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Personally, I'm a very hands off type of neighbor with a "You don't bother me and I won't bother you" attitude. I'm friendly with all my neighbors and we all get along, but were not "friends" in the sense that we hang out or spend time together. I can't for the life of me understand these busybodies who are more concerned with what their neighbors are doing, how their property looks, etc more than their own lives. The way I see it, it's not my property, so it's not my problem. I've heard lots of people (mostly old ladies) complain about "Oh, did you see so and so's house down the street? That place looks so junky!" or something to that effect. I don't have the time to worry about stupid BS like that, and I'm not likely to even notice or pay attention to stuff like that. As I said, if it's not happening to me or on my property, it's none of my business how someone else chooses to live their life or maintain their property.
How do you guys approach dealing with your neighbors? Are you a "mind your own business" type of neighbor or one of those busybodies I mentioned earlier? Or somewhere in between the two?
Personally, I'm a very hands off type of neighbor with a "You don't bother me and I won't bother you" attitude. I'm friendly with all my neighbors and we all get along, but were not "friends" in the sense that we hang out or spend time together. I can't for the life of me understand these busybodies who are more concerned with what their neighbors are doing, how their property looks, etc more than their own lives. The way I see it, it's not my property, so it's not my problem. I've heard lots of people (mostly old ladies) complain about "Oh, did you see so and so's house down the street? That place looks so junky!" or something to that effect. I don't have the time to worry about stupid BS like that, and I'm not likely to even notice or pay attention to stuff like that. As I said, if it's not happening to me or on my property, it's none of my business how someone else chooses to live their life or maintain their property.
How do you guys approach dealing with your neighbors? Are you a "mind your own business" type of neighbor or one of those busybodies I mentioned earlier? Or somewhere in between the two?
I am mostly like you however I will ***** to my wife and her only about a neighbor doing something weird like painting their house pink, but I probably will not say anything or make a big deal out of it. Like you said, their property their choice to do what they want with it.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We are friendly with our neighbors, enough to chat for a while when seeing them outside, and wave when passing by. We don't do neighborhood BBQs or have neighbors over for dinner, they have their friends and we have ours. In our past experience that kind of closer relationship comes from families of similar age living close together, so that their kids play and go to school together. We are very mixed now with many of us empty nesters, but new buyers coming with toddlers and some with kids in school. Just last weekend it was interesting to see that the couple next door had their grandkids over and we had ours at the same time. As for home maintenance, we will sometimes discuss issues such as a failing common fence, or fallen tree but no one complains about how a neighbor maintains their yard or parks their cars/boat/RV.
I'm friendly with all my neighbors and we all get along, but were not "friends" in the sense that we hang out or spend time together.
Same here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmy12345678
I can't for the life of me understand these busybodies who are more concerned with what their neighbors are doing, how their property looks, etc more than their own lives. The way I see it, it's not my property, so it's not my problem. I've heard lots of people (mostly old ladies) complain about "Oh, did you see so and so's house down the street? That place looks so junky!" or something to that effect. I don't have the time to worry about stupid BS like that, and I'm not likely to even notice or pay attention to stuff like that. As I said, if it's not happening to me or on my property, it's none of my business how someone else chooses to live their life or maintain their property.
I do care how my neighbors maintain the exterior of their homes because it affects the desirability of my neighborhood vis-Ã -vis my property value. So how my neighbors choose to maintain their property does affect my property.
Unless you never intend to sell your home, you should care how well your neighborhood is maintained.
Friendly with a good portion of the neighbors unknown to others. Will watch their dogs when they are out of town and vice versa. Help out an overwhelmed mother next door with a Marine husband who is gone a lot of the time. We've got a nice back yard space with a covered patio and no kids of our own so some of the neighborhood parents like to come over to hang out and have some wine in a relaxed atmosphere away from their kids heh.
Before we moved in we were worried about the Marine neighbors next door as they had a lot of trash just next to the house and coming over the property line. Byproduct of her being overwhelmed and one of the small kids being in charge of trash. But now that we're helping them out on occasion that has gotten much better.
Our house marks the entrance to the neighborhood so the street along our house is where most of the extra parking is to be found. People park their junkers there which irks me a bit but it's a public street so can't do anything about it. Just crappy old beat up vehicles that never appear to be used in a nice neighborhood of brand new houses. Worries me about resale value a bit as even our realtor when we were shopping said to look at the cars in a neighborhood to judge its character. Problem with it being a new development is none were there when we bought.
I do care how my neighbors maintain the exterior of their homes because it affects the desirability of my neighborhood vis-Ã -vis my property value. So how my neighbors choose to maintain their property does affect my property.
Unless you never intend to sell your home, you should care how well your neighborhood is maintained.
Nope, no intention of selling my property anytime soon. Unless circumstances drastically change, I can't see it happening. Also don't live in a gated community or a really "upscale" part of town, so it's not as big of an issue. The best thing I can do is maintain MY property to the best of my ability, as I have no control over my neighbors, and I'm not one to go crying to whatever "authority" figure is charged with dealing with that sort of thing. Again, I keep my head down and mind my own business. Wouldn't want somebody filing complaints about me behind my back, so I'm not going to do it to them.
Although I have lived in very social neighborhood, and enjoyed it, now we just wave and that's about it. Hubby enjoys chatting with the guys next door or across the street. We will take in each other's garbage can or newspaper, if they're away. Beyond that, there's nothing social.
I just chalk it up to getting older and crankier.
I'm the neighbor who will let you borrow sugar...Or if you need your pavement shoveled during winter time. I'm there to accept packages instead of being left in the rain. I'm the one who shares my parking spot when your relatives are there for a party. I let you know if your son forgot his helmet or if your daughter left her bike in the street. I care. What you choose to interpret from conveying it ...Says more about you,then my genuine neighborly good deeds.
I also bake cookies and keep my home neat...Most neighbors just stop by to have some tea...Or share a story.
I am pretty much live and let live. I do live in a HOA community, but we have very few covenants. Fortunately, the majority of my neighbors have a lot of self respect and make the effort to keep a nice yard/house. As a neighborhood, we generally stay out of each others' business, but I also take care of my neighbors' pets when they travel. In exchange, they give me fresh grown produce from their gardens (I have no place to put in a garden) or a gift card to a local restaurant. Sometimes the women will get together to have drinks during the summer in the evenings. My husband is a social butterfly and will go around visiting with the different neighbors. I tend to keep to myself because I like animals more than people (LOL), but I am friendly when I see my neighbors and will chat with them if I come across them while walking the dogs. I will also loan a cup of sugar to a neighbor if they need it.
Just the other day, the remnants of Irma knocked down many trees in our neighborhood. All but one that was across the road were removed by whichever neighbor came across them. The one that hasn't been removed by any of us is across road and touching the powerlines, so the power company will need to come remove it. The road is passable because the tree got caught up in some trees across the road. Most of us carry clippers or trimmers in our UTVs or cars and trim back the overgrowth on the road as needed when we are out and about.
You can be a good neighbor without being in everyone's business. It's really easy to do.
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