# Alarm Noises



## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

I just moved to Culiacan for a new job which I'm very excited about. I arrived on Friday and moved into a lovely furnished two-bedroom apartment in a nice part of town. I rented the apartment from a distance, always a slight risk, but I am very happy with it now that I'm here. So far so good.

I've been exploring the city on foot over the weekend (by day only), and despite its somewhat questionable reputation, I suspect I will like it a lot. Mexico has always spoken to me in a positive way.

However, this past night, it spoke to me in a not-so-positive way. There were alarms going off continuously in my neighborhood from about 11:00 P.M. on, and one is still blaring as I write this at 6:45 A.M. There were several different alarms at different times, with almost no relief in between; this particular one has continued sounding since 3:00 A.M. (!). I don't know whether these are car alarms, house alarms, or some other type. But I guess I've got some questions.

(1) Is this a usual thing?
(2) Department of Naive Questions: If so, why don't the police do something about it?
(3) Can anyone recommend some industrial-strength earplugs? I used the ones I had, little blue foam thingies, and moved to the living room because the sound was strongest in the two bedrooms, but I still didn't get much sleep. I'm jet-lagged, too, which didn't help.

I don't want to make *too* much of it, but this is the noisiest night I have ever spent in a city.


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

Sorry but a had to laugh at your post. I remember the first months I lived in Mexico and all the noise. Mexico is noisy, that is all part of the country. Music blaring until 4 AM, fireworks at anytime, mobile advertising, the LP gas truck, political parades at 10 PM...noise everywhere. 
But like living next to the railroad tracks (and I did for a few years) , you only hear it for the first couple months. 
We have a fan in the bedroom that runs every night to apply some white noise and even things out.


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

tepetapan said:


> Sorry but a had to laugh at your post. I remember the first months I lived in Mexico and all the noise. Mexico is noisy, that is all part of the country. Music blaring until 4 AM, fireworks at anytime, mobile advertising, the LP gas truck, political parades at 10 PM...noise everywhere.
> But like living next to the railroad tracks (and I did for a few years) , you only hear it for the first couple months.
> We have a fan in the bedroom that runs every night to apply some white noise and even things out.


The white noise is a good idea. What I should have done when I moved to the living room last night is turn on the air conditioner, which would have blocked the alarm noise from the back of the house. I can fall asleep to an air conditioner.

It wouldn't have helped in the bedrooms, because those were too close to the source of the noise. The alarm was going off (and still is!) in a concrete structure (garage? warehouse?) in the next block, directly behind my house. I hope this isn't a regular occurrence in the neighborhood. It would amaze me if people didn't complain (but I'm new here, so what do I know?).

Most of the other noises I can deal with, I think. The norteno music is rather nice.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

*Noise*



tepetapan said:


> Sorry but a had to laugh at your post. I remember the first months I lived in Mexico and all the noise. Mexico is noisy, that is all part of the country. Music blaring until 4 AM, fireworks at anytime, mobile advertising, the LP gas truck, political parades at 10 PM...noise everywhere.
> But like living next to the railroad tracks (and I did for a few years) , you only hear it for the first couple months.
> We have a fan in the bedroom that runs every night to apply some white noise and even things out.


You forgot to mention trash pickup twice a week when the stray dogs go down the street late at night to go get food from the trash on the street and the yard dogs bark at them. This can happen many times as there are more than a few stray dogs eating their dinner those nights at different times.

