Neighbors

[Mr._Graybeard]

We live on a dead-end country lane we share with four other homes.
A few years ago we went on a river cruise in Europe. The river boats are small, and people get acquainted pretty readily. After a day or so, some of the other folks told us there was another couple from Wisconsin aboard.
We bumped into one another in short order. "Where in Wisconsin are you from?"
"We're from blah-blah."
"Wow, we're from blah-blah too. What road do you live on?
It turned out that they lived on OUR road, three doors down. We'd waved at each other for well over five years and had never come close enough to have a conversation until then.

 

[jollystomper]

We moved to our current neighborhood about 24 years ago and have gotten along with all of our neighbors fine. The ones on each side have been the same during this time. The ones behind us did move a few years ago, but sold their house to relatives and we get along fine. Our neighbors have a variety of skills which we've exchanged to help each out other the years. We have an "open shed" policy where we are free to go into each other sheds to borrow tools, just leave a note saying that you have it. When one's riding mower has an issue, the others have been fine in letting theirs be used, or cutting the grass for others). Fences have gone up/down, trees have been cut down or planted along our borders, with knowledge and no issues.

Two of these neighbors have kids around the same age as ours, some they grew up together and remain friends. Yeah, they got into fights a few times but our approach was to get everyone together to discuss with and figure out ways to work things out. In the long run this paid off and by the time the kids hit their teenage years all were getting along great.

A couple in our neighborhood starting having block parties about 10 years ago, and they have grown to where it is held on a nearby farm, everyone who comes makes a donation and brings a brink and dish/dessert to share.

This is one factor why we hesitate downsizing to another location. Ever though taxes are high in our state, having neighbors like these has worked out great, and one takes a chance finding neighbors like these elsewhere.

 

[iac1003]

We live in a neighborhood that started in the 1840's as a suburb of our city but is now central. Most of our block was built in the 1920's. Our neighbors are all much younger than us but that's fine. A few houses are rentals given we are close to the university. We know everyone on the block but not the renters so much. Two of the neighbors we were closest to have moved away due to work changes. We did socialize with one of those couples occasionally. We always have someone to take in our mail, watch out for our house and bring in the garbage cans when we are away and vice versa. During flooding last spring 2 of our neighbors rented a sump pump and pumped out our crawl space.

There is an active non-HOA neighborhood association with a few social events but the vitriol about NIMBY and zoning issues is awful. However we have many nodding acquaintances from the neighborhood association and invite everyone we know to our annual holiday open house. DH is retired and walks the dog so he knows them all. Alas I still w*rk.

There's only 1 difficult neighbor who is next door to us. He's an owner not a renter. Drunken singing at 3AM in the backyard is not appreciated by us. It's good it only happens a few times a year and I put in my earphones and the white noise machine. DH will occasionally go onto the back porch and yell at them to tone it down. Once he was stark naked as he ran out there - good that there's a tall fence - no one wants to see that although for 72 he is in excellent shape and slim.

I'd like more friends but time and interests don't meet. We are thinking of primarily moving to a foreign country resort area with a large ex-pat community and keep a small condo in an over-55 community closer to family in the next 1-2 years. That might provide more of a social life and sense of community. And if not, at least there will be a beach.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[pb4uski]

Neighbors on one side of us are nudists and roam their yard / pool buck naked. ....

Across the street we have an extremely elderly couple who never venture outside. Next to them is a restaurant/cafe owner who stores cars in this back yard (thankfully). He occasionally hosts porno film shoots....

Perhaps you should introduce the nudists to the porno filmaker.

 

[pb4uski]

We had a nice neighborhood for a little while... cookouts and holiday parties . Then the guy in the middle (who hosted the great Christmas party) decided to clear cut 60 mature trees THEN have the lot surveyed. He didn't own a SINGLE tree. ....

I never fails to amaze me that people do things with no idea where their property lines are (or worse, they just don't care).

We bought a house in the mid 1980s in an area where surveys were not common. A few years later, our neighbor, who built their house on a corner of the family farm property that was adjacent to us, decided to sell their home and as a result had to subdivide the home from the family farm and do a survey. The survey determined that the corner of our 20x40 pool and a larger corner of our fenced in pool area were not on our property. The prior owner of our property had built their pool and fenced-in pool area without knowing where the boundaries were. Luckily, the neighbor's property was under contract and we found out that their driveway crossed our property so we exchanged an easement for the driveway for 1/8 acre of property that resolved the situation.

 

[Redbugdave]

Perhaps you should introduce the nudists to the porno filmaker.

Ha! I about choked on my coffee! But where does that leave the OP? Waiting to buy the movie, or just peeping through the fence?

 

[pb4uski]

If the OP is frugal (cheap) like many of us, he'll peep through the fence.

 

[Rushmore]

Most of the neighborhood I have lived in people were nodding acquaintances although I would have to say the few times I needed help they were right there to help. The neighborhood I lived in before this one people really knew each other. I think that was mainly due to one couple who were particularly friendly. Also, for unknown to me reasons people were outside in there front yards more.

Now I am back to nodding acquaintances, but I have attempted on a smaller scale to be the "particularly friendly" single. This neighborhood seems more transit than the other, at least two of the houses are rentals.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We live on a dead-end country lane we share with four other homes.
A few years ago we went on a river cruise in Europe. The river boats are small, and people get acquainted pretty readily. After a day or so, some of the other folks told us there was another couple from Wisconsin aboard.
We bumped into one another in short order. "Where in Wisconsin are you from?"
"We're from blah-blah."
"Wow, we're from blah-blah too. What road do you live on?
It turned out that they lived on OUR road, three doors down. We'd waved at each other for well over five years and had never come close enough to have a conversation until then.

This story is priceless.