Light sleeper: would I have a problem with noise?

Hi,

How do you find the noise level inside an apartment in Taiwan? Are walls pretty well insulated or have good sound proof? I understand that older buildings will probably not be as good, but I prefer to live in a newer building (built within the last 5 to 10 years).

If I wanted to play an instrument like a clarinet, would I get yelled at by neighbors?

I’m sure floor level plays a part too. Would I be better living on a higher floor or does it not really matter? [I don’t want to live higher than the 7th floor, as I know (on average) fire truck ladders around the world cannot reach higher than this floor. Of course, I would be happy if someone could ask about it at a fire station in Taiwan. :laughing:]

Thanks!

In a purpose built apartment walls are usually thick concrete. Ceilings and floors too. So noise from neighbors isn’t a huge problem. I hear their kid playing piano sometimes but never at times that bother me.

Any modifications/additions (like subdivided apartments or rooftop units) built by the landlord are likely to be flimsier and won’t insulate noise so well. Same goes for internal walls if you houseshare.

Windows tend to be single glazed and don’t seal out external noise very well. I live near a busy bridge/expressway, and bikers like to use it as a race track from about 6am on weekends, which is a bit irritating. Only real way around this is to pick your location carefully.

By location, what would you suggest? I thought maybe being next to a small park wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I’ve read that you can have issues with elderly people gathering there and making noise early in the morning.

I know I definitely don’t want to live close to a school. I’m not a morning person.

There are some places that will be terrible for noise - right beside an MRT line or a highway or a temple, for example. But I doubt anywhere in Taipei will be good for noise.

If you’re near a park, you’ll have older people in the early morning, often playing music. If you’re near a school, things will get noisy around 7 or 7:30. If you’re in the countryside, you may get a lot of dogs barking. If you’re near a road, there may be scooter noise at any time of day. Garbage truck music is noisy in the evening. You probably won’t know for a few days whether or not your apartment has noisy neighbours, but even if you get lucky, you may find the next people to move in are noisy.

Taiwan is often a very noisy place, and if you’re a light sleeper, I strongly suggest getting used to wearing earplugs. I found them uncomfortable the first few days wearing them but got used to them - and I’ve slept far better since I started wearing them.

Will you get yelled at by the neighbours for playing a clarinet? Quite possibly. “Foreigner noise” seems to get more attention than “local noise”.

Yes. Scooters driving at all hours is annoying. I have to use earplugs to sleep. You might consider trying to get away from the main roads if possible, but you may have still get some external noise.

If you are trying to live close to the MRT station, you likely will have some noise.

I do live on a fairly quiet side road, which is definitely nice, but it also means there’s no “white noise” from regular traffic - which makes those 3am scooters really fricking loud. Hence the earplugs.

I also live beside a school, which would drive me insane if I weren’t an early riser - but since I’m always up before the school gets going, it’s not a big deal. OK the morning assemblies are annoying, but annoying in a “Darn I’d better listen to music through headphones rather than a bluetooth speaker” way rather than a “I must have some heavy artillery around somewhere that I can use to shell that school!” way.

1 Like

Thanks for the suggestions.

I’m fine with wearing earplugs, but sometimes they don’t block out all the noise. How do you hear your alarm clock?

I’ve lived in big cities in Japan, so I’m not too worried. (I must’ve had some crazy hospital near me or something because I constantly heard the ambulance.) Plus, I’m used to hearing a train everyday. (I live about 3 blocks from the train station.) I know I could play white noise to block out sounds too. I’m just more worried about hearing people talking early in the morning or late at night and annoying music. That’s what really gets to me…people talking at bad hours…or right by your door… Also, a repeat “ka-klunk” of a car going over a drain is very annoying…and beeping…

some places are quieter than others. but generally its hard to escape the noise. roads are going to be the main source of noise, building sometimes too. i never hear anything from my neighbours.

Okay, that’s good to know. In one of my past apartments in Japan, I lived in a pretty quiet area…but every morning…I’d hear a stupid van go over the drain in our parking lot. It would make a loud “ka-klunk” noise because the road wasn’t even with the drain. It was like nails on a chalk board. :persevere:

Pro tip- bedroom away from the street side (but not facing into some kind of internal courtyard areangment).
Bedroom siting is often the most important factor.

I have lived in Japan (Osaka) and Taipei and rest assured Japan is infinitely more peaceful than Taipei. The big noise (and air) polluter in Taipei is the scooters. Best bet could be a room that does not have external windows ie is inside a large apartment.

1 Like

Thanks for the suggestions. I suppose I could always put up stuff to help muffle out noise, like sound absorbing panels or some sort of soundproofing…or go the cheap route and put up curtains…:neutral_face:

Believe me, curtains don’t help much with the noise.

There’s some small alleys that tend to be a road less taken and do not get that much foot or scooter traffic. So, despite what some have said, there are some quiet places to live in Taipei.

If you’re that concerned and don’t want to spend the extra money on sound dampening panels, look to live on a higher floor. I have a co-worker who lives on the 12th floor on a major road/intersection and she states that with windows closed, she hears nothing.

Thanks for the tip!

  1. 99% of apartments here are not insulated.

  2. If you want to play an instrument or make noise, you can until 11 pm. After that, neighbors call teh cops. Play it safe… until 10 pm.

  3. It is not as much as floor level as STAY AWAY from living directly on a main road. Pick an alley, hopefully a one way alley, in a mid income level housing. Educated people turn off their scooters before rushing home and won’t slam the iron gates -which if broken everyone must pay to fix.

  4. Safety for fires: check that the apartment has an escape gate at the balcony. No matter where you are, which floor, if it does not have that , you are locked in and firefighters cannot help you. Do not rent if the place has no escape gate.

Fire alarms -and monoxide alarms too- can be purchased at Costco. :wink: