No one knows their neighbors any more

One side of me is a couple who relocated from a couple of states east of here. He is a long haul trucker and she works at a plant 45 miles away. We have 2 1/3 acres as do they. Other side is a great guy about my age, he spends at least 5-6 months a year here. Far end is a couple who informed me when we were building that their easement means they only can cross my property, I am not allowed on their road through my property. I told them if they wanted that to be so I would sell it to them but it would cost them more than their lot did. He fenced their place and told the developer, one of our friends, that her land measurements were off and wanted her to pay for a resurvey. She told him to pay for a resurvey and if it was off she would determine what the payment would be for anything not described under his deed. Survey was on. He then fenced on what were the true property boundaries and now has two fences on 2 sides that parallel each other with 13"-15" between them. Yep, inches apart.
Sometimes we get lucky and sometimes we don't. I have been the jerk of a neighbor who refuses to mow the lawn with a level, keeps to many trailers in the yard and would rather fish than maintain a flower bed. I found that most problem neighbors can be solved with an annual block bbq and a Christmas get together.
Next closest are a half mile up the road. Sheep ranchers we have done chores to help out with in the past. Mile or so on the other side is an engineer who worked at the same place I did. He is also running the family ranch, about two sections under pivot. We wave but haven't spoken in 8+ years and I am OK with that. Our politics and pasts collided at work.
 
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I have a neighbor at the lake ... if it wasn't for bad luck he'd have no luck at all. So I do feel sorry for....... his wife...........

Last summer I found him using extension cords from my Carriage house to run his contractors power tools.. .... cus his electric wasn't hooked up..... and I was cheaper than a generator...................still hasn't paid me for the electric as he promised..... after getting caught.



His lot is about 3/4 an acre with a 35' x 300' ft right of way down one side...... so he's left with about 1/2 acre useable......

Nice guy but a PITA on property issues......... anyway calls me this morning (I was out so he left a message) and says the Twp. want to test his sewer/grinder pump and water rough ins...... but his well isn't working.....


"Can they use my hose bib... to get water? If there is a problem he'll call them and tell them to stop".

Poor guy..... when I leave I throw the breakers on the well and shut off the water at the tank............ at best he got 5-10 gallons. :D.. sorry could not help myself!

Last spring he told me I couldn't use the right of way that runs for 150' along my property line to bring in a cement truck...... "not your right of way".

Sometimes you can't make this S---- up!
 
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double-dipper said:
Good fences make good neighbors! My closet neighbor is about 1/2 mile and he's an @ss. So even out in the country you still have them, just not as many.
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I have read that where people stated they wish they had X number of acres so they wouldn't have neighbor problems. It doesn't matter how much land you have it still joins someone else.
Where I grew up there were 2 men in their 40s-50s that had land that joined. They each had several acres but I don't know how much. We weren't close neighbors but I knew both of them and they always seemed to be nice people. They couldn't agree on a property line and one killed the other then later killed himself. It's terrible for a few feet of land to cause that much trouble. Larry
 
I have two houses directly across from me. One is a couple in their early 30s no kids and during the winter he will plow my drive while I'm at work. The other house they are early 30s also with 3 boys,quiet most of the time.Next to me is a couple in their early 60s and her sister lives there also,he took care of my cat when I went to Texas 2 years ago. They are quiet and keep to themselves.
 
bigwheelzip said:
Best block of neighbors I've known was the one I grew up on in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. Great neighbors there as a kid, and still great when we went back in 2018 for 8 months to renovate. We were outside all the time fixing the place up, and a diverse group of people would regularly come over to be sociable, often bringing food and drink.
5161181761848a5f9f362451d5a35d60.jpg


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Why did you move?
 
Where I live you can not even build on less than 10 acres anymore. It is mostly cattle farming and the majority of the people have been around here for many generations. I have no problems with any neighbors but have known most my entire life and never see anyone much as none of us live close together. I see their cows or hear them shootings at different times but that is about it unless someone needs help or wants to give you some vegetables.
 
Golphin said:
Why did you move?
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Got married and couldn't afford to buy a house there, so moved to Long Island, then to 18 other states and two other countries on temporary assignments.
Every place has it's pluses, but never had so many good neighbors as there.

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tops said:
I have read that where people stated they wish they had X number of acres so they wouldn't have neighbor problems. It doesn't matter how much land you have it still joins someone else.
Where I grew up there were 2 men in their 40s-50s that had land that joined. They each had several acres but I don't know how much. We weren't close neighbors but I knew both of them and they always seemed to be nice people. They couldn't agree on a property line and one killed the other then later killed himself. It's terrible for a few feet of land to cause that much trouble. Larry
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A few years ago, just two miles from us, two neighbors, apparently not the best of friends, were having a property line dispute during some landscaping activity. At some point both drew down and began shooting. One died on the spot, the other at the trauma center he was flown to. Both were hit several times, according to news reports. The only prosecution left to be done was a family member of one of the gunmen who tried to hide his fathers gun. Wild, wild west.
 
