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You need to be in a taller, no pets, concrete building, on a higher floor, facing the "quiet side" of the particular building/block. Do your research and vet the construction and unit in person.

You may want to rethink that no studio requirement with your budget, and go for a well-built, modern, large studio on a higher floor to get the quiet you want.

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Good point. I was told being further out, like in one of the more affordable spots could work for the 1 bd/1 ba budget but I also haven’t ever lived in the city or surrounding areas before. My past experience living in a studio felt really claustrophobic. But maybe something with high ceilings and a higher SF could be better.

Yeah. This is my forever problem. Live on the top floor, for starters. Prioritize older buildings (50s), but not too old. It’s all a risk. The absolute quietest apartment I’ve ever visited was in the Whyland condo building on 17th street.

Also - pour over reviews, and Google every prospective property together with the words ‘noise,’ ‘noisy,’ and ‘hear my neighbors.’

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If you're okay with listening to white noise instead of your neighbors talking, I have a different solution:
https://imgur.com/5isqQgK

I say this as someone with sensory issues, similar to someone with autism. I also generally wear earplugs whenever I'm outside my house.

I'm offering this solution because the way I see it, there's always going to be noise and you can't control people. I live in a single house and the neighbors play basketball and it's still noisy despite the distance.

EDIT: That downvote was rude considering I was only trying to help OP, and OP made it seem 100% like a sound issue. Although based on the response timing, I feel it's very likely OP downvoted me.

Two things:

1. You should give as much information as you possibly can regarding your situation, so people can give appropriate advice. If you give limited information, then people are going to comment based on the limited information given.
2. What if you get a neighbor with a dog who barks loudly? What if you get a neighbor who plays loud music? What are you going to do then? It's very unlikely you will find a perfect place with perfect roommates who are just quiet.

I enjoyed Carver Apartments on Elm Street NW when I was living in D.C. I had a one bed/one bath for $1,800 back in 2020 when I moved in (left in 2021 to move home). Mine was a corner unit, so I only shared a wall with really one neighbor, and never heard them. Outside noise was there for sure, but it wasn’t bad. LeDroit is a quieter neighborhood overall.

It’s close enough to the metro to walk, though the walk is harder manage in the summer if you’re trying to not be a sweaty mess wherever you’re going.

Management at Carver was pretty laidback too.

Best part of living there was 100% Cookie’s Corner across the street. The couple that run that store are so kind and I can’t state enough how excellent their cookies are.

I appreciate you trying to help, and that could definitely add a layer of peacefulness to the work day, but I’m never going to be okay with paper thin walls and doors. Though I didn’t add this to my original post, I also feel highly uncomfortable about me, my guests, and my daily routine being overheard. I need privacy. So it’s not just a frustration over the lack of control over other people’s noise, but anxiety over not being truly at home in my own space.

I don't have any specific recommendations, but good luck on your search. Concrete floors are great, but they won't stop all the noise. So much of this is left to chance. Sometimes you get respectful, quiet neighbors...other times ya don't!

Cool, I haven’t heard of that one yet. I’ll add it to the list, thank you!

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I lived in Courtland Park near Courthouse in Arlington for several years and never heard a peep. Big balconies too.

Upper NW has older buildings that might suit your purposes. though maybe not your budget. Pre-war is really best for thick walls. We only hear one of our neighbors ever, and it’s because they have a big dog who barks occasionally.

This is really the best suggestion. Taller building means more concrete.

Places like crystal city have some of these older building with thick walls. I lived in crystal plaza and never heard the neighbors. Amazon moving in might has definitely brought more cheap “luxury” builds though

Good to know, thanks.

I'd say southwest waterfront, if you go with the older buildings, Tiber island, the view at waterfront central older buildings

Park Place above the Petworth metro station has concrete floors and walls. I used to have a squat rack in my living room for the first year of the pandemic. I was careful and no complaints. I also never heard my neighbors, ever, and they had a dog. Takes about five minutes to walk to the platform and the train got me to work in 12 minutes station to station. The roof deck was pretty cool. I genuinely miss the views out of my window. Live on the west side of the building, not the Georgia Avenue side.

Definitely NOT the Modern on M complex (including the older Classic on M buildings) in SW. my neighbor’s masturbating multiple times per day nearly drove me to insanity. I could hear his phone notifications, his sneezes, and every single word of every single late night phone call. 20/10 do not recommend.

