I can sympathize. I just moved to Waikiki a few weeks ago and am also coping with the unfamiliar and incessent din of buses, trucks, sirens, people yelling, loud music, all day and all night. Maybe people get used to it. In Buddhism, I was taught one must cultivate equinimity and avoid attachments. That means not labeling things like sounds as "good" or "bad" - they're just sounds. Once one becomes an accomplished meditator, outside noises shouldn't be a distraction. Having said that, in the interest of eliminating as much distraction from my life as possible, I just bought earphones for my Walkman that claim to be "noise cancelling", as well as a set of earplugs.
As far as the "emptiness" goes, as soon as you ask yourself if you're there, you're not. You can't force it - just enjoy the process.