When I moved here 14 years ago there were three houses across the street. One burned after a year or so. Three years ago another burned and the owner went to jail for insurance fraud. He was a bit of a good old boy but a total screw up when he was drinking. Hard to be convicted of arson but he was. The third house burned 6 months ago. Not sure why but I was happy to see it go. It was a rental with a bunch of low lives living there at different times. House on right is empty and house on left had an older couple there but they both passed away this last year and one of their sons lives there now. Never see much of him. Rather a peaceful neighborhood now days.
 
ON one side of me is a fire department Captain and his wife and 3 kids. On the other side is the city engineer with his wife and aged mother-in-law. Both good folks. Across the street is a retired couple from California. Nice people. Another house on that side is a rental with folks that come and go on a regular basis. There's also a retired Marine who keeps to himself and a retired pastor who is a bit on the surly side along with an older couple who are as sweet as pie, a retired plumbing contractor, and a machinist with his state trooper wife. So, yeah, I know most of my neighbors.
 
I've got new neighbors on both sides and behind me. I've already made it clear that I'm a private person and they'll never hear a peep out of me. That doesn't mean that if I'm outside I wont engage in conversation. My only request is you respect my property when it comes to your children or pets.

I've learned more about the neighbors just from casual observation. I don't feel I need to know anymore than what I see.
 
My mom died in 2013 and she left a one owner house that she had lived in since 1958. House was sound and in a terrific neighborhood but there was much updating to do. I loved the house but did not want to undertake the update. Time passed and we had no luck selling at a discount w/out doing the work so in Nov 2016 my wife and I moved into the old homeplace. It's been one thing after another but finally we're about finished and we love it here. We know most all the neighbors, many who are children of the original owners, like me.

Next door neighbor on one side is married to a girl I've known since birth and her husband owns a major landscape company and owns every tool known to man and has a bunch of Mexicans that know how to use them. He's also on The Sheriff's dept and is head of The Ohio River patrol. His patrol boat is a 24' w twin 350hp Mercurys. Other side neighbor is the fire chief and next to him is a treasury agent who is an IRS fraud investigator and a total badass. Many other leo nearby

Lots of dog lovers and dog walkers. We have 2 small dogs so we put up a 3' black chainlink fence across the front of the house and it has become the gathering spot for the neighborhood dog walkers. :)

Spiffy will wait and wait until she sees her buddies turn the corner






 
I am in a town subdivision. I am the first owner of my house. I have a ranch house on a about 1/6 of an acre. For the first 10 years I don't think I was as neighborly as I wanted to be because of my commuting out of town. But I always made sure to sit out at Halloween to hand out candy and have my neighbors see me.

But now that I'm retired and engaged in a medically suggested distance walking I am starting to meet people in two subdivisions. A retired couple around my age just moved in two doors down and they seemed to be delighted to meet someone in the neighborhood literally as they were moving in.

There is one thing I have kept in mind for a good while now. I am on the Borough Planning Commission, and at one meeting the late Chairman of the Planning Commission said to us that as public officials we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard in complying with the town code requirements regarding our properties. I can't complain about that.

Of course I'm probably pretty distinctive as the big guy in the fedora walking with a cane.
 
We live in a small neighborhood where everyone has about 2-4 acres. My house is surrounded by small hills and trees and there's an easement in front of me and beside me where no one can ever build and I can only visibly see two houses from my property. It's so quiet and like living in the country but we're only 8 minutes from a Super Walmart, Sam's club, and several restaurants and only 15 minutes to downtown Oklahoma City where all the action is. My neighbors are great but there are a few that don't keep their yards up too well however all the neighbors are nice and everyone has a lot of fun at our neighborhood parties. My wife and I talk about moving when we get older and don't want to take care of an acreage but I don't ever want to be any closer to people.
 
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The first house that we bought in 1949 was in a new addition that had been a wheat field. All houses were on half acre lots and most residents were WW11 vets and families. People knew their neighbors and you could let your child go gather up goodies on Halloween with no fear of problems.

I lived there for 60 plus years and it remained like that for a long time. Then it started to gradually get worse and by the time I moved, two houses across the street were vacant and the house next door to me caught fire while they were making a batch. I didn't go outside without being armed until the house burned down and the guy went to prison.

The people, for the most part, in this retirement complex are very friendly and you can become involved in the activities as you see fit. The neighbors on each side of me are widows. One is very friendly and the other more reserved. One is a very well off black lady who was very uncomfortable and withdrawn at first but has become as good a neighbor as you could find. Today my daughter and I picked up groceries we had ordered at Walmart. After we got my daughters to her place I unloaded mine and left a car door open. After about 30 mins. my phone rung and it was her asking if I intended to leave my car door open. She probably saved me a dead battery. Some people would not have bothered.
 
Golddollar said:
I am in a town subdivision. I am the first owner of my house. I have a ranch house on a about 1/6 of an acre. For the first 10 years I don't think I was as neighborly as I wanted to be because of my commuting out of town.
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I think I can raise you. I arrived in Vegas in August of '97 and moved into a rented townhome. I was working elsewhere 4-5 days a week until that Christmas. In January '98 I was engaged in conversation for the first time with the lady on one side who commented that I was very tolerant of her cats coming to visit me. That's an English thing, I guess. She then asked when I had moved in. When I told her I thought she was going to puke. She had no clue I'd been living there for five months.

I never quite worked out whether she was upset because I was considered creepy, or because she could have been jumping my bones (she was divorced).
 
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