I’ve lived in two old buildings in upper NW that were/are so much better for sound. Not 100% soundproof, but damn near close for an apartment.

older brick buildings, and 1st and second floor of newer buildings are concrete in what I've seen. you be better off looking for a house to rent that either all brick or stand alone outside the city

I second this comment. There are a few of these old complexes that have a light grey exterior with balconies, and they’re all cinder block construction with good sound dampening. Look at Crystal Plaza, Crystal Towers, the Buchanan, and any others that look similar. Possibly Crystal House too, but I’m not certain, they have a brick facade so I don’t know if they were built the same way. Just note, there’s significant demolition/construction on 20th and 23rd st near Crystal Drive for the next year at least probably. I make electronic music and haven’t had a complaint that I know of.

Cathedral Park Condominiums in Cleveland Park is extremely quiet. When I lived there I never heard my neighbors. They are mostly owned, but some rental companies buy + rent them out (I rented). So while I don't have a website to steer you towards, the address is 3100 Connecticut Ave NW - maybe you can find something with availability online

Eh it depends tho, newer construction uses steel shelling and concrete for the structure but any walls are going to be wood and drywall

Thirding this, I live in a C.C apartment (13 floors I think) and the only thing I hear is my neighbors closing their door to the hallway if I happen to be in my living room (about 8 ft from my door). Neighbors have never complained about my occasional need to do laundry in the early AM. I have never heard my neighbors talking nor their laundry machines. I might hear someone elses' shower from my shower in terms of water traveling through the pipes, but that's it (besides aforementioned door-closing).

Some leases explicitly state you should have high-traffic areas of your apartment's bare wood floor covered with rugs - those buildings may also be quieter.

P.S, older buildings may lack individual meters for apartments in which case your electricity bill could be based upon square footage. Those buildings can be frustrating if your management company decides to choose an expensive energy provider. So I do not recommend Crystal Place or any building owned by Equity Residential despite the quiet unless you're ready to spend 200$+ on electricity. Be aggressive with asking those buildings how utilities are calculated and don't repeat my mistake lol.

Take this with a large grain of salt since I have no reason to believe either of these building were constructed any better than your typical new build, (which they both are) but I’ve been in both Hecht Warehouse (in Ivy City) and Ava H St (…near H St) and never heard any evidence of neighbors besides the occasional person passing outside my door, despite both being quite pet-friendly. Out of curiosity I just did a quick search of Google reviews and both buildings’ 100+ reviews are devoid of any mention of “noise” or “loud,” though there are probably other valid complaints I didn’t bother to search for.

I would avoid a townhouse. Given your budget I doubt you’ll rent the whole thing, and even though sound insulation between horizontal neighbors seems to be near 100% (at least in the historic DC-area buildings), none seem to have ironclad sound insulation separating higher and lower units. I’ve lived in a few of these historic townhouses as well and while I’ve been impressed by how well some are insulated, even the most considerate upstairs/downstairs neighbors aren’t totally silent.

Another suggestion: look for buildings that were built as condos.

They tend to have a little more sound insulation. If you end up looking in VA or MD there are quite a few complexes that were built around '07/'08 that were intended to be condos but later became rental units since nobody was buying at that point.

You can get stuff in your price range in Rosslyn or Courthouse (VA) for that kind of money, for sure.

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I’ve seen this building have some rental units listed on Zillow. OP may have luck there.

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Is it possible to get a diagnosis for sensory issues?

The views are spectacular and the place is dead quiet.

I’m on citycenter apartments and near absolutely nothing. I never hear neighbors, I can’t hear people through my walls. The windows are pretty soundproof.

The Woodward building is almost silent. I’ve only heard my neighbors once.

Upper NW is a good place to look. Can attest to the Shelburne in DC and Rosslyn Heights & Colonial Village in Arlington basically meeting your criteria… just have to find an unrenovated unit for that price range is all

I live at Capitol View on 14th St, and the floors and walls are thicc. As you said, nothing is 100% soundproof, but both my partner and I work from home and we've been grateful for how peaceful it can be here.

I'd look at units towards the south end of the building, where you'll have fewer neighbors and foot traffic. The building also has plenty of community space and amenities, is above a grocery store, and is a block from the park. If you visit, let me know, and we can show you around the building, plus our studio if you would like, and answer any questions.

