GTKY: neighbors

[bliz1712]

I'm bored so let's do a GTKY:  Talk to me about your neighbors!  Are they a nuisance, nice, naughty, etc.?  Do they have kids your LO's age?  If you are just recently moving or in the process, maybe use your old neighbors.

[jennmm]

We live on a corner so we have a neighbor on one side and then one behind on the street that runs up above our house. The ones next door are nice. They're older middle aged. They don't bother us or anything and keep their yard in good shape. The ones behind us are an unmarried, childless couple in their twenties. They have a lot of parties and smoke a lot of pot. Seriously, we went trick or treating last Halloween and I thought I was going to get a contact high just from standing there. They're nice enough and keep their house looking nice enough so I can't complain too much.

[bliz1712]

We actually live in a great neighborhood.

The neighbors to our South is what's called a REM house. It's an assistaed living home for handicapped individuals. There are 2 individuals that live there. One is more self sufficient and one is wheelchair bound. They hire out all their yard work and snow removal so we don't have to worry about upkeep. Honestly it's really nice having them for neighbors. The only downfall is there is always people coming and going, like switching shifts.

The neighbors to our North is a family of 5. The parent's are probably H's age. The H is a teacher and the mom stays at home. They have a 12th grader, a 9th grader and a 5th grader. The 5th grader is actually V's best friend. They do a lot of stuff in the Summer, walk to school together and just get along really well.

Across the street is the Elementary school. It's very convenient for the park and V walking to school. However it can be really busy in the am and pm when school starts and gets out with the buses. And in the Summer they mow the lawn at 7 in the morning so it gets pretty noisy.

[britbratjf]

We are on a corner & moved in last summer so we don't know our neighbors that well. The neighbors to the side have teenagers. I wish they had younger kids bc they have a pool! The ones behind us also have teenagers. We don't see any of them around that often though that will probably change now that the weather is nicer.

[aimeefarrahfowler]

We live in a townhouse and only really know the neighbors directly next to us. One side they are pretty quiet and nice when we see them outside. Married couple with 3 girls- the youngest is about 8 and she loves the babies but she's shy.

On the other side there is the guy who owns the house and his wife, then he has 2 sons and a daughter who are high school-college age, then they have a revolving cast of tenants who rent the basement. They are pretty friendly and the dad is a cook and brings us food when they have parties. My only complaint about them is they have a yappy dog that the kids will let out when the dad isn't home and let it bark outside for hours. They have a special sense for when my kids are napping and make sure to let it out then.

[sarasansh]

We're really lucky to have great neighbors. We live in a twin so we share a wall with one neighbor, and we have a shared driveway with the other.

The ones we share the driveway with are both in their 80s, first generation German immigrants. They've been living in the States since the 50s or 60s. They love gardening, walking around the neighborhood, and they're so kind to Robin. Plus they travel to Germany and to visit their children/grandchild regularly, and let us use their garage whenever they leave!

The neighbor we share the wall with is a retired teacher who lives by herself. She's super sweet, doesn't mind us being loud, and loves Robin.

I hope my neighbors never die/move. The retired teacher has insomnia and is up until about 3am every day, and the older couple gets up about 5am, so I love that there's pretty much always someone keeping watch on our homes.

[roo1582]

All of our neighbors are a bit older. On one side, they are probably in their mid to late 50's. They have lived there for about 30 years. They have 2 older kids. The daughter graduated from college I think last year and sadly the son is a loser. He was a marine, but hasn't done a thing with his life since leaving the service. During the summer the parents are often gone since they have a house in RI near the beach. He usually hangs out at the parents and throws parties all hours of the night. We've tried giving him the benefit of the doubt since he's served but I'm tired of the loud parties lasting until 4/5am. The parents are nice, and we talk to them every once in a while.

On the other side, we have another couple who are in their 60's. They are the nicest people and we regularly talk to them when we see them out and about. They have 4 or 5 grown children who all have families of their own. The man is actually an identical twin and his brother (who lives nearby) is usually over. I always have a really hard time figuring out which one is outside.

Across the street is an older guy. I think he's in his late 80's. He's very nice but since we've been there, his health has really taken a turn for the worse. He's had strokes and heart problems. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be around much longer. We see his girlfriend pretty regularly since she will come to take care of him (as well as a nurse, which is new).

We have one set of neighbors kind of behind us. We don't really talk to them. They're younger. They really don't seem to be around much.

There are younger families in the area, just not directly around us.

