RetireJapan

The wife is obsessed with getting a ground floor or lowest floor unit out of fear that the kids jumping around will invite noise complaints from the neighbors. Is this really still an issue for construction these days? Don't concrete structures built say in the last 5 years make any kid jumping sounds insignificant?

Not really. I stay on the ground floor of a mansion newly built in 2016, and can hear my upstairs neighbour's kids running or jumping. That being said, they do not do that often, and it's not exactly very loud. But my place is off the main roads and is very quiet at night, so such footsteps noises are very obvious.

Am considering a ground floor unit too (because it has a garden). Would like to know how you think of it thus far, any regrets, or any advantages?

Well, unless you like gardening, the garden should not be a big consideration. it's my first time having a garden, so i had to learn a few things about gardening in order to maintain it. can't say i love it or hate it, but generally ground floor units do not have a view, as there is usually a fence with bushes, so that might be something you might want to think about. do you prefer a view of the garden/fence/bushes, or the view from the upper floors.

Just as an aside, it might be worth considering a unit that you can walk to (generally floors 1-4). We live on the third floor and it is really convenient not to have to wait for the elevator, as well as the inevitable power cuts/stoppages due to earthquakes, etc.

Some friends of our were living on the tenth floor during the big earthquake, and had to walk up and down for several weeks until the elevators got checked

windborn wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:05 am Well, unless you like gardening, the garden should not be a big consideration. it's my first time having a garden, so i had to learn a few things about gardening in order to maintain it. can't say i love it or hate it, but generally ground floor units do not have a view, as there is usually a fence with bushes, so that might be something you might want to think about. do you prefer a view of the garden/fence/bushes, or the view from the upper floors.

I prefer the views from the balcony, but ground floor w garden has its ups (play area for kids, no worrying about noise the kids make downstairs, easy access for big things, the one we are looking at has a rear entrance as well). My concerns would be safety, access to insects etc., and this is without any scientific basis: higher risk during earthquake or tsunami)

We live in a recent building, with lots of kids, but also, apparently, some grumpy neighbors.

A couple of friends recently got a letter slipped through their door (got to love the passive aggressiveness here, not even the balls to discuss in person) demanding that they close their windows when the kids are playing.

No mention about the floors, though. Not sure if the people above us have kids, but I certainly don't hear a thing.

I would tell your wife to relax. Kids are kids, they are noisy, so what. Worst case scenario you'll discover than one of your neighbors is a douche, and you can take action when this happens (discuss with your kids to tell them to be quieter around that time of the day, take them outside,...).

Also, this isn't a plane, your neighbor is not stuck in their apartment, they can go out for a walk if your kids are being noisy. Don't make it 100% your burden. If you and your wife choose a building with lots of families (hint: elementary school + parks close by), it's the guy without kids who made the wrong purchase, not you. I get that Japanese wives are obsessed with not being a nuisance to anyone around them. But by doing so, they sometimes become a nuisance to their husband and kids, which feels backwards to me. If you're a gaijin, you can bring balance to that kind of behavior by pretending to ignore some of the social implicit rules once in a while (apologies, I'm making a lot of assumptions here that your wife is Japanese AND behaves the same way as mine and my friends')

Edit: and I'm telling this in pure "do as I say, not as I do" fashion: we are looking for a house rather than a manshon in part because wife is worried about the noise our kids make. I didn't push back because I don't care that much between one or the other.

I got our place new a few years ago and I am blown away with how quiet it is. I never hear neighbors at all (and I am surrounded, either side and above and below)
the only time I do hear anything is when a family walks by my door and one of the kids is yelling, ......... thats it

I bought a new mansion in Tokyo 5 years ago, top of the line, all amenities you might think of, so I'm pretty sure the sound insulation is top notch. I do not hear my neighbors whatsoever, no talk, no footsteps, but I can sure as hell hear the toddler in the unit above. I don't know if it's just him or all kids but it sounds like a sumo practice when he runs around the apartment.

I don't really mind because it rarely lasts long and it's not in the middle of the night and well... kids... しかたない。