How well do you know your Neighbours?

freshpopcorn

I live on a country road and know all my neigbhours names and know what most of them work as and some of their (past times mainly see this in the local paper).
We don't have this stereotypical rural Ireland thing where everybody just walks into one another house and we wouldn't be one's into visiting one another but we'd chat on the road/in town etc.
I wouldn't really have a bad word to say about any of my neigbhours to be honest apart from one who can be a little loud and is always giving out about stuff.
If any of my neigbhours killed anybody I'd be surprised but I suppose you never know what somebody is capable of.
How well do you know your Neighbours?

endacl

I know my neighbours first names on the right. Husband only on the left. I know which kids live in which houses for two houses either side.

Living there for 12 years now.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Our situation is almost identical to your own. Rural area with a good neighbours but we don't live in each other's pockets. There when we need each other and always friendly and pleasant to each other.

Stigura

My new neighbour's the living reincarnation of Ilse Koch. That's all I need to know.

J. Smith

Steve.

buried

I live in rural area too and I don't really know anybody, don't want to know either. But I know this.....if I've been out on either a date, holiday, any half pleasure exotic excursion of any kind, all these rural witchcraft piseog neighbour f**kwankers know all about it. And will let you know they know all about it too.

Alf Veedersane

J. Smith wrote: »

Steve.

It definitely isn't Alan?

J. Smith

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

It definitely isn't Alan?

Steve and Alan.

munster87

Very well. Walls are paper thin.

OldMrBrennan83

One side has never spoken so much as one word to us in four years and the other side only bothers when they want to complain that there's a stray leaf in the hedge or something.

I wouldn't give either the skin off my ****e.



_

J. Smith

Dave.

corner of hells

Stigura wrote: »

My new neighbour's the living reincarnation of Ilse Koch. That's all I need to know.

Jesus wept.

Stigura

corner of hells wrote: »

Jesus wept.

Believe me. There's far more truth in that statement than ye'll ever know.

MadYaker

I live in an appartment on the top floor and its the only one on this floor so I don't really have neighbors? There's a few appartments on the floor below me but I don't really know them. Id say hello to them if I meet them in the lift or the carpark but thats about it.

Stigura

corner of hells wrote: »

I grew up near a couple of farms and one of the old farmers was a Dutch Nazi.
Frightened the bejaysus out of is too.

This one's the living fcuking Image of Koch! Seriously; First time I laid eyes on her ~ and she laid into me! I thought; I Know this bitch! Came home and, through some unconscious retention of facts, googled 'The Bitch of Buchenwald'. Bang! :eek: There she was!

Her husband's fcuking terrified of her. And she has the towering arrogance to be telling her 'home schooled' son that, when she's finished with him? He'll be a Professor!!!

Thankfully, they're hundreds of yards away and I need have nothing to do with them.

CeilingFly

Live on a rural lane and know all the neighbours. Like most rural areas, everyone respects each other's privacy but are available 24/7 if there's an emergency.

I'd never move back to Dublin let alone London where in 3 years I still didn't know the name of any neighbours except one. But she was Scottish

J. Smith

CeilingFly wrote: »

Live on a rural lane and know all the neighbours. Like most rural areas, everyone respects each other's privacy but are available 24/7 if there's an emergency.

I'd never move back to Dublin let alone London where in 3 years I still didn't know the name of any neighbours except one. But she was Scottish

Elspeth?

FrKurtFahrt

This is how well I know my neighbours. I'm in this house 30 years, rural, and I have one neighbouring house, about 50 yards away on the other side of the road. On Thursday night, 11 pm, I hear the alarm go off, so I rang to see if all way ok, and if any help was needed. Paddy answered the phone and said it was fine, something spooked the alarm....grand job. 2 Minutes later I see the Guards drive into his place. Happy enough, I thought no more of it.

The following morning Paddy came over to thank me for caring enough to call etc etc, and told me that it was his drunken brother-in-law who tripped the alarm and then had the balls to answer the phone to me when I did my caring neighbour act.

My one neighbour for 30 years, and I didn't realise it was someone else I was talking to.

JupiterKid

Usually in apartment complexes people don't know their neighbours very well but its the opposite where I live and I'm glad of that. I know the people livung in the apts either side of me (decent folk) above me (loud but friendly) and the guy on the top floor (very decent and I often call in for a cuppa and a chat about maps and geographical issues and current affairs).

We all look out for each other but also keep to ourselves most times. I feel fortunate.

Fann Linn

Courteous to my neighbours but more than happy to avoid them also. I prefer family and friends.

