It’s not always easy to love thy neighbor, and it might be hard for them to love you, too. But neighbors who look out for each other make communities safer and life generally better. There are a few things you might do, however, that drive your neighbors crazy.
Talking loudly in your yard
Letting your dog bark
Dogs bark! It’s not their fault. But leaving them outside to bark for hours on end is rude behavior, and they can’t stand it next door.
Filling all shared trash cans
Apartments, condos, and densely built townhomes and communities often share trash cans. Are you always filling them with your trash? Find ways to decrease volume, break down your boxes, recycle more, and consider how much waste you generate. Your neighbors need trash pickup service, too.
Feeding stray cats
Stray cats are a problem, and you can’t fix it by feeding them. In fact, you might make the problem worse. And you’re definitely making the neighbors mad by attracting stray cats and their buddies to the neighborhood. Same goes for feeding birds stale bread. It creates a mess.
Throwing loud parties
Frequent loud parties are the bane of neighborhoods and apartment complexes everywhere. Guests take up all the street parking, you play loud music, someone fires up the karaoke machine, and you don’t stop until dawn. This is not making you neighbor of the year, which is likely not your goal. But you are intruding on others’ right to peace and sleep (and safety as your drunk guests stumble home).
Your kids in their yard
Your kids are awesome, polite, funny, smart. But none of that matters to your neighbor if they’re running across her lawn to get to their friend’s house. There’s something about property lines that make homeowners get extra feisty. So, do your neighbors — and your kids — a favor and tell them to use the sidewalks or go around, whatever it takes to not walk across the neighbor’s front yard.
Your dog in their yard
Same goes for the dog. Whether your guy gets to roam freely off leash or you’re out for a walk, stay off the neighbor’s lawn. If your dog does end up going on the neighbor’s grass (or the sidewalk in front), make sure you pick up afterward. If your neighbor accuses you of leaving something behind, clean that up, too, even if it wasn’t your dog. You don’t want to be in a fight over dog poop.