The alarms that don't shut off are probably businesses alarms not connected to the central alarm company. Once the business gets rid of the large rats that will probably stop. Cheap outdated car alarms usually will be set off by a car with one of those loud mufflers of a jacked up pickup and will last only 10 or so minutes and shut off, as will house alarms will last about 20 or 30 minutes before shutting off , however, business alarms have to be reset and will go "All Night Long" , remember that song? Beer helps, LOL.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

You'll get used to it. People who have lived in large cities with noise at night have a difficult time adjusting to the "quiet" of the country-side just as those who move from the rural areas to the city. There are more noises other than car alarms such as parties where the music from the stereo is set to the max and, of course, fireworks.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Wait until a celebration occurs; bands, cohetes, car alarms, mariachis and parades.....all at once! Sometimes, rainy season thunder storms can set off all the car alarms at once.
Soon, you'll sleep through it all.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

RVGRINGO said:


> Wait until a celebration occurs; bands, cohetes, car alarms, mariachis and parades.....all at once! Sometimes, rainy season thunder storms can set off all the car alarms at once.
> Soon, you'll sleep through it all.


Anyone seen "Noise" starring Tim Robbins? According to Google: 

"Robbins plays a successful lawyer in Manhattan named David Owen who is bothered by all the noise in the city, and who resorts to vandalism to put a stop to it, adopting the identity of "The Rectifier." His acts of vandalism provoke the mayor of the city, played by William Hurt."

The Rectifier would go absolutely bonkers living in Mexico.

Reminds me of an elderly Polish tourist we met in Melaque a few years ago. One morning, after a sleepless night due to pounding music from a nearby disco, he went to the local policia to make a complaint. He spoke only heavily-accented English, while the local cops spoke only Spanish. I would have enjoyed being a fly on the wall for that conversation.


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## johnmex (Nov 30, 2010)

Get a noise cancellation device. Bose makes nice ones. Best Buy sells them, upscale malls too.


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

AlanMexicali said:


> You forgot to mention trash pickup twice a week when the stray dogs go down the street late at night to go get food from the trash on the street and the yard dogs bark at them. This can happen many times as there are more than a few stray dogs eating their dinner those nights at different times.
> 
> The alarms that don't shut off are probably businesses alarms not connected to the central alarm company. Once the business gets rid of the large rats that will probably stop. Cheap outdated car alarms usually will be set off by a car with one of those loud mufflers of a jacked up pickup and will last only 10 or so minutes and shut off, as will house alarms will last about 20 or 30 minutes before shutting off , however, business alarms have to be reset and will go "All Night Long" , remember that song? Beer helps, LOL.
> 
> YouTube - ‪Lionel Richie - All Night Long‬‏


It *was* a business alarm, so what you say makes sense. Someone here in Culiacan suggested to me that it was set off by a thunderstorm-in-progress. The experience did not repeat itself the next night, thankfully.


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> Wait until a celebration occurs; bands, cohetes, car alarms, mariachis and parades.....all at once! Sometimes, rainy season thunder storms can set off all the car alarms at once.
> Soon, you'll sleep through it all.


I suspect you're right!


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

johnmex said:


> Get a noise cancellation device. Bose makes nice ones. Best Buy sells them, upscale malls too.


That's an interesting suggestion. I'll look into it.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

PatrickMurtha said:


> That's an interesting suggestion. I'll look into it.


I believe noise cancellation headphones work to eliminate white noise sources like fans airplane engines etc. I doubt they will eliminate auto alarms.


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

If anyone runs across a device that will cancel ONLY rap or banda music with bass booster, or little yappy dogs barking nonstop at 2 a.m., please let me know soonest. 

Of course, all that could just be payback for the couple of times my dog activated the supposedly "pet immune" motion sensors of my alarm system. Or the two years during which my neighbors had to suffer through my home construction project. Karma hurts.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

*Device*



makaloco said:


> if anyone runs across a device that will cancel only rap or banda music with bass booster, or little yappy dogs barking nonstop at 2 a.m., please let me know soonest.
> 
> of course, all that could just be payback for the couple of times my dog activated the supposedly "pet immune" motion sensors of my alarm system. Or the two years during which my neighbors had to suffer through my home construction project. Karma hurts.


beer!