Purple Mountain

We live in the back ass of nowhere on a road that doesn't lead anywhere important so all the traffic on it is residential not through way.
I know each and every person within a 2 mile radius. I could name their previous generations ancestors along with their occupations and car models.
In younger years when memory was better, I could recite you their car registration plates.
And in case you think I'm nosey, I don't think so. It's just the way it is around here.
A community.
If I run out of milk, I borrow a pint from the lady next door.
I have the keys for 2 neighbours houses for emergency.
We pulled together as a neighbourhood in the snow with my house being the cut off point for traffic to get to on the impassible roads so people abandoned cars here. Our farmer friends in jeeps brought groceries to us from the shop.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

PandaPoo

We live in a cul de sac in a nice estate. There's a few houses that hate each other's guts, sometimes they have screaming matches on the road, which is funny because everyone is quite posh. It's always over stupid stuff like leaves blowing into someone's garden.

The ones to the right of us are lovely, we both have 2 kids the same age. We help each other with anything needed, jump starting cars to lending bottle openers, minding the kids, lifts to work etc.

Sometimes on sunny days we all grab some chairs and sit out with some beer/wine and chat. More neighbours come along and usually there's loads of us yapping away

The ones on the other side are a bit odd. He's a very angry man and shouts a lot. He's feuding with the neighbours on his other side .

There s an elderly lady across the road, shes deaf and her husband died last year. I call in to her a lot to see if she needs anything and just for a chat. The time of the snow I was worried about her, called over to tell her I would bring her dinner over and if her power goes to come over to our house. Sure she had her tablet with films on it, stew in the slow cooker, a glass of brandy and the fire blazing

Really lucky with our neighbours I have to say.

BuboBubo

I know them on a "hello, lovely day isn't it" basis. I neither like nor dislike them.

I live on a rural area, but there's a lot of families living here. They all have kids, we don't - therefore we don't move in the same circles as them. It's all football/hurling/soccer/panto stuff for them, Mr Bubo and i aren't involved in anything locally at all. No interest tbh.

One particular neighbour is a terrible gossip monger. I always act dumb when I encounter her. It's best if she really believes I don't know anyone at all in the community, because I have no interest in anything she has to say.

bigtimecharlie

I like all my neighbors to the right. Not the ones to the left (the ones that don't own their own house's).

Stigura

I see what you just did there!

bertsmom

I live in a semi detached house the same neighbours for around ten years in the house attached to mine. I know them to say hello comment on the weather and I sometimes take in parcels for them from courier. Pleasant people but don't want any relationship other than the friendly terms we are on. House on the other side I don't bother with nor want anything to do with. They are loud and let their dog poop everywhere however I'm sure they are not bad people just a bit inconsiderate so I don't even bother with pleasantries I have no interest.
Th I'm not hugely bothered with my immediate neighbourhood for me it's all about family and friends that matter however I am happy that we all just respect each other's right to just be left alone and enjoy the privacy.

Graces7

still on a learning curve here on a small island.. Sometimes newcomers think they are unfriendly but it is that there is a deep and needful respect for privacy and "personal space" ( hate that phrase but it fits here .

As someone said to me y'day, the one thing you cannot do on a small island is fall out with anyone. So we are careful and protective of each other's privacy.

So we do not walk into each other's houses, but if there is need it is different. We limit need to real need.

My nearest house is the ferryman. Reliable but not intrusive.
We have wonderful conversations on the ferry!

And today, being Bank Holiday, his 2 small nephews will insist on visiting me! ( Must find small gifts...) Already this has become a custom; been here less than a year. Joys me!

It is sincere. Far happier than with the previous situations. Rural life tends to have more layers than an onion.

Sometimes I meet others, but it is very much ships that pass in the night and that is fine too. A good chat on a windy lane is great!

You rarely hear what they think of you! Last month I went out as I heard voices and my farming neighbour the ferryman was there in his tractor, chatting to a walker.

The subject of my epic winter with no power came up and he told her. " We realised that this one was tough, not soft." lol... shaking my head !

I asked help as rarely as possible and it was always given,

I am learning to be where and what I am needed. Which is at the heart of neighbourliness ... The hens was a prime example. when /if I get an "island car" life will be wider..

theteal

We live in a quiet little cul de sac. I know my immediate neighbours and a few dotted around the road and would regularly have a quick chat in passing......I’m terrible with names though, couldn’t tell you a single one - actually the cat next door is named Hobbs

Having nice neighbours is great especially if your kids are similar ages.

jethrothe2nd

We live in a fairly large estate but in our own row of houses we would know almost everyone. I suppose we have all been brought together given that most have kids around the same age that play on the green together. There is a nice sense of community without it being intrusive.

Minier81

We live in a small estate in Dublin and know all of our neighbours well. We are quiet private people but would stop for chat with any of them walking in and out and any if them would check out an alarm going off etc. Was pleasantly surprised by this - being culchies as we hadn't expected it moving in!