The unit I'm about to link will have a view you'll shit yourself over. I'm not joking; one of the best in the city. We're two floors down and south facing too, and it's one of the reasons we've stayed here for going on 7 years now. The unit I'm linking is a studio, I find they have more usable space than some of the one bedrooms. Plus I think it will have a Juliet balcony so you can open it up fully and get plenty of fresh air which is such a plus when it's nice out or you burn dinner.

https://www.udr.com/washington-dc-apartments/u-street-corridor/capitol-view-on-14th/apartments-pricing/interactive/#/?floor-number=8

P.S. Love your username

I used to live in Kew Gardens (27th and Q) and really liked the building. Quietest building I’ve ever lived in and the management was friendly.

I had a terrible experience at the Garrett in navy yard. I would avoid that whole group of buildings and stay away from the newer quick construction ones. I though lived in Valo in southwest waterfront and that building was built like a rock. It’s newer, but the quality is high and I couldn’t hear anything!

I now live in a cheaper basement apartment on Capitol Hill. It’s freakishly quiet here on the street and I live in the bottom of an old house and rarely hear my landlords above. So basement apartments in a quiet neighborhood might fit your budget better and be right up your alley.

I lived here (https://www.zenapollo.com/) for nearly a decade in a handful of different units. They may have tried to fancy it up, but you can't change what the building is made of. I heard street noise (at different levels and styles based on where in the building my unit was) and you'll get occasional hallway noise, but that's it. Nothing through any of the walls.

Cathedral mansions…. Half residential, half offices so extremely quiet at night. I loved living there. And it’s by the metro. We didn’t even get zoo or street noise when we faced the private courtyard.

Connecticut Plaza in Woodley Park matches this description (built in the 1920s!) I lived there for over a decade. Not sure about rents though!

I thought DC's assessment page might include building age, alas, it doesn't!

I am super glad you had a good experience, but I have to share that Hecht was one of the absolute worst places I’ve ever lived in my entire life and I’ve lived in probably 20 apartment buildings. I heard a pin dropping from my neighbors and they regularly had parties until 4am. This was the height of Covid so them having people over was in itself an issue. I literally had mental health issues due to this building. Avoid at all costs!!

We live in a 1920s building with some seriously thick plaster-over-concrete walls. It definitely beats a new build with cheapie thin materials, but we hear direct neighbors more often than you might expect. Never anything at the level of regular speech or tv, but yelling or loud singing, cranked-up music, barking dogs, instrument practice, and the like all come through the floors and sometimes walls. (Weirdly, we share a wall with a rowhouse next door and don’t get their noise but do get any strong smell leaking through from their house.) And the front door is a weak spot — if people are talking in the hall, we hear every word of that. Not sharing to be a Debbie Downer, just to help you know how much to trust the building construction vs taking other measures like trying to rent on the top floor or to share as few walls as possible. We love our old building for every other reason, especially the original hardwood floors and the fancy trim details that no one uses anymore.

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I really liked my time at Ellicott House Apartments. I felt they were well insulated against sound (especially on the back side), and they were well-priced at the time.

Second Southwest Waterfront. Had coworkers who lived in some of the older '60s era apartments and while they were quiet, the maintenance issues were starting to catch up.

100% This. I live at Crystal Towers, and have a family of 5 with two huskies next door. I can only hear the huskies if I'm dead silent in my kitchen. The guys above me are in their mid-20's and play loud music all day long. Never knew until I helped one of them move a TV in from the loading dock. The doors to the apartment are solid steel and auto-lock. It's not a fancy place, but damn it's quiet, has Verizon FiOS, and the balconies are gigantic.

Riverhouse in Arlington - very rarely had issues with sound. Their prices have skyrocketed during the last year and they wanted a 30% increase from us last time. But, that's out of the norm and it was a genuinely great place.

The value of going farther out is getting a townhouse or duplex where you only have one or two neighbors so it's easier to get lucky with noise.

It's a tough requirement because it will change based on neighbors and when you check a place out it might be misleading.

I live in Judd and Weiler at Quincy Lane. I was pleasantly surprised the soundproofing. I can occasionally hear my upstairs neighbors walk around, and some outside noise, but that’s it.

I’m on a higher level that faces interior for what it’s worth.

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I remember from college that crystal city buildings were mostly solid concrete. We used to have huge party’s with zero neighboring influence/annoyance.

When I lived in Quebec House in Cleveland Park I pretty much never heard my neighbors. Not sure what their current prices are like, but 6 years ago it was in your budget.

