Are the floors wood? If so, maybe you could put down some nice plush area rugs? That could muffle some noise and not annoy the psycho below you(as much). I have no ideas for walls however. Just maybe as soon as your lease is up, get out!

Good luck!

If the neighbour continues to harrass you, tell the manager (and emphasize the bare feet) to talk to her about being reasonable. You should certainly not be creeping around your place like that!

Do you walk heavy? Probably or the neighbor wouldn't hear you walking bare foot.

Listen to yourself as you walk across the floor bare foot. Is there a noise at each foot fall? If you are one of those walkers who slam your heels down while walking, the downstairs neighbors would hear it.

Growing up I was taught to "walk quiet". As a result people who come into my home and walk heavy drive me crazy.

You have my sympathies. Fortunately for me, last year I moved into a building that was built in the 1920's. I don't hear voices or stereos or TVs. However, I do hear the tiny, petite woman downstairs walking about. She definitely walks "heavy." And the petite lady upstairs slams the front door so that the whole building shakes. Just bear in mind that even people in houses suffer from their neighbors' noise. Unless you move way, way, way out in the country, there will be noise from other people.

One way to do a big of soundproofing is to put bookcases full of books on the common walls. They will help stop noise entering or leaving from your apartment. A quilt or other fabric wall hanging will help a bit, as well.

If the building has wood floors, putting down some area rugs, as mentioned by a PP, will help cut down on the noise your neighbor hears. Do the floorboards creak when you walk? This was a problem in my last apartment--I couldn't hear my feet hitting the floor, but it was an old building and even my cats could make the floorboards creak. There are solutions to that, but your landlord would have to do them.

Even if you have wall to wall carpeting, putting down some area rugs will pad the floors more and help to stop the noise.

Your downstairs neighbor may complain to the landlord at some point. What I would do is contact the landlord first. Let him/her know that your new downstairs neighbor has been complaining. Let the landlord know what you are doing to help--walking barefoot, putting down rugs if you are going to --and then ask what else the landlord can suggest. This way, you appear as a polite, pro-active tenant, instead of having to react and prove yourself if the other person complains first.

I agree that many apartment buildings are not well built. I've been in apartments in other countries where you could not hear a sound from room to room in the apartment, let alone noise from the street or other apartments. If I were you, I'd take the money you are spending on alcohol and start saving it, so that you can move to a new apartment when your lease is up.

Yes, drinking is not the solution and hopefully your were kidding about that...there are also sound muffling mats you can buy that are quite thick - maybe your landlord would even spring for some in your high traffic areas -
sadly you are correct that many places are not built with the idea of controlling noise -
hopefully no one will be offended by this - I have a six plex that I manage that sounds just like your place, I commented once to my boss that if a person in one of the units has sex, the whole building wants a cigarette...lol.
It's pretty bad, you can almost carry on conversations with the other tenants without leaving your home.
Take heart, and take Camlan's advise and start saving your money to get the heck out of there.
Suzan J

Unfortunately, you can pad the floor all you want, but if the walls are hollow and thin, you're still going to hear noise.

Thanks for the responses everyone. In answer to your questions, yes there is wall to wall carpeting. And no, I'm not the type of person that slams my foot down as hard as I can when I walk. I'm 5'9" and I weigh 150 pounds. I tiptoe around my place like a complete goon in bare feet, yet still boards creak and make noise under the carpeting.

If I'd known the noise levels before I moved in, I certainly would not have done so. Around here you don't actually get to see the apartment you move into. You're taken to a "show" apartment that basically has the same floorplan, so you can see what you're getting. Of course these show apartments are completely quiet because all the others around it are empty as well.

I know there's not much that can be done outside of moving. I guess I just wanted to comment that the materials used for many of these places are completely inadequate.

Noise polution is a huge problem everywhere. I live in a quiet building, ecvept for the common entryway which has steel stairs and hollow doors. The children upstairs are lovely, but they go up and down the stairs with their roller blades on. The entrance is like a huge echo chamber.

Sound travels in a strange way. The man over me plays his music at a moderate level, but in one spot in my living room the bass notes thundered! I couldn't even hear my radio if I sat in the chair in that spot. Since I rearranged my furniture it's been no problem.

Four time a day a train roars by, about 1000 feet from my door, but we are in a little valley and the sound bounces back and forth. Loud!

Still, I was lucky to visit this apartment several times to gauge the noise level in this complex before I moved in.
Morning and evening are the loudest times.

I think people who must or choose to live the apartment style, must develop a tolerance of normal living noises and firmly challenge abusive noise levels.