LirW

Our house is an Ex-council in a small rural estate, a few houses owned by the council and the rest privately. I know everyone there who has kids because we all help each other out with supervising or lifts all the time and the kids are all cool. Nice bunch of people.
My adjoining neighbour is the mother of the pub owner here in the village.

Now we're quite quiet and private people and everyone respects that but I think it has a bit to do that everyone kinda knows me here as the "German" (even though I'm not even German) without seeing me but once I talk they know.

The only house that always has some tool living in it is the other end of terrace next to me, it's privately rented and the previous tenant was a nightmare (compo culture mommy) and the new guy beside being quiet and all grand, I suspect him to have a side income of dealing.

pauliebdub

I've lived in my estate for 14 years and I still know very few of my neighbours, some are inconsiderate and unfriendly who I'd never bother with. Others I'd just say hello to. I prefer to keep it that way, I have my friends, family, job and stuff I'm interested in I was never interested in the neighbours for the sake of it. I know a few in the estate from being involved in the residents committee in the past but that's about it.

Conor Bourke

Grew up in the country but theres about 18 houses on our quarter-mile stretch of road and growing up we would’ve known the people in all but one of those houses quite well.

Lived for 6.5 years on a nice quiet leafy street of about 30 houses but only ever got to know the people in the houses either side of us and the two directly opposite us.

Moved into my own house a few months ago and the night I got the keys my neighbours on the right were out to welcome me, invited me in for tea and have been very kind towards me- they have a spare key just in case and kept an eye on the place for me when I was away on holidays. The lady on the other side is a lot quieter but still friendly and polite whenever I do see her. Have met the couples in the two other houses on each side but don’t know anybody else yet. I live facing a green so the houses opposite me are too far away to get casually chatting to the residents.

_Kaiser_

In my current place (end of terrace house) I know the couple on the other end just well enough to say hello to if I see them when coming/going

In my previous place (apartment) I knew absolutely no-one, despite being there 3 years

Prefer it that way too as I'm renting somewhere driven by cost/necessity than actual preference. It's a quiet area but I've no connections to it and really just sleep here after I get home from work 100 km away. If I was planning to live/settle here long-term it would probably be different.

ELM327

Few years ago now (maybe 10 at this stage) I lived in a rented apartment in Drumcondra where we knew the upstairs neighbours so well we colloquially referred to the male as "mr six seconds". As that was as long as the "noises from above" lasted. :P

Nowadays I own an apartment in a rural town 60km from work. Intend to move again in a couple of years so I'm not so bothered about knowing the neighbours. I know the guy below just to say "How's it goin'" or that. He's always home and the apartment absolutely reeks of weed. Great, as they are never really audible from above.

Chap above me keeps to himself. i've never seen him, heard him opening his door once but that's it. These apartments were built in the early 00's and they seem to be well noise insulated.

zcorpian88

I like most of my neighbours on my row anyway give or take one or two, other rows are a different story.... on my right side I've a widow who constantly shouts at her dogs, it's not all bad, she's actually hilarious when she does it and shouts at them on a daily basis.

I remember one morning a while back I was shaving, and the bathroom window was wide open and it's dead quiet, then all I hear coming from the garden next door "AAAAAH Bob ya Bastard!!" nearly cut the neck off myself with a razor from laughing. Don't know what the dog did.

She has two little dogs in her tiny yard and she's always shouting at them, a couple of times she shouts at them for s**ting too close to the back door, she got the garden paved over after the husband died (he used to keep a lovely garden years ago)....so the dogs have no greenery to defecate on, and I don't think she walks the dogs that much so they are hyper and fighting with each other all the time and they make a bit of a racket.

Opposite side of me I've another neighbour, well....her name is meant to be on the lease of the house, she'd be renting it from the council, she'd be I suppose 25, single mother with 2 kids, the father of the kids is a scumbag and he's been in and out of prison. This one is supposed to be living in the house next door but I know well she is living around the corner in her family home with mammy and daddy and her kids which would be a pretty small house, she hasn't been anywhere near the house in the best part of a year and a half, But I often see her deadbeat older brother going in and out if it every so often with a slab of cans (sometimes with some tart) and occasionally this girl's father goes in too and opens windows maybe and f**ks off.

The house never has a light on, rubbish in the garden that blows in from other litterbugs out on the street, grass not cut or looked after in the front garden. I've reported it twice to vacanthouses.ie after someone informed me of the site, haven't seen anyone investigating nor have I received an e-mail back over it. I've even asked my own parents, how come they aren't annoyed over it? Housing Crisis and a house next door just sitting there and 10,000 people nationwide have nowhere to call home, I think it's just an insult to anyone that's struggling to find an affordable place to live, even said to my mother that her tax is paying for this one's brother to squat in it, rather than perhaps a young family or a working couple living there that could really make a go of it. Where they are like "I don't care, there is no noise, nobody annoying me, what goes on outside my door is not my business"

But that's not the point!

It annoys me to no end because before this girl got the keys, the house was fixed up for the previous tenants shortly before they moved elsewhere and it got brand new everything put in...new doors and windows, new kitchen, insulation, wooden floors, painted etc, where as my parents bought our house out for many years before the council did this scheme and my folks obviously didn't qualify for it, so many neighbours of mine that are still renting availed of this lovely fix up and next door is just sitting there not being lived in and in the middle of a housing crisis, where somebody else could be benefiting from it, where it be a down on their luck family living in a hotel or a hard working couple that could rent somewhere while saving for a deposit....also I have my own reason to be annoyed, I live at home due to the expense of rents in the area outside the estate where I live and not to blow my own trumpet but I'm more intelligent and hard working than a lot of other misfits in the estate that expect something for nothing or heavily subsidized and are generally undeserving of it.

I'd rent next door even but I know the way council houses are given out (personally I'd rather an apartment anyway, what would I really need a house for?) they are typically rented out to families anyway, hardly anyone in the estate is a single man/woman renting a house here and if they are, then they would be very long term tenants going back a long time or they are widowed, not even a group of workers that would houseshare are renting up here. Also I do think in my estate it's heavily decided by the residence committee or at least they pull strings on who gets the keys to a vacant property, the last two houses up here that were allocated to people, were allocated to daughters of one of the heads of the committee, surprise, surprise.

And I know people, good friends from this area years and years, and grew up in the area, fancied living near their family and were on the housing list longer and yet the daughters get properties! These friends of mine that couldn't find anywhere reasonable here ended up moving to England, it got that bad for them.

It's done in a way where if you're not "well in" with the committee s**theads you're going to be stepped over in favour of their own family or inner circle.

Donald Trump

Stigura wrote: »

My new neighbour's the living reincarnation of Ilse Koch. That's all I need to know.

Tee-hee


"Oily cock"


No wonder the mad bitch took it out on everyone when she grew up

Graces7

OK so how well do your neighbours know YOU?

Strumms

Live in this estate for a few years now and have been lucky with neighbours, very in fact. From the point of view of getting on to being pretty quiet to being ‘neighbourly’ and helpful which of course we try and reciprocate. I haven’t always been this lucky as when lived abroad and here had some raw and noisy deals with very inconsiderate neighbours which for a bad sleeper like me is the stuff of nightmares.

Cee-Jay-Cee

We've been living in a rural area for the last 8 years, I know my immediate neighbours and know most of the others by name and to say hello to but wouldn't know much about them other than where they live. Our house is on a country road with roughly 20 houses along a 2km stretch of road. One fella looks like he could be a serial killer but he's probably not and just a little unkempt.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

We've been living in a rural area for the last 8 years, I know my immediate neighbours and know most of the others by name and to say hello to but wouldn't know much about them other than where they live. Our house is on a country road with roughly 20 houses along a 2km stretch of road. One fella looks like he could be a serial killer but he's probably not and just a little unkempt.

Maybe he's an unkempt seral killer.

Graces7

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

We've been living in a rural area for the last 8 years, I know my immediate neighbours and know most of the others by name and to say hello to but wouldn't know much about them other than where they live. Our house is on a country road with roughly 20 houses along a 2km stretch of road. One fella looks like he could be a serial killer but he's probably not and just a little unkempt.

We have at least one fearsome looking man here; but he is fine really! Just I blench if i see him unexpectedly !

As for me; I know my neighbours as much as my neighbours want me to know them.

razorblunt

I live in a detached house in a newly built estate.
So it was relatively easy to get to know everyone as an effort was made seeing as we were all new.
Nice folk all round, to the left of us is a family with small kids that have taken to us and our dog, to the right are a couple in their 50s we'd chat away to both.

With the nice weather if folk were having a few drinks in the garden they'd offer you to come round. Some times we'd head in.
There's only 10 houses on this part of the estate so its a comfortable number. Very handy for sorting bins and flowers out when you're away.

Anyone else in the state gets the hand up over the steering wheel hello.

DaeryssaOne

Was only thinking about this yesterday, living in the same apartment block for the past 5 years and wouldn't actually know my neighbours if they lined up in front of me. I always say a polite hello when I pass anyone around the building but most of them don't even acknowledge it, they're either walking with their nose in their phone or with earphones on or just not bothered being polite.
It's pretty sad, sure people like to keