Ceiling Elephants

Over and over, as a condo resident, I hear others saying such as: "they're like a herd of elephants on my ceiling". And it is true that those living over others unless they are in a concrete building, hear footsteps overhead. Most people who live in older buildings try to keep their "footprints" down in the wearing of slippers or other soft-soled footwear. Others think that bare feet or next to it will be perfect because they aren't wearing shoes of any kind. Nay dears. Bare feet or sock feet are worse than hard heels. Your heels give off a thump that is very unpleasant to those below you. Rather than a click, you get a clump and clumps are somehow more annoying. In the first place, since the person, if reported, denies they are wearing shoes that disturb, and plead that they aren't wearing them at all, so how can that be a problem? Sorry, it is a big problem. Fortunately, I have not suffered this aspect of condo living because my upper neighbours have always been most thoughtful and wear soft shoes, not bare or sock feet, therefore I do not have that kind of noisy neighbour problem. The bad part is how some condo dwellers handle their noise situations. One person said she takes a broom handle to her plaster and taps the ceiling. She says it works but it can't be too good for the ceiling. Another more creative man I spoke to on the subject, says he leaves a pair of new slippers outside the door of his thumping neighbour upstairs. My thoughts on that, are how expensive that could be and anyway, how does he know the correct size of his upstairs fellow owners? Leaving notes can be offensive and sometimes hopeless, because it is surprising how many Canadian citizens are intermittently able or not, to comprehend English. But it's a useful tool, I am told. The best way to handle the noise-above scenario is to either go upstairs and politely state your case or if that is too intimidating, write to management and let them deal with it in a professional manner. The last resort is to move from your residence and buy into a concrete building or buy or rent a place on a top floor. Seems drastic, but it could be your only recourse to peace. If you happen to be a person living on a floor that has people living under you, remember to be a perfect neighbour and invest in some soft-soled shoes. I live above a lovely pair of people and the last thing I want to do is to be a disturbance to them. I have a collection of wonderful shoes with heels of varying heights and materials, but the ones I wear on my floor are those squishy kind with the name of an amphibian on them. They are not beautiful but they keep my conscience clear and my neighbours speaking to me in the elevator. And hey, they are kind of comfy to walk in!