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This is soooo true! Where we used to live in a very rural neighborhood, our next door neighbors had zero landscaping. They had an acre of grass, a pile of dirt, and their house. They had their porch lights on, corner of their house spot lights and garage lights. Their spotlights used to light up our bedroom until all the trees we planted grew tall enough. The lady hated, yes hated trees. Trees bring birds she said. She hates birds. She would also drive top speed down the street. We called her driveway "the launch pad" since it was about 200ft long. Once she hit the pavement, she was doing at least 45 mph. Kids couldn't ride their bikes anymore because of her.
I am SO glad I don't live next to them anymore!
I agree with Parnassia.
It is the opposite in suburban settings. My parents’ HOA requires lit carriage lights at night. It is the norm where I am too. I don’t think anyone expects a suburban neighborhood to be pitch black. My neighbor’s lights do come in through my windows, but it is the kitchen and dining room, so I couldn’t care less. It makes it easy for me to get to the kitchen in the dark if I need to.
Second the mulching mower. I still rake because so many leaves blow in the yard and really cover some areas, but the mulcher does a good job. In the areas that are covered, the weeds go strong and the grass dies, so it is not particularly beneficial.
The only house I felt like I might need light for security overnight I used sensor lights instead of leaving the lights on all night long. My personal opinion is that when the light would go on, it would make it obvious there was something moving around out there and whatever it was left the area because they were startled by the sudden light.
Around here we don't leave porch lights on outside, it draws the smokey browns and nobody wants those things in the house!
Says the person who is worrying about my concerns and specifically addressing me. At least I'm not rudely calling out my neighbors.
Did it ever occur to you that their light shines in my windows at night. Or that maybe I want to know their reasons so I can decide if my lights need to be on or not? Of course you didnt.
Close your blinds, close your eyes when you go to sleep, talk to your neighbors.
I'm curious how many people on this thread complaining about the lighting of neighbors' houses are out in the country vs in a suburban setting. I've lived my whole life in the suburbs. Being closer to others and dealing with their light and noise is just part of suburban life. I've never expected to have it be pitch black outside. That's what curtains are for.
Yea out in the middle of nowhere I can see not needing to have outside lights on all night but in a suburban neighborhood it doesn't bother me at all.
We live in the country now, but we lived five minutes from downtown Austin for years, right off the greenbelt. We and all of our neighbors treasured the bit of dark that we got in the middle of the city and protected it ferociously. And having your lights shine in a neighbor's window is just flat rude, self-indulgent and uncivilized no matter WHERE you live, as well as being totally unnecessary.
We installed a flush mount motion sensor light fixture in our covered parking area. Our front porch light fixture has a dusk till dawn adaptor and an LED flame bulb. They look good and provide a functional light without the bright white of traditional light bulbs. This is for appearance as it gives the look of a classic gas light. I easily installed the motion sensor light fixture myself. Have it set for one minute. One minute after no motion is sensed then the light turns off. I work rotating shifts so this is handy for when I come home after dark.
We live in the country now, but we lived five minutes from downtown Austin for years, right off the greenbelt. We and all of our neighbors treasured the bit of dark that we got in the middle of the city and protected it ferociously. And having your lights shine in a neighbor's window is just flat rude, self-indulgent and uncivilized no matter WHERE you live, as well as being totally unnecessary.
There's a massive difference between a floodlight over a driveway and a spotlight aimed towards a neighbor's window. This is just being overdramatic.
There's a massive difference between a floodlight over a driveway and a spotlight aimed towards a neighbor's window. This is just being overdramatic.
Not if you've lived with a floodlight over a driveway that is not designed to reduce light pollution and that comes in your window. There are ways to deal with fear of the dark that minimize imposing on your neighbors without requiring them to accommodate your fear by getting curtains they may not want, not being able to leave their windows open for night air, etc. (which is insisting that THEY solve YOUR problem, frankly).
Heck, I saw someone move out here to the country and install a floodlight over the entrance to their storage building. Perfectly their right, and it didn't shine into anyone else's window, right? Except that they lived on a double curve and the way the light was set up, while it shown down to the entrance to the building, it ALSO shone right in the eyes of drivers coming around that curve. They were clueless as they never approached their house from that direction, and I assure you if there had been an accident at night on that intersection they would have been guilty of contributory negligence.
Out here, our closest, across-the-road neighbor is 3/8 of a mile away. The previous owner built a lighted outdoor arena and put appropriate baffling on the lights so that the light went down, to the arena, and not out to all their neighbors. The people who purchased the property took the shielding off and I could literally go out on my porch and dig around in the chest freezer and find what I wanted with no light whatsoever, and I could stand in front of our bedroom window and read by the light of that arena. They were clueless and assumed that their light, since it was over their arena, didn't bother anyone else.
And that's out here at that distance. In town, MUCH worse and equally clueless neighbors.
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