Resident Leaves Complaint About Kids—Then Gets Response Note From Neighbor

When a night shift worker left a note on their apartment block's door, they probably didn't anticipate a written reply—let alone one like this.

It has since circulated on Reddit by u/opesosorry, a 35-year-old woman, who lives in the rural building located in a small town in the Midwest.

The note read: "To whoever is running or letting children run [at 8 A.M. or 9 A.M.], sometimes earlier, PLEASE STOP! It's coming from upstairs and it's loud as hell. Some people here work night shifts, thank you kindly."

The next day, another note was taped to it saying: "Problem solved"—and attached a clear bag containing earplugs.

Sign
The handwritten note says: "To whoever is running or letting children run at 8 A.M. or 9 A.M., sometimes earlier, PLEASE STOP! It's coming from upstairs and it's loud as hell. Some people here work... Reddit/opesosorry

She told Newsweek: "The earplugs made me laugh, because they match the absurdity of the note."

Initially, the woman was "slightly confused" by the note as she has never heard children running. She wrote in the February 7 post that 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. "is a perfectly reasonable time for people to move about in their living spaces."

While she is shocked by the drama, as it's rare in the block of eight units, she isn't entirely surprised.

In the post, she notes: "I currently live in small town Midwest USA; passive aggression is what this town does best."

She told Newsweek: "In the Midwest, people are known for being "nice," but it's often kind of passive aggressive. Most people in my area are extremely non-confrontational, and this note is a prime example of passive-aggressive behavior.

"They could have simply slid the note under their upstairs neighbor's door, but they decided to post a note for everyone to see."

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Someone attached a clear bag containing ear plugs to the note with their own saying, "problem solved." Reddit/opesosorry

Reddit Reacts

So far, the post has over 870 comments - many from apartment dwellers sharing their experiences.

"I can attest to this. I wear foam earplugs every night but am still woken up to my loud obnoxious neighbors stomping around at 5am every morning," said one user.

Another wrote: "I lived in an apartment for 12 years, and then inherited a farm house. Sometimes I catch myself basically whispering, or tip toeing around the house ... Have to remind myself I could literally scream at the top of my lungs and the neighbors wouldn't even hear me!"

A third commenter said: "8am is a normal time for kids to wake up, but when I worked night shift it was f****** awful having people blowing leaves or picking up trash right when I was going to sleep. Of course, I had to keep it down [though because] otherwise I'd wake everyone up. Ultimately [though], it was on me for having that job, I wasn't telling everyone else to shut up. I don't even like kids, but can't be mad at them for stepping around when they're getting ready for school."

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About the writer

Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human interest features ranging from health, pets and travel. Lucy joined Newsweek in August 2022 and previously worked at Mercury Press and Media and other UK national newspapers, the Australian Women Magazines and The New York Post. My focus is human-interest stories ranging from relationships to health, fitness, travel, and home. I am always on the lookout for relationships that go against the "norm" such as age-gap ones along with incredible weight loss stories aimed to inspire and motivate others. Languages: English She is a Derby University graduate You can get in touch with l.notarantonio@newsweek.com.


Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human ... Read more