's bouncing.

nah... you know when a small ball bounces when dropped - one sort of 'bump' then several little bumpety bumps....

Then again...and again.... It's for sure something bouncing across the floor.

The first time I heard it I thought it was a baby throwing something out of a cot.

 

[Lynn R]

Seriously, I think the Spanish have very different attitudes to noise. Noise isn't regarded as a nuisance or an intrusion, it's just part of life. I've noticed this too many times for it to be coincidence - e.g. at 5 a.m. this morning two men were having a loud conversation outside my bedroom window while they were waiting for their lift to work, then when the van came all the doors were slammed. I've got used to it now but it's part of the culture shock for northern Europeans when they first arrive here.

When we first moved into our old house a young neighbour used to stand under our bedroom window every morning at 7.00 am and shout, repeatedly, up the street to his mate who gave him a lift to work. "Raoooool, Raoooool, Raooool", time after time. After about 3 mornings of this I got fed up and threw open the window and shouted (in what I thought was my best Spanish at the time, but which was probably gobbledegook) "if you want Raul, don't shout, go and knock on his door, we are sleeping". I got a blank look at the time, but he did stop doing it. Just standing outside their houses and shouting for whoever they wanted was the normal way of communicating, though, rather than walking a few yards to speak to them.

By the time we left it hardly ever happened, though, because nearly all the houses round about had become second homes unoccupied for most of the year, either Spanish or foreign owned, and I actually missed the life and the noise.

All these problems about people moving furniture about or walking about in heels overhead are why we were determined to move to an ático when we sold up. I'll do my best not to cause problems for the people underneath.

 

[Veronica]

The noise tolerance thing seems to be Mediterranean not just Spanish. We live among Cypriots who when talking to each other you would swear they were fighting but they just like to be the one who talks the loudest. Dogs barking constantly are just ignored as perfectly normal. I don't know what they are like in apartments as we are in a villa but I know I would hate to find out.

 

[xabiaxica]

The noise tolerance thing seems to be Mediterranean not just Spanish. We live among Cypriots who when talking to each other you would swear they were fighting but they just like to be the one who talks the loudest. Dogs barking constantly are just ignored as perfectly normal. I don't know what they are like in apartments as we are in a villa but I know I would hate to find out.

Yes I think you're right, especially about dogs.

Mind you I once translated some community rules that stated that owners

''....must prevent their dogs barking during community rest times of 15:00 - 17:00 & 22:00 - 10:00. ''

 

[MalagaMike]

From experience of living in several apartments over the years in Spain you will always suffer from noise whether it be from above or below or if you are in a Spanish "sandwich". There is no escape, the worst in my opinion is if the street is narrow and there are local dogs outside, the noise is horrendous as it seems to amplify on the way up oh not forgetting the moto's lol. You just have to try your best to adapt to their way of living.....which as we all know is noisy. Personally I don't think I could do it again

 

[Alcalaina]

From experience of living in several apartments over the years in Spain you will always suffer from noise whether it be from above or below or if you are in a Spanish "sandwich". There is no escape, the worst in my opinion is if the street is narrow and there are local dogs outside, the noise is horrendous as it seems to amplify on the way up oh not forgetting the moto's lol. You just have to try your best to adapt to their way of living.....which as we all know is noisy. Personally I don't think I could do it again

I think it is possible to adapt, but not if you look on it as "suffering" from noise in which case you will always be troubled by it I don't live in a flat but I am right on the street on one of the main roads into the village, with traffic and pedestrians day and night, not to mention the usual dogs, donkeys, motos, screech-owls, 5 a.m. rubbish collection truck every day. I genuinely don't notice these sounds any more.

There are advantages to being in the thick of things. I'd hate to be on an urb that's only occupied half the year. I feel perfectly safe even when I'm on my own in the house, knowing my neighbours are just a shout away! But it's definitely something people need to be aware of when they choose their new home in Spain.

 

[MalagaMike]

I think it is possible to adapt, but not if you look on it as "suffering" from noise in which case you will always be troubled by it .

Yes I agree "suffering" was the wrong word to use as it can be taken out of context.....Maybe a better choice would have been " you will always experience some noise whether it be from above or below or if you are in a Spanish "sandwich".