Hear me out, because I know the upstairs neighbors are normally the bad guys.

In June, we moved into an older apartment building in a quiet neighborhood in SF. We live on the top floor, in a unit that spans over two smaller units underneath. The building itself is old, and has poor sound insulation. I can hear my neighbors walking around downstairs, their TVs, and when they have guests over.

This was something my partner and I noticed when we moved into our unit. To combat the noise traveling because I am personally a sound-sensitive person, we bought huge rugs and 1-inch-thick foam, noise-cancelling rug pads to go under them in all rooms (except for the kitchen / bathroom). We also have canvas art on our walls, which I have been told helps with noise echoing.

When we moved in, we gave all of our neighbors our numbers along with a note to let us know if there are any problems. One of our downstairs neighbors texts us constantly. They complain to us every time we have people over regardless of prior warning, they complain about our dog running across the carpet (he weighs less than 20lbs and rarely barks), they will even complain if my partner and I are having conversation over dinner at our dining table. We do not play loud music. We do not watch the TV on high volume. We do not wear shoes in the house.

Our other downstairs neighbor does not have a problem. Our neighbors across the hall do not have a problem. We’re pulling our hair out over anxiety about making noise in our own home. I genuinely don’t know what to do.

Our landlord hasn’t reached out to us about noise, so I’m not sure if it is something that our neighbors have gone to them about. I guess we’re just really worried about getting in trouble for being too loud. This is the third older apartment building I’ve lived in and the only time I’ve ever had an issue. It’s driving me crazy.

Our neighbor will run into their apartment if we see them when coming into or leaving the building, so it’s hard to find time to have a conversation with them. We know they are, based on when we have seen them, likely late 20s or early 30s and live an early morning lifestyle (we can hear them get up around 5am).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: WOW, everybody's responses are so comforting. I think people are right about resetting our way of thinking about it and just living my life without overthinking this. Thank you all so much!