Have you ever had the misfortune to live next door to bad neighbours?!
I must confess: I’ve certainly lived next door to a few interesting folk over the years …
Bad Neighbours Awards #1
There were the neighbours whose preschool kids thought my house was simply part of their yard. They would come running THROUGH my house – from the front door right through to the back. This was long before we had kids ourselves. Needless to say, security screens and a fence became an immediate priority!
Bad Neighbours Awards #2
Another set of neighbours seemed nice enough, until we discovered his habit of drinking to excess on the weekends. He would then sit out on their front verandah, amusing himself by wolf whistling and yelling obscenities – which would be bad enough at any time of the day. But this particular fellow liked to do it at two or three in the morning!
Bad Neighbours Awards #3
In our last house, the neighbours planted fast-growing trees along the fence line which blocked our water views. I’m sure it wasn’t deliberate, but it was still annoying!
Bad Neighbours Awards #4
Then there was the time our neighbours wanted to shift the fence – which was in perfect condition – to sit on the correct boundary line. It had been erected, long before either of us moved there, so that we had a bit of their land in the front, and they had a bit of ours at the rear. Really not worth bothering about unless you’ve got more money than sense – which they must have had, because they ended up paying for it to be done.
Bad Neighbours Awards #5
I got to thinking about bad neighbours, after some new people shifted in next door a couple of weeks ago. We were glad when the last lot moved out – that had two yappy little dogs. I couldn’t even set foot in my own backyard without them going off. At least the owners were pleasant and did their best to keep their pets quiet.
Bad Neighbours Awards #6
So back to these new neighbours …
We quickly discovered they like to sit on their pergola to smoke and talk loudly ALL THE TIME. I’m talking from 6am to midnight most days!
Unfortunately the smoke then drifts straight into our yard and house – and our bedroom and my study are right next to their pergola – which means we can no longer open our windows 🙁 .
UPDATE 25.02.17: It’s coming up to 3 years now with this smoky, smelly bunch.
We had hoped it was just while they settled in, and that they would return to work but we have since realised they are retired. We also hoped that as they are only renting, they would soon move on.
We have had to call the police a number of times when they have been making a racket after midnight.
I’ve left a polite note in their mailbox explaining that their pergola is right next to my office and our bedroom, and that we can hear every word of their conversations, and would they mind keeping it down?
And there also might have been some shouting over the fence a time or two (not by me!) … plus we have tried to talk to the agency they rent through, only to be told they are “good tenants” … ummm not if you have to live next door to them, trust me!
Nowadays we have air conditioning installed in our bedroom and my office which helps with both the smoke and blocking out their noise, even if it costs money to run it’s worth it!
What about you? Could you give out a few Bad Neighbours Awards too?!