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

This alarm experience has been....well, interesting. The first overnight blare was Sunday, followed by a night of blessed quiet Monday. But Tuesday night we had another thunderstorm, and sure enough, the alarm started going off at midnight, and as I am sitting here writing this ten hours later, it is *still* going off. If my Spanish were better, I would mildly inquire of a neighbor if complaints are being made to the business owner (or the police) about this. This neighborhood is one of Culiacan's most upscale, and I am paying a small fortune (for Mexico) on rent (it's truly a lovely apartment), so one would think that a quality-of-life issue like continual, ear-shattering noise would raise some hackles. Or perhaps I'm being naive again. (Maybe the owner of this "business" -- as I mentioned, it's sort of a concrete garage or small warehouse -- is not someone to be messed with.)


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

You guys got it easy. My landlord has two roosters and four hens in the patio. They roost in a tree right in front on my apartment. Now for those who were never raise on a farm, chickens do not crow only at sunrise and sunset. They do crow at midnight, at 1am, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Sometimes the rooster, during the day, will come up to my doorway and start crowing. I keep a stash of small rocks near my door to throw at the rooster and I'm getting more accurate every day. Of course, this isn't as bad as when the landlord decided to put eight (8) turkeys in the patio. I thought that chickens were bad until he got the turkeys. They travel in packs and gooble everywhere they roam. A few times I had a pack of turkeys screaming and a rooster crowing at my door. Fortunately, the dog killed all the turkeys - I loved that dog, but the landlord put him down because he kept killing the chickens.


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

joaquinx said:


> You guys got it easy. My landlord has two roosters and four hens in the patio. They roost in a tree right in front on my apartment. Now for those who were never raise on a farm, chickens do not crow only at sunrise and sunset. They do crow at midnight, at 1am, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Sometimes the rooster, during the day, will come up to my doorway and start crowing. I keep a stash of small rocks near my door to throw at the rooster and I'm getting more accurate every day. Of course, this isn't as bad as when the landlord decided to put eight (8) turkeys in the patio. I thought that chickens were bad until he got the turkeys. They travel in packs and gooble everywhere they roam. A few times I had a pack of turkeys screaming and a rooster crowing at my door. Fortunately, the dog killed all the turkeys - I loved that dog, but the landlord put him down because he kept killing the chickens.


You wouldn't complain about roosters or turkeys if you ever had to listen to peacocks


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I had one of those once, and it was a real bother. Sometimes it would stop and cause me to worry a bit. Then, it would start up again at unexpected times, causing me to get frustrated and angry with it. On other occasions, it would start and just would not stop, seeming to have lost all control. Then, I finally had my prostate removed by the VA and the problem was solved.


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## m55vette (May 21, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> Wait until a celebration occurs; bands, cohetes, car alarms, mariachis and parades.....all at once! Sometimes, rainy season thunder storms can set off all the car alarms at once.
> Soon, you'll sleep through it all.


I remember a thunder storm last year that was so powerful it shook the house! Car alarms started going off all around the village. I was on the mirador watching the storm roll through and was in awe of it's power.


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

Finally at 11:00 AM, the business alarm was turned off, and I must say, the ensuing silence had a particular beauty. Now, however, some other (hopefully short-lived) alarm is going off (ah, it just stopped). I think I can live with alarms as long as they do not last 11 hours; my annoyance bar has been raised!

The alarms are almost the only indirect indication I've had in my first week of the fabled dangers of Culiacan -- that, and the multiple locks and metal bars protecting my apartment, front patio, and windows. I've been told several times that my neighborhood, unlike some, is safe to walk at night, and it does seem to be; there are restaurants and streetlife and music and a nice overall vibe. I will still always take care, of course. I suppose it can't hurt to have a 6'2", 210 lb. body presence; when I've traveled, I've always been glad of that.


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

Thankfully, the alarm problem hasn't recurred. But the other night, a Wednesday, there was a tent in the next block with a norteno band trying out their stuff from 10:00 PM until 2:00 AM. It was rather enjoyable, actually, although I kept thinking they were done when took a 15 minute break, and no! -- not quite, they were just catching their wind.


