Do you even know your neighbors?
7 years ago
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- 7 years ago
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What do you do when your next door neighbor's teen is trouble?
Comments (71)Sadly, he can probably get off more easily than any of us would like to think. I don't know, but the realist in me says find a way to move. You can't depend on the neighbor's being incarcerated to go forward with a normal life. It sounds like your neighbor's "crew" still assembles despite his absence. If he and his friends disappear, is there potential for a replacement problem group taking up "residence" in your immediate vicinity. Could you have friends over for an impromptu summer bbq? It seems as though you can't plan anything outdoors so long as your neighbor's son & his friends are around. I can see this getting worse first before/rather than better. Things are definitely not in your favor with regard to the current real estate market, or for that matter, the economy in general. However, when it gets to the point that your kids can't safely go outside to play on a nice day, and you are living in daily fear, is it really worth your sanity and that of everyone in your family? I am a fighter as well as a total optimist. Before reading about your situation, I would have adamantly defended my right to live in my home. I would not allow the behavior of another make me move from a home I created. However, under your circumstance, I would definitely consider all options, moving being one of them. Is there a reasonable possibility that your neighborhood will get progressively worse, or is this an isolated thing within a 10 block radius of your home? If I were to take a walk in your neighborhood, would the gang presence be obvious to me? What is the the town like overall? It may be a strategic move to get out of this neighborhood now before it becomes reputed for its higher potential for crime? Also, I can't remember if you mentioned having any pets. If you do, they need protection from this situation as well. I wish I felt more optimistic about this getting better for your family. You and your DH are the only two people who can gauge what your home life will be going forward if you do stay in your current home. Also, I don't know the ages of your children and how "at risk" they are being next door to this kid and his friends....See Morehow well do you know your neighbor?
Comments (21)I have lived in my house for 19 years. The people on the left of me are the original owners, having lived in their home for 55 years. The house next door........... The original owners bought the house 55 years ago too. They raised a set of twins, whom were the neighbourhood bullies. Eventually one of the twins, Doug, took over the house. Not sure if it was left to him when their parents died, or if he bought it from them. Doug drank and drank and drank. Rather than have a coffee in his travel mug at 7 in the morning, he had beer in his. He was riding a bicycle more often than his pickup truck because he was always getting caught with a DUI. When we didn't see him for a few days at a time, I would ask my kids or my husband if they had seen him. I even asked the neighbours now and then if they had seen him. My fear was that he would get drunk and fall down and hit his head and die and nobody would know. Two and a half years ago, my husband called me at work. The police had knocked on our door asking if we had seen Doug in the past week or so. We hadn't, but that wasn't unusual. After all, we lived next door to him and couldn't tell if his lights were on. He also rarely used his garage out back any more. I asked why they were looking for him. Apparently the coroner was removing his body. They figured he died on Halloween day because a dish of candy was sitting by the living room door. He was found on the couch. It was November 9th. So for over 9 days, a dead man lay on the couch just 12 feet or so from my bedroom. And it took 9 days for his friends to notice they couldn't get a hold of him. The police had to break down the back door to get inside. There have been two sets of tennants living in the house since he died. One was so awful, we called the police and the city several times because of his barking dogs. He let them bark 24/7. The second set of tennants moved out in December. We didn't mind them as much. They liked to party and if we yelled out the back window for them to keep it down because it was late, they would turn down the noise. But it wasn't good enough for the neighbours on the other side. They got a hold of the new owner (Dougs son), and had them evicted. A new person moved in about a week ago. So far.........so good...... I know the people across the street just by face. We don't talk. But we do wave occasionally. It's not like it was in the 60's and 70's when everyone knew everyone. Nowadays, everyone keeps to themselves. It's sad, really....See MoreWhat you need to do to get your neighbor's house sold
Comments (7)I recently had to deal with the next door neighbor of a renatl property I own. They called early in the morning when a tree fell in a thunderstorm across their driveway. They seemed oblivious to the fact that the portion of the tree on their land was their problem. I drove over and dragged the branch out of the way into the street. That weekend I cut up the branch, and felled the rest of the tree (a 30 year old Bradford Pear). I drilled the stump and applied herbicide since Bradford Pears are well know for sprouting from their roots. The herbicide needs to be allowed time to travel out to the roots to make sure everything dies. Neighbor has decided to sell their house, and hired a service to grind the stump on my property. I drop by on Wednesday to check that the brush has been picked up to find the stump ground. I have not bothered to do anything else to remove the small sprouts all over the place from the root system. It looks pretty bad, and they have commented once. I told them if they had not screwed around with someone else's property this would not have occurred, and if I caught them trespassing I would swear out a warrant. The tenant's have told me they have been a royal PITA for a long time, and will be happy to see them depart. They have a problem cleaning up after their dog. I would send the RE agent an estimate for the requested work, with a cc to the broker. Hopefully the agent has a short career....See MoreHow to seem even goofier to your nongardening neighbors
Comments (93)I'm lovin' all you guys' stories. We truly are a buncha nuts aren't we?? LOL So, we moved into our house in 2000, after living in a mobile home park for nearly 11 yrs before that. I became a rose nut while there, and I knew one day we'd get outta the park and get our own home with property.... so most of my roses were planted in big 16" plastic pots so we could move them when that day came. Problem was.. I had accumulated around 800 by that time, including a couple 100 minis in 8" pots. So even with 2 young boys and their toys, the bulk of our move was potted roses! The property is a good 1/3 acre on a corner lot at the fork of a circular road. With all the pots all over the virgin yard (no fence, very few native plants, mostly dirt) people would drive by and stop and ask if we were opening a nursery. I (or my husband) would just laugh and say, "nope... it's just a serious rose obsession!... they're all for us." Over the yrs, the neighbors just got used to seeing the crazy rose lady out there. I don't necessarily wear weird attire while out there, but I do have to have something on my feet to protect them from all the crap out there. Unfortunately, working two jobs for awhile there, plus helping to care for my elderly mom the last 7+yrs, time became an issue, and living in the "sticks" up in the Sierras with all of Mother Nature and her wild flora and fauna, things can get out of control very fast. I'm quite sure my neighbors wonder why the heck I haven't gotten all the weeds, and the massive blackberries and heavily overgrown underplantings taken care of. I feel like I'm losing the battle. But, I did have one of the neighbors the other day stop to let me know our dog had gotten out and she'd come to visit their dog, and I apologized for the broken gates that my husband hasn't fixed yet. But he said it was ok and then very kindly said he wanted to thank me for all I do in my yard. He said everyone enjoys seeing my roses blooming! So that made me feel good (even tho I had to apologize for all the weeds) for which he offered his daughter to come help dig them out. But I wouldn't put a little kid thru that. It's too much for an adult! LOL Altho I don't wear funky clothes out there in the yard, I do have to add that I wear some crazy badges of honor, between the gardening and taking care of the chickies. My arms get covered with bruises and scratches! I just turned 60 last month and the last couple of yrs I notice I get those horrible red blood spots whenever I get a minor wound. A thorn poking my arm will create a dime-sized (or larger) red spot. Multiple thorns will make my arm or hand look like I was in a horrific accident! And chickie bites do the same thing! Sooo... instead of getting upset about it, I just wear those wounds proudly! If anyone asks what happened to me, I just say the roses bit me or the chickies bit me! Oh and the other day I came to the shop in a black sweatshirt with chicken poop on the lower front! In fact I just noticed the shirt I'm wearing now looks like it does too! Geez!! Oh well.. I don't care! I love my chickies and I love my roses!!!...See More- 7 years ago
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