Left one off:
Type 6 = The ‘just leave me the hell alone’ (especially if you voted for Obama) and mind your own business’ neighbor. :O
(that would be kind of where I fit) LOL!
The new neighbor and his wife (He moved here in '68 or '69) did manage to come over to check out the flashing lights.
It's a bad, bad idea to jack with this neighborhood. Not healthy at all.
/johnny
I have excellent relations to the neighbor on my west. I know one of my neighbors to the south fairly well. I’ve never been in their house, but we talk to each other regularly. I have never spoken to the other one since they moved in. Of my two neighbors on the north, one put up a wooden slat fence 7 feet high that you can’t see though, but I can hear them when they have parties. Based on the language being spoken, yelled and screamed at these parties, they’re from Eastern Europe. The other northern neighbor’s wife called the cops on me when I built a bonfire in the backyard. But the husband and I split a few shots of whiskey and since then we say hi to each other and I’ll let bygones be bygones (the cop and I just talked for a while and then he had me put it out with the hose). I hadn’t spoken to my neighbor to my east in years, but he’s never home - he’s a doctor who also teaches. Then a tree fell over from my yard onto his house. It wasn’t neglect - it was a live tree that had a bit of a natural lean towards his house, but constant rain had softened the ground and it fell over. There were some tense moments but everyone kept a civil tongue in their head, we kept communications open, got to the point that we each acknowledged that people can speak a little abruptly when this kind of thing happens and eventually worked that and the finances out to our mutual satisfaction.
Type 7: the ones with the barking dogs who start up when you go into your back yard and don’t stop, and cats they let out at night to do their business on your deck and scratch up your cars.
Because of this type, I feel like the other poster.... just leave me alone... and your cat out of my yard and your dog quiet and your obamanation sticker muddied.
Left another one off: the nosy neighbor. Have had more than my share of those. There are just times when privacy and peace and quiet at our own home are all we want.
“It used to be that everyone knew their neighbors. At the very least, you’d meet them after the kid next door accidentally hit a baseball through your living room window, or an apron-clad housewife appeared on your back porch to borrow a cup of sugar. But that’s so 1950s. During these days of two-paycheck parents commuting and cocooning because they’re afraid to let their kids run unsupervised outside, it is becoming increasingly common to buy a house and eight years later realize that you have never met your neighbors.”
Oh, but I know my neighbors all too well. And where I live, kids run unsupervised. I could tell some unbelievable stories.
The Home Devaluers
Who they are: They’re friendly enough. They just never seem to mow their lawn more than once or twice a year, and they have a 1978 Buick rusting in their front yard.
How to handle them: Communicate, communicate, communicate,
And then there are the noisy porch-people.
Those that have a house but refuse to spend any time actually in it, preferring to live every waking minute on their porch, watching TV... scolding their children... having their family arguments... etc.
Only going inside when it’s time to sleep (well, not even then... half the time).
Guess I lucked out.. great neighbors on both sides of me 200’ to 300’ feet away.
Guess I’m lucky, I’ve lived in the same apartment for over a dozen years. With one exception I’ve always had good neighbors. That exception was a group of gang bangers who liked to party in the parking lot late at night – their cars had very loud sound systems.
They didn’t last long, Local police, BATF and DEA busted them for weapons and drugs.
“Neighbors”.... That’s why I live in a rural area and not the city. Here people are content minding their own business and leave you alone.
Type 16a: The upstairs neighbors who are trainers for the Royal Lippizzaner Stallions.
I live in a small town and I’ve got small town neighbors. To my south is a retired gentleman who lost his wife a few years back. He raises a big, productive garden every year and he brings over produce now and then.
To my west is a younger than us couple raising three kids that play with my kids. They both work hard at part time jobs to make ends meet.
To my north, a guy and his wife and daughter that come over to have a drink every now and then. I also employ him as a mechanic on occasion. He left an auto service center manager position to start several businesses.
To my east is a retired gentleman that has live in his house all his life, I think. He’s inherited and invested well and likes to keep a stable of new vehicles around.
ALL are friendly and will help you with anything if you ask. I do the same for them. Sometimes a casual conversation or a wave leads to a spontaneous project. I helped tear down a porch off a house, was custom cutting wood pieces for a shed, etc. just because I happen to say hello.
1. In God we trust, everyone else keep your hands where I can see them.
2. Have a plan on how to kill everyone you meet.
I think in this case the neighbors aren't the problem - you are.
I’ve got the drop everything and fight a brush fire neighbors, put your dog back in the yard if it gets out neighbors, and the kid’s say “sir” and “ma’am” neighbors.
I’m lucky in this department.
If this type of neighbor upsets you, YOU are the problem. We have a neighbor like this. The trick is not to try to keep up. They have jet skis, dirt bikes, and go off every weekend doing fun stuff. They keep their yard neat, so I don't care what they do, they are usually gone, anyway.
“The Richer Than You Are Neighbor”
I don’t mind these kind of people at all. They can spend their money any way they wish. Adding on to the house, putting in pools and outdoor kitchens ... go for it! It just bolsters the value of the neighborhood as a whole. And they throw great parties to show it all off.
I love the people in my neighborhood (well, most of them , anyway). We have a bunch of ladies that are spread throughout our section who get together on a monthly basis to play bunco. Everyone in the group knows other families that live close by them that are not part of the bunco group, so we have gotten to know a lot of people not just next door, but around the block and on other streets, people we wouldn’t have ordinarily met. We have a really cohesive network throughout our section, with lots of social interaction.