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2011)

Hello! Welcome to Mexico! As you have noticed Mexico is a noisy country, in some ways that is all part of her charm. One thing that was important for my husband and me to realize (through reading a lot of cross-cultural books!) is that in Mexico noise is not considered to be rude. And there certainly isn't any "disturbance of the peace" laws. thinking about that is so laughable. "Disturbing the peace" is just not something that the Mexican people are offended at. Because my husband and I moved to Taxco in Guerrero Mexico, sight unseen, we stayed in a B&B (got special long term rates) for the first two months. Still, we felt a bit helpless in knowing what location would be best for our family. thankfully, we made a wise choice and moved a couple kilometers outside of town. Taxco is a VERY beautiful but VERY noisy city. We loved the city ambiance but didn't think it would fit our life style in the day in and day out of life. We absolutly love where we live now. We are nestled in the trees with a great view of the mountains. We still have the dogs, chickens, combi horns, gas trucks, trash trucks and of course a fiesta now and again with karioki till 4:00 am. But mostly these "noises" have become part of the ambiance of Mexican life. We know the guys who drive our trash truck and we have worked side by side of our combi drivers in the project of fixing the road (slightly) as the rainy season wrecked havoc with our steep dirt road. Unless you live in some remote location, Mexico will always have a certain amount of "festive" noise and you will adjust to that and learn to enjoy it. However, if there is a consistant specific noise, such as the alarms, you may want to rethink where you live. At the B&B where we stayed there was a town party hall. (In the states it might be a fire hall or event center.) Fiestas would go on until 4:00 am and we were within "spittin" distance of the building. There's no way that we could adjust to that over time so of course when we were looking for a house we looked in a differet area. some things, we gringos will never adjust to and I think the alarms that you described would be one of them. In any case, the chickens, combi horns and dogs barking all become the sounds of home after a couple of months. It's actually rather pleasant and something that we smile at and greatly enjoy!


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## leegleze (Oct 1, 2007)

It scared the bejeezzus out of me when, on a visit back to Canada after 4 years of living here, I woke up on a Sunday morning to no sounds at all. I thought I'd contracted some dreaded disease that rendered me deaf! :director:


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks for the latest responses! Fortunately, after the two noisy nights when the building alarm went on blaring until morning, that problem hasn't manifested itself again. I suspect that were complaints, this being an upscale residential neighborhood, and the building's owner had the alarm fixed.

Otherwise, the normal noisiness of a Mexican city doesn't bother me at all. That is, unless I hear gunshots, which I guess is a possibility in Culiacan, although on the basis of six weeks' residence it strikes me that this city's reputation for violence, at least insofar as that violence affects ordinary citizens, might be a tad overblown. To read U.S. news reports, you would think that blood was running in the streets, and that's just not the case. It's a pleasant, normal city, and I am liking it a lot. My teaching job is great, too, and the two kittens that I adopted are completely delightful, so _la vida es muy bueno_.


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## DennyDaddy (May 3, 2011)

leegleze said:


> It scared the bejeezzus out of me when, on a visit back to Canada after 4 years of living here, I woke up on a Sunday morning to no sounds at all. I thought I'd contracted some dreaded disease that rendered me deaf! :director:


Hi....
I got that feeling one day where we're from in Mexico....No sounds or noise in the area! Thought something was wrong! Ya get to miss the normal....


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

DennyDaddy said:


> Hi....
> I got that feeling one day where we're from in Mexico....No sounds or noise in the area! Thought something was wrong! Ya get to miss the normal....


Now I am going to have to pay attention on Sunday. I think it is dead quiet here not far from the center of the second biggest city in Mexico. Maybe I have just learned to tune it all out, but I don't think so. It is pretty quiet all the time except when the neighbors have a party or the rock band down the street is practicing.


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