We lived in the Woodner in Columbia Heights for several years and that building was extremely quiet. Overall a good experience but that was 10 years ago so can't speak to current management.

> I'm seeing too many reviews online about shiny new buildings in and around DC with paper thin walls and crappy front doors that let you hear everything in other units.

FWIW, my building has a ton of reviews complaining about those things, but I've lived here for 7 years (in 3 different units) and haven't actually found this to be too much of a problem. (Folk in the hallway can definitely be heard too clearly, but from other units I haven't ever been disturbed.)

But maybe I've just been lucky -- I definitely understand not wanting to gamble on this!

Second the griffin building, one block away from metro. I think they were originally built to be condos but they became apartments. Never heard anything.

You are very lucky if you don't hear your upstairs neighbors very often in an english basement lol. Most have wooden floors above and every footstep is LOUD.

I am thankful. I was also worried about that. I feel very lucky to live in my place generally. It’s the least subterranean basement apartment you’ll come across. And it’s on such a great street. I don’t plan on moving out anytime soon.

Some of the apartments on 16th St NW by Meridian Hill Park might work - the Envoy etc.

I toured Novel in navy yard and remarked on how quiet it was. The leasing agent claimed they have concrete in between each unit, seemed quite soundproof. Nice building.

I live in Bridgeyard on the south side of Old Town. It's within your price range and the walls are the thickest ever seen in an apartment building. Like I literally can't hang pictures with a nail because they're made of cement or something. I never hear my neighbors at all. The apartments themselves are pretty Spartan (no in unit laundry) and the building has a roach problem, but the location is amazing. It's right next to Jone's Point park and the Mt Vernon Trail and there's the first stop of the 10B bus line right next to it that will take you Braddock Rd station in about 10 minutes. Leaves every 30 minutes. You can also walk to King St Station in about 25 minutes if you don't mind hoofin it.

I recommend the Mondrian, which is about two blocks south of Logan circle. Here’s the link: https://themondriandc.com/

It was built in the 80s and is all concrete. I’ve lived there for several years and have never heard anyone else while in my apartment. The building is a bit old/weird (the fitness center has bookshelves in the middle of it ?!?) but I’ve generally liked living there and it’s fairly quiet. The only noises which I regularly hear are from outside the apartment (fire trucks).

I am officially jealous - I'm in my second upper NW apartment and both of them were/are a complete festival of neighbor noise.

I lived at Gables City Vista and never once heard my neighbors

Some of the giant buildings north of Van Ness metro on Conn.

The brandywine is deathly quiet.

Thirding SW/tiber island. Checks all of OPs boxes.

4600 Connecticut, .5 miles from van ness metro. Maybe 2 miles from Adam’s Morgan. Built in 1948, solid and sturdy

Zen Apollo is a good option, I have pretty much never heard my neighbors. It’s in Logan circle, has a garage, nice amenities, and is within your budget. The only problem is it’s right next to a firehouse….

Yes.

https://familydoctor.org/condition/sensory-processing-disorder-spd/

> Doctors don’t know what causes SPD. They’re exploring a genetic link, which means it could run in families. Some doctors believe there could be a link between autism and SPD. This could mean that adults who have autism could be more likely to have children who have SPD. But it’s important to note that most people who have SPD don’t have autism.

SPD is also in DSM-V, so insurance will cover treatment:
https://autismawarenesscentre.com/the-dsm-v-and-sensory-processing-disorder/

> So why have SPD in the DSM V? If SPD is recognized as a disorder, it may mean insurers cover the therapy. Therapy provided by an occupational therapist and/or physiotherapist is costly. Sometimes special aids are needed like noise blocking headphones and the cost of such items may be covered. If listed in the DSM V, scientists may conduct research into SPD’s causes and treatments. The Food and Drug Administration may approve medications that can be marketed for it.

I personally didn't bother getting a formal diagnosis because it's like tinnitus. What are they going to do? It's a problem with the brain. Tinnitus has no cure. Depression has drugs that work because it has neurotransmitters.

Colonial village in Courthouse:

• is non-smoking
• was built in the 40s and made to be bomb proof, with hella thick walls
• is garden-style, so kind of a chiller college-esqe vibe
• 2 metro stops from dc
• $1800 rent for a lot of space (people comment on it)

I moved here specifically to have some peace and quiet.

Not dog-free though, there are lots of dogs here.

Friend lives at 1301 M St NW and her apartment is quite. Never can hear the neighbors, but can definitely hear outside traffic through windows