[cbear]

The majority of ours are retired or close to. The ones right next to us rent the house and they have a 6 year old. Ridiculous fact: when they moved in we had this crazy downpour the dad took off his shirt (and let's just say he shouldn't have), and started washing himself and yelling "Woo hoo woooo hoo!" It was the most bizarre thing I have unfortunately witnesses

[summergirl1211]

Our neighbors are okay. The house to the left of us is just a retired guy who lives alone. He and his wife divorced a few years ago and they share custody of their two poodles. Besides the dog barking occasionally, he's very quiet.

The house to the right has about 15 Asian people living in it currently. It used to be just one family with 3 kids, but since school started last fall more family has come to live with them. They're very nice, but there's always a ton of people, cars, and kids there. The kids sometimes throw rocks in our yard and in the winter would sled into our fence. Overall, they're not too bad.

The house across the street isn't bad either. They have several kids and are the newest on the block, but are generally quiet. My only issue is the guy is a landscaper so he has a huge trailer that he hauls around quite a bit. It takes up room in his driveway so his truck is always sticking out into the street and gets in the way when we're backing up.


ETA: None of the kids are Riley's age though. They're all 6-7 on up to high school. 

[cookiesandwine]

Well we live in a rural area and we're just outside of the city limits. My parents live across the street, my aunt and uncle live next door to them. We're currently living in my late grandma's house since my family doesn't want to sell but no one knows what to do with the house and land. We're building (SOOOOOOOOOOON!) in the lot right next door to my parents. There is a small subdivision up the road and down the road from us, but we don't really see any of them much except in passing. I do wish we had neighbors with friend potential for us or for the kids, but they probably wouldn't babysit and invite us over for dinner as much as my mom does, so I can't complain!

[traceyt07]

We just moved in October so now that the weather's warming up we're finally starting to meet people. There are quite a few older couples who have all been nice. Our next door neighbors I have not met yet, but I've heard through the grapevine they can be a pita so we should steer clear.

I'm actually super excited bc we met a couple last weekend who live diagonally across the street. They have 2 girls the same ages as our kids. They're our age & the wife was super nice. Unfortunately we've all been really busy so we haven't had a playdate yet, but I really hope we can become friends.

[somethingcleverer]

Our neighbors are pretty nice. The one neighbor we've had problems with trying to take up every inch of their property like a dog marking its territory. I mean it's fine, that's their property but sometimes it seems weird or like they are directing their efforts at us. Maybe we are being sensitive, I don't know. They have three kids the middle girl will be the same grade as Shane and the youngest (boy) is a month older than Aubrey. So we better just ignore the marking of the territory. The wife is nice. She is really involved with neighborhood/school stuff. I'm never really sure if they like us or not so we talk but I don't go out of my to talk to her.

On the other side is a nice couple they are around my age. They have one daughter who will be the same grade as Aubrey due to a late birthday. They are really sweet. Their daughter is really shy so they love that Shane and Aubrey like to play and aren't the least bit shy at all.

Overall the neighbors are great because we all pitch in and shovel each others snow or cut grass in the summer.

[starfishy]

We have great neighbors- next door is a family with 3 children- college, senior in HS and freshman in HS. The freshman has Autism, but is high functioning. He likes to hang out with Tommy and is very good with him. The parents are great and I love having them as neighbors. They checked up on us when the ambulance had to come take me and shoveled our walk for us. Other side is one guy in his 40s. Quiet and does his own thing. Across the street is a couple with 2 elementary aged kids. They are super nice and fun too. And next to them is the grumpy older couple, but they are nice (just don't like when the kids hit the car with the ball- haha). They gave Tommy a play kitchen and they know all the neighborhood gossip. I have a few other fun neighbors too.
We aren't on like BFF terms with anyone, but it would be fun if a young family moved in around here. There is a house for sale!

[mrsdonati]

We live in a townhouse, so we have neighbors on both sides. They're great. The lady next to us is a widowed grandmother in her late 60s. She's quiet except for when she blasts her Christian music. She's also the neighborhood gossip and a pot stirrer.
The lady in the other side of us is in her 50s and she's pretty quiet except when she has had to much wine. We actually hang out with her and the family that lives in the other side of her alot.

[nesenotes]

Actually, this is probably awful, I've only met two neighbors. The one I share a driveway with and the one across the street. I haven't even seen or said hi to the one on the right. Neighbor I have said hi to is old!! Like 90 old. Neighbor across the street is also old. Neighbor next to me seems old but it's an assumption. I don't mind living next to the olds. I just feel bad like my child (Nora) is screaming all the damn time. But they seem to ooh and ah over her.

