Neighbors: The Good, The Bad, and the OH MY GOD WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM HELLO

[3894]

Got any neighbor stories?

Almost all my neighbors are great. Then there's Nancy.

Nancy accuses without actually accusing. It's always something really banal - an orange cat has been seen around the neighborhood and this neighborhood loves birds, for example. We have an orange cat so then we have to explain. It's never "Did your cat get out?" It's more vague: "An orange cat is outside."

I have tried stony silence to Nancy's accusations. It doesn't work. Every time you see Nancy, you'll get accused of something trivial.

The other evening, Tom and I were walking our beagle. Nancy is out on her bicycle. She stops.

Nancy: "There's a big dog in the neighborhood leaving big calling cards on lawns."

My first reaction is to hold up the two baggies I always carry on walks to clean up. My husband has the very same feeling of being accused. He says, "Jack isn't a big dog, Nancy."

"The neighbors are talking," Nancy said as she bikes off.

"It's not Jack," Tom calls after her.

Your turn.

[Morrigoon]

Nothing half so juicy. But it's funny you bring up neighbors since we were just talking about the people across the walkway from us who don't seem to realize that single-pane windows mean one shouldn't yell and scream at their s.o. or play the music so loud that their neighbors can't hear the movie they're watching in their own home.

[JWBear]

OMG... Where do I start!

White trash neighbors who just moved here from Tennessee. Mother gets drunk nearly every day and screams at her family. 10 year old son who seriously needs to be on Ritalin and is as loud as his mother. Moody teen son. A dog, who is very sweet and friendly, but is never on a leash or behind a gate and runs loose all over the neighborhood.

This family has now become best buds with the odd, but formally very quiet, couple who live on the other side of us. Now both households party together - loudly. :rolleyes:

We were very fearful of what this weekend (and last night, in particular) would be like. We, and our neighbor behind us, had our fire extinguishers and garden hoses ready. Blissfully, the Tennesseans seem to have gone away somewhere. :D

Bill could tell you all the horror stories. He's here all day long, every day.

[Snowflake]

I think I've posted before, but our neighbors downstairs (I hate to sully the word neighbors to describe them) often leave notes slid under the door to complain about various and sundry things, such as walking on the floors, running a fan that hums, slamming doors and my cat making noise jumping down off the furniture (they also complain about a cat litter smell, if my apartment does not smell like cat litter, why does theirs?).

Last time they sent a note, I went down and confronted them and advised them they live in apartment building. I do not complain when their BBQ blows smoke in the windows, nor their parties go on too long or loud. We do, after all, live in an apartment.

Beside, the should have the dear 82 year old lady who lives over me, she makes more noise than any 82 year old has a right to! But god bless her, she does walk her treadmill only 15 minutes a day, I should be so disciplined! ;)

[JWBear]

I do not miss apartment living. Not at all.

[Ghoulish Delight]

We've had one good run in here.

The HOA put a notice in the montly news letter last summer. Something along the lines of, "Please don't congregate outside people's windows, you make a lot of noise and people would like to be able to keep their windows open."

It just so happens that we 1) live at a crossroads of the walking paths in our complex, 2) do not socialize with any of our neighbors, and 3) are one of the newest residents.

We do get people outside our window, basically daily. We often close the window if they're too loud.

We did NOT call the HOA.

But one lady decided to play detective and came to the conclusion that it must have been us who called the HOA. Does she knock on our door? Oh no, she marches up the path until she's facing our window, and shouts, ostensibly to our next door neighbor something like, "I hope I'm not talking too loud. I guess we're not aloud to have conversations anymore."

It was totally surreal. This was so completely out of left field that, despite being so blatant, it took us a minute to realize it was directed at us. I first started yelling it her just (yeah, I probably could have handled it a little better) becuase she was being so damned loud. Then I actually took the second to think about what she'd yelled and put it all together. Then I think I yelled a little more. Fortunately CP handled it from there.

It ended with a, "We're sorry. She's pregnant and we just didn't know you guys, so hormones and all." Pregnant or not, she was far to interested in creating drama than anyone I'd like to associate with. But whatever, it was a good enough apology/excuse making that successfully let the issue drop and I've literally never seen them since, so maybe it was just a bad day for her, who knows.

[CoasterMatt]

Maybe the dinosaurs taught her to fly?

[Kevy Baby]

We live in a condo. Surprisingly, we never hear anything from the sides, but the people above us are another story.

The last owners were quite loud in their lovemaking. And had a very squeaky bed. We were usually successful in ignoring them, but if we were in the middle of our own "activities" and they started up, it was always a different rhythm and just ruined the whole moment.

Then she moved out and (after a couple of quite renters), her 18 year old son moved in. It was his first time out on his own. We put up with the noise of he and his buddies for a while, but after a talk with them, they were a little more respectful (and quite).

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I was a bit worried that there would be further backlash with that pregnant woman, but thankfully there wasn't.

Now I'm focused on our neighbors to one side who have a humongous dog stuck on the tiny porch all day. It has gone insane and barks at every sound. When taking my bike in and out or getting to my car, it isn't out of the ordinary for me to sprayed in the face with dog spittle as it attempts to kill me through the fence. After talking to them a couple times they got the message somewhat and now come out to quiet them down when they're home...but quite often, they are not home. Often we have to endure the noise while attempting to watch TV or just exist at home.

They need to move. Now. Stupid mortgage industry.

[BarTopDancer]

In my place in HB the walls were paper thin. My next door neighbor would play his music so loud the walls would shake until all hours of the night. After futile efforts by the complex security to get him to stop (or document properly) I started calling the non-emergency police number. The police came, knocked on his door, then pounded because the music was so loud (walls vibrating). He opened the door after a few minutes and said to them "what music, I was sleeping". Thankfully the officer told him he was full of it and said if he had to come back he would be fined. He was.

Guy below me would blast his TV. I asked him nicely once if he could turn it down just a little and was really nice about it and did for months. Then one day he moved his TV by the shared vent and started blasting it at 5:30am. After a few weeks I left him a nice note asking if anything was wrong and could he turn it down. That night he blasted his music, security came (I didn't call) and he came up pounding on my door about it. I ignored him and he left me a note that he spent money that he didn't have on ear phones so I could have silence. Never asked for silence, asked for a bit of respect.

Place in Laguna was fine as was the place in RSM. We had an odd neighbor at my other place in Irvine who asked us if the TV was to loud and then turned it up more.

Love my current place.

Some noise is to be expected in apartment living. Shaking walls from music is not.

[Gemini Cricket]

Well, my neighbors are awesome. My friend Cam and his girlfriend Stephanie live next door. Last night, they threw a fantastic 4th o' July party. I'm so lucky.
:)



On the subject of bad neighbors, Cherny and Gn2dlnd have horrible neighbors. Sometimes I wish their neighbors would move.
:(

[Not Afraid]

We have pretty wonderful immediate neighbors. There are parties once in a while and loud music or barking dogs - but we have those too. Other than the loud kids walking home from school leaving strewn about school papers and candy wrappers, we're very lucky. There are, however, some very irresponsible pet "owners" in our neighborhood which really rub me the wrong way.

[lashbear]

I have a person who likes to play loud music next door. Usually its only when she doesn't take her medicine. :rolleyes:


The worst "Neighbours" were when we were camping at Newnes last. There was a huge family took over the two other cabins nearby, AND pitched a tent (in the non-tent area) so they could all be together, the lot of them.

That would be OK. They took over the woodpile and the camp-fire (there's only one fireplace for all three cabins) That would be OK too - we have a porch hibachi on which we can make our own little fire, and the cabin has a stove for cooking.

But then, one afternoon, (while we were napping), in the middle of all the beautiful birdsong and the wind rushing through the trees, we get blasted awake by the grandpa of the group blaring "Alice's Restaurant" through the stereo in his truck.

It's a LONG song.

Then they played Rolf Harris loudly, and WALKED AWAY FROM THE TRUCK AND THE FIRE AND WENT INDOORS with the stereo still playing.

Luckily the wife came out and noticing that I was about to blow a fooffer valve, turned it off.

WTF? We're camping, Asshats !! Oh, and don't sing loud rousing choruses of "Ging Gang Goolie" around the fireplace late at night either. It makes you sound like inconsiderate idiots.

We go there for peace, quiet, & Chardonnay. Not loud bonding with other peoples families.

Next time I'm bringing a Super-Soaker with me.

[scaeagles]

Or next door neighbor to the south has HUGE oleander plants. They are literally 15 feet tall, and hang about 6 feet over the fence line. They drop tons of crap in our yard and pool making me clean the filters every other day. I've asked them to trim them about 4 times and they haven't. I've taken to dumping the contents of my pool filters over the fence in to their yard. I'm about to trim them myself and throw the branches in their yard. Would that be unreasonable?

[Kevy Baby]

Last year, while camping in the Sequoia's, there was this one group that had obviously been drinking and stayed up late one Saturday night and were VERY loud. We had to report them to the rangers who talked with them the next morning.

Oh wait...

[blueerica]

I'll have to post my story tomorrow, when I'm more awake.

Let's just say I have more reason now than I could ever have to want to leave the apartment/communal living (with people I do not like) situation. I'm at the point where, aside from a few people, I call everyone an asshole under my breath.

[lashbear]

Or next door neighbor to the south has HUGE oleander plants. They are literally 15 feet tall, and hang about 6 feet over the fence line. They drop tons of crap in our yard and pool making me clean the filters every other day. I've asked them to trim them about 4 times and they haven't. I've taken to dumping the contents of my pool filters over the fence in to their yard. I'm about to trim them myself and throw the branches in their yard. Would that be unreasonable?
Not unreasonable, but possibly dangerous.

Oleanders are very poisonous. IF you do chop them and toss them over the fence, tie a little note to it asking them not to burn it, of if they do, make sure your family is out at the time.

[RStar]

I have tried stony silence to Nancy's accusations. It doesn't work.

Perhaps next time just try a good old-fasioned stoning....

;)

[wendybeth]

My sis Bobbi and I used to be roomies, and we had a genuine psycho living downstairs. We used to have to sneak around in our bare feet so he wouldn't go ballistic from any noise, yet he would have his TV blaring at full volume all the time. (He told the landlord he was hard of hearing.) The final straw was when he started yelling that he was going to shoot us through the floor- we could hear him arguing with himself about whether he should have some wine or just start shooting (very much like Gollum), at which point he'd start yelling at himself because he wasn't supposed to drink........and this went on all night. The next day we had a telephone conference with Eastern State Hospital and he was committed indefinitely.

[scaeagles]

So that was you that called them, WB? I had always wondered who had me committed....I SHALL HAVE MY VENGENCE!

[3894]

Next time I'm bringing a Super-Soaker with me.

:snap: Don't you wish there was an Ignore button IRL?

Perhaps next time just try a good old-fasioned stoning....

Nancy, meet Super Soaker Aquashock Arctic Blast. Oh, I'm sorry. Did that get you wet?

[blueerica]

My apartment experiences haven't been good, and while it could be because this is the first apartment situation I've had, I highly doubt it. Dog poop EVERYWHERE. (and this is a nice complex, as far as apartment complexes go... but these people seem to refuse to pick up dog poop, despite the presence of dog poop bags the managers provide in five places around the complex.) There are motorcycles revving, people honking to rouse others from their apartments, fights, the usual. Our upstairs neighbors are lound when it comes to stomping feet, but I don't mind that as much. I know they have a kid, and guess what, kids run around... a lot. What I don't get are the people above them. They're loud as sh*t, and we can hear them stomping around and having parties all the time. I feel really bad for our neighbors on the floor above us.

The topper, besides the broken bottles that end up in our little balcony area (it's sunken in, and I have a hard time calling it a balcony, but it's about that much space), the trash (I've had doggie 'piddle pads', face masks (the medical kind), etc), the wax (which I'm still trying to figure out what that's all about), the loud yelling and talking that happens at all hours, the cigarette butts... you name it... was last weekend.

I'm mostly over it, and am now viewing it as one of those awful experiences that is making me move to the 'next phase' of home buying, but it's unlikely I'll forget it. About a quarter to four in the morning, I hear some shouting. It's been hot. About 105+ in the day, so getting any breeze at night is awesome, and we leave the window open. Some dude is shouting to someone else that he'll "be there in five minutes." Then I hear a girl giggling, and he's shouting more stuff. More giggles. "OOoh, the grass is WET!" I realize they're about 2 feet from my open window, which sits at just above ground level. I was getting pissed and didn't know what to do, because I figured I'd get myself into some kind of trouble. Those that know me well can attest that when I'm mad, really mad, I start to freeze. I calmed down, as they're continually shouting, get up pull up my blinds and... they're f*cking outside of my window. F*cking.

I did a loud clearing of my throat, scared the sh*t out of them, slammed my window, which is loud to start with, and closed my blinds. They continued talking, though it was more quiet. They were impressed with themselves for getting caught by some 'lady'. Seriously. Then the upstairs neighbor, who had already been pacing around went downstairs. I don't know exactly what he said - he must have been speaking quietly - but they took off. Skedaddled.

And the next morning, I vowed to take getting a home more seriously. To work on budgets, and start saving for a down payment.

[Kevy Baby]

So, was the girl hot?

[BarTopDancer]

Doesn't sound indicative of most complexes, at least around here. You've visited me in far to many, and even the craptastic complexes weren't as bad as what you're saying.

Sorry you're neighbors all suck. :(

[Ghoulish Delight]

Slammed the window? Missed opportunity. That's when you should have pulled out the video camera and hit 'em with a flood light.

[blueerica]

I was getting so mad, I couldn't think of anything else, aside from going out there and laying the smack down.

I figured I should add that the third floor neighbors have been reported several times by various people... and yet they still live there. I'm not sure how the F that's even possible. Oh well.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Our neighbors walked their yappy dog at 8am today. 8am on a Sunday, right outside my window.

I feel that I can't complain though, because Erica, damn! Seems you're easily having the worst apartment experience I've ever heard. Sounds like any attempt to make things better would be pointless. I'm beginning to form (even more) negative opinions about Utah. Seriously, when we lived in ghetto Stanton, it wasn't as bad as you're describing. I wish you strength!

[blueerica]

The thing is... I'd hardly call this a view of Utah. Most people are nice to the point of making me sick. I think we just got a crappy situation in this particular building. J's co-worker doesn't have this problem and she's in my complex.

And, I do blame the dog poop on thier dog, since they've shown themselves to be so irresponsible.

[Morrigoon]

Slammed the window? Missed opportunity. That's when you should have pulled out the video camera and hit 'em with a flood light.
Or at least a digital camera. Having pictures of them fvcking on the common areas posted ALL OVER THE COMPLEX would have been a nice lesson in DON'T WAKE ME THE FVCK UP AT 4AM. :evil:

[wendybeth]

So that was you that called them, WB? I had always wondered who had me committed....I SHALL HAVE MY VENGENCE!

Hey, Mister- we taxpayers had to pony up for your incarceration in Camp Lithium. Show a little gratitude.

[3894]

Good neighborwise, Gen (short for Genevieve) takes the prize. Besides being a friendly and kind person, Gen's cookie jar is always full and her coffee grinder plugged in and ready for action.

[scaeagles]

Hey, Mister- we taxpayers had to pony up for your incarceration in Camp Lithium. Show a little gratitude.

Camp Lithium. Bwahahahaha!

[Mousey Girl]

I like my neighbors. My backyard fence is bi-sected by 2 houses in a cul-de-sac behind me. 1/2 is a very nice family. They have parties, but the parties are always over, or the music is off, at a decent hour. When a board came loose the man back there was trying to hammer it back, so I went to help. He saw Pooh and said that he didn't even know there was a dog back there.

The other 1/2 raises some sort of bulldog, I think English. Those dogs are barkers and fight quite often. As long as I know it isn't Pooh it doesn't bother me.

One side is an awesome couple, they are truly great people and I count myself lucky to have them as neoghbors.

The other side is a 1/2 way home with 5 girls who are "mentally-delayed." They are very quiet. My only issue is the workers. They slam a door on the side of their house, it makes my windows rattle. When the girls are picked up for work, the van drivers have blaring music. I have also asked them to stop parking in front of my house. They block my driveway and walk all over my front yard.

My problems seem petty compared to everyone else.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I'll vouch for mousepod's neighbors - seemed like very cool people. I was jealous.

[lashbear]

See, you wouldn't have all these problems in the LoT Commune......

[MouseWife]

I did a loud clearing of my throat, scared the sh*t out of them, slammed my window, which is loud to start with, and closed my blinds.



I'd have dumped the chamberpot on their heads.

Oh. Wait. Wrong year.

I love the digital camera/posting some sort of poster about.....

Would the police have came if they'd been called?

Either way, it's a darn fvcking way to wake up.

My neighbors...used to have more problems with them before, before I just realized they aren't going to change and I'm not going to move so I just like to pretend they don't exist.

[katiesue]

We had a drug dealer neighbor (I'm sure she was). People in/out 24/7. I called the police three seperate times when she was fighting with her decades younger beau. Managment did what they could but I was the only neighbor who would sign anything against her. The rest all compalined but wouldn't sign anything. It's pratically impossible to evict anyone. I also called DEA who said they knew about the situation but again I was the only one who would leave their name or contact information.

And get this - my other neighbor - literally a Mrs. Kravitz, had logs of when people where in and out, descriptions, license plate numbers etc etc. But she wouldn't use her name or give this info to the police. It was so frustrating.

Her lease wasn't renewed so she moved out.

Now we've got great neighbors. The one next door tends to blast his christian rock occasionally but it's always during the day (I'm usually not home anyway) and it's not for prolonged periods.

When I was in high school our neighbor was a prostitute/drug dealer. Her dad was the sheriff. After about a year she was asked to leave town, or so I heard.

[JWBear]

A few years ago, when I was living in an apartment in Fullerton, I had neighbors next to me that would have loud arguments late at night. It happened 2 to 3 times a month, at least. They would start screaming at each other in their bedroom (which of course shared a wall with my bedroom) at around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. It would go on for about a half an hour, then there would be a few minutes of silence, then I would hear the vacuum cleaner start up.

Every single time they fought, there would be vacuuming afterwards. I never did figure that one out.....

[Kevy Baby]

I was getting so mad, I couldn't think of anything else, aside from going out there and laying the smack down.I thought they had that pretty well covered!

See, you wouldn't have all these problems in the LoT Commune......We would probably BE the problem.

[blueerica]

Vacuum cleaner... isn't that always the finisher... hehe...

Apparently, I mojo'd JWB too recently...

[lindyhop]

I've found that earplugs at night improve my neighbors immensely. Every unit has bedrooms facing the parking lot. Why doesn't anyone seem to know this?

[Kevy Baby]

One more note on the former loud amorous upstairs neighbors. Upon completion, there was always a heavy-footed walk to the bathroom. Every time.

No cuddle time - just a dash to the can.

[RStar]

This thread reminds me why I hated appartment living.

Of course there was the time when I was taking my family with two young children to church one sunday morning when I lived in a trailer park only to see some young girl who looked like Ozzy Ozborn smoking crack on the next door deck 5 feet away. We moved the next month after the knife fight in the street right in front of our double wide.

[scaeagles]

Did someone here call my neighbors? They finally trimmed their huge oleanders.

[Mousey Girl]

I had fogotten about my white trash neighbors... They lived on a different stree, but the way things are configured, their back yard seemed to create a sound tunnel into my patio. They tend to have drunken family parties at least once a month. One night I was sitting in my patio, it was around 1am. I got to hear a couple having a knock down, drag out. It went on for quite a while. Someone had even started throwing beer bottles. From my perch I got to hear the entire thing. It had started when a woman refused to give her drunk man the keys to the car. At one point he had jumped on her and was pinning her down, choking her. It was really bad.
They moved last week... into a house across the street from where they were.

[Betty]

We had terrible upstairs neighbors in our last apartment. They complained about how loud we were - HELLO! You're upstairs from us. We can hear EVERYTHING you do. Every time you step on the floor. Every time you walk anywhere. Everytime your kids jump around, play, whatever. WE HEAR IT! and yet - I just accepted that as part of living in not just an apartment, but one that was built in the 50's. THe walls were thin. But what can you do.

Apparently one can call the manager over and over until you are deemed trouble and get evicted. Luckily for us, we'd been looking to move for a few weeks and basically told them we weren't sticking around for more abuse. See ya - wouldn't want to be ya. We later found out that the upstairs neigbors moved into our apartment and another neighbor moved in to theirs. We wondered if it had been a set up - but didn't care. After all - we may still be renters - but renting a house is a big step up from common walls.

Aside from all that - I've found that having a fan running creates a nice white noise that blocks out a heck of a lot. Great in summer for the heat - but we run it year round and don't hear a thing - even in the people next door are having a party.

[katiesue]

When we lived downstairs Maddy had a few girls over for a sleepover. I think they were all around 6 or 7 and a for a few it was their first sleepover. So they were a little nervous around bedtime. I told them I'd stay out there with them until they fell asleep so they wouldn't be nervous.

So the girls are all settling in and it's nice and quiet. Then my upstairs neighbor, nice guy but has a deep BOOMING voice, starts getting some. Yup full on "oh God" and "yea Baby" and well some more graphic phrases.

So now I'm freaking out a bit as there's no way the girls aren't hearing it. And you know one of them is going to ask what's going on. What I can I say to explain it? What's age approproiate? What will they tell their parents? Will they ever be allowed to sleepover again?

Thank goodness none of them asked. And it went on for quite some time. Otherwise I honestly never heard much from him up there. Vaccuming and when he opened his sliding glass doors. But of course the one time I've got a bunch of girls in my living room he gets lucky - in his living room.

[Ghoulish Delight]

This weekend we were soaking in our community hot tub. Very few people use it and it was empty when we got in. But about 10 minutes later, a neighbor showed up.

Aging jock type, not quite middle aged but well on his way. He started out with a swim in the pool, then got out to head for the spa and decided to insert himself into our conversation. His opening line, "Man, I hurt myself partying this weekend."

And it went downhill from there. It was only a matter of time before he was splashing us with near-cannonballs into the spa and telling us all about the good old days of the condo complex 20 years ago when you could use the community room w/pool table any time you wanted. Yes, nothing says winner more than bragging about living in the same bland condo complex for 20 years.

[Prudence]

The people in the end unit of the building perpendicular to mine (their "front" door (which is on the side of the unit) overlooks my back patio) are renters. Stupid, obnoxious, trailer trash renters. Generally the complex is fairly quiet. The walls are fairly thick, so for music to be heard between units it has to be REALLY loud. The renters like to open up their door and windows and either blast music from inside or open up their car doors and blast music from their parking spot so they can sit outside on their driveway in those tacky woven-strap lawn chairs and drink their beer and holler at passing traffic. Because their taste in music is so refined that it simply MUST be shared with the rest of us, who are too stupid to realize that the sounds of birds and frogs (we're surrounded by wetlands) are far inferior to the sweet, soothing sounds of gangsta' rap.

[Morrigoon]

Pru: there's a cure for that... it's called high-decibel opera :)

Oooh, or if you can stand it... country. Then when they bitch about how annoying it is, tell em now they know how it feels :)

[JWBear]

... Or disco.... :evil:

[katiesue]

My Dad used to use his records of train sounds at full blast with speakers to the walls to combat neighbor noise.

[Snowflake]

My Dad used to use his records of train sounds at full blast with speakers to the walls to combat neighbor noise.

I think I really woulda loved your dad!