Every situation is different, but it's always been that easy for me. In my various small apartments I have never encountered a persistently anti-social neighbor.

I've had a lot of mixed experiences. My current neighborhood is incredibly pleasant and friendly, but the development of adjacent lots is periodically performed in the most obnoxious and intrusive manner seemingly possible.

The various apartments I've lived in have had lots of very pleasant neighbors. But a few really annoying ones stick out in my brain - we had a guy high on mushrooms screaming at the top of his lungs at 1am one night "They're trying to kill me!" over and over again. A not insignificant amount of drama really did just boil down to the quality of the construction. Thin walls versus thick. Open hallways versus covered. People throwing big parties at the community swimming pool who were happy to have someone come by, versus folks who gave you dirty looks if you so much as crossed through the space.

I think that bad neighbors get over-represented online and most people want to be nice.

The impact of a bad neighbor is far more pronounced than the impact of a good one.

Its definitely always helpful to reach out and be a friend. But not everyone has your good fortune.