[mightybee]

We live in a neighborhood with lots of families. If im playing ouside with dylan, someone will most likely stop by to chit chat or play. Our next door neighbors are wonderful. They have 2 young girls and we get together often. We help each other out in any way we can as neither of us have family close. The neighbors across the street have a girl D's age and a boy P's age. Dylan and the girl are best buds. My H and the other guys get together for frisbee golf every few weeks and we have girls nights occasionally (but not often enough!). I feel so lucky for great neighbors/friends!

[xanthepants]

Meh I don't like my neighborhood surprised? My neighbor on once side is a 7' tall hermit who is rarely seen or heard and never mows while his house is slowly disintegrating. The other side is a nice enough couple with of health problems who have chosen to self medicate with lots and lots of pot and again house is disintegrating and you cannot stand on that side of the yard unless you want a contact high. Most of the neighbors beyond are old or very unfriendly. The neighbors across the street are super nice but big into nascar, conservative, listening to police scanners and spreading gossip so not a lot in common. No one for Cosette to play with, the kids in the neighborhood are much older.

[trixi282]

Well after years of apartment living and never seeing more than a few people on the stairs or in the elevator, I'm excited to learn more about our new neighborhood.

When we had our home inspection done I did see one neighbor to our right, looks like a family with 2 girls in elementary school... they were leaving for school the day I saw them. Not sure if they have more than 2 that might be older, but that's what I saw.

The other day H was at the house after painting and stuff, and was going back to his parents for dinner and the neighbor to our left was outside and said hi, then asked H if we were coming or going. H was like, "huh? I just about to leave for the night..." but they guy was like "No are you moving in or moving out?" We both thought that was interesting! Apparently the guy (single) that we bought the house from (who owned it for a long time) was extremely quiet. He owned the house for years, and this neighbor apparently has lived in their house for 20 years and had never seen the guy!!

H said this guy seemed nice though, and was outside doing some yard work - seems like a middle-aged married couple maybe.
I do know when we've driven through the neighborhood I've seen some younger families with kids/babies of various ages out for walks, or playing at a few houses down the street... so there's hope for a few young families.

[trixi282]

Ugh, xanthepants, I knew your neighbors weren't awesome, but that sucks.... sounds like it could affect selling when that eventually happens too... (see what I did there, WHEN you sell ) Yeah, I can see why you want out, like last year.

[meow84]

I love our neighborhood. There are lots of kids, so it's fun when the weather warms up and everyone is outside. Most of our neighborhood friends don't live on our street but are walking distance within the subdivision. The neighbors across the street are a retired couple who are super nice. Our next door neighbors have 3 boys who are elementary school age and we are friendly to them but the wife is really odd and awkward.

[USCgirl]

We live on a corner with two neighbors behind us. We are the youngest homeowners in our entire neighborhood! One neighbor is cool and the other is a pain in our butt!

They are an old, retired couple that nitpicks at every little thing we do. They go so far as to leave notes on our door if our trees start turning yellow and how to fix it! Ugh!! They also used to call the city on our dogs if they barked more than twice when left outside. We have tried to be friendly on several accounts, but that has failed. Now we just ignore them to keep our sanity.

[aimeefarrahfowler]

USCgirl are these your neighbors? lol

[USCgirl]

May 8, 2015 13:03:32 GMT -5 aimeefarrahfowler said:

USCgirl are these your neighbors? lol

Exactly!  I am surprised we haven't gotten one of these notes yet because we have been under construction for the last few months and our grass is dead!

[paddyb]

we live in a building with 240 units. There are 3 others on my floor. I have met the people in two of the units a few times. they seem very nice. The 3rd unit I'm not even sure anyone lives in. Or maybe they are only here in the summer. who knows. After 2 years I am finally recognizing more people. Also, one of the other families with kids started an email group for families with kids in the building. We have only met up once.

[laurski81]

Our neighbors all pretty much keep to themselves. It seems like the majority of them are older. There are new people that just moved across the street that appear to have young kids but we haven't met them yet.

[gk12]

Just bought our first home and haven't moved in yet. There are only three houses on the road including ours and its a rural area so we are spread out. I did meet the neighbor closest to our house and he also maintains the road. He and wife are in their late 50s I'd guess and seemed nice enough. Did say he has a band that practices in the garage every week so we'll see if they are loud enough to hear at our house. I'm excited for the privacy and lack of neighbors honestly.