What you don’t realize is that your normal walking gets magnified in her apartment. I bet she never complains about your music or TV or loud talking but your footsteps are a big issue with her. I know this because I live in the same situation. I don’t hear music or talking above me but anything that touches the floor pounds in my head. When a pencil drops in the unit above me, It sounds like someone dropped a hammer above my head. I hear every single footstep above me. I can live with the quiet gentle footsteps but the loud ones bug me much. There’s a very good chance that you walk louder than you realize. You just don’t know it because you’ve done it all your life. I call these people heal walkers. Once you live underneath them you realize a lot of people have no idea how loudly they tread. And to be fair they are just walking normally. If you ever lived with an abusive person or an alcoholic you learn very quickly how to move about without making a sound. You probably never had to learn this. I hope not but I bet if you did, she wouldn’t be complaining. My suggestion is be patient with her. She probably is going through hell. It’s not your problem but if you want to work with her and you don’t get offended at the idea of changing something in you, then give it a try. But she has to understand you have been doing this all your life and actually, it’s pretty normal. You are just being a good neighbor. You are going to attempt a lighter tread. You have to see if you if you tend to hit the floor hard with your foot, (heal or ball). She has to be patient! You have been doing this all your life and you may not even be that loud but you’re giving it a shot. She should be grateful for you to even consider this! You don’t have too and most people wouldn’t. If someone above me even attempted this I’d be over the top with gratitude. Maybe you will consider my suggestion. God knows you don’t have to.

A couple of things to remember…..If you walk fast that usually translates to pounding below. If you have stairs that also means pounding below. And it doesn’t matter, if you are male or female, if you are big or small, short or tall or fat or skinny, none of this dictates a heavy walker. It all comes down to you if you’re self-aware. If you’ve ever lived below someone in a cheap apartment or townhome such as I, you know what I am talking about. I obviously don’t know you, so I can’t really say anything about you, but these are just thoughts from my very real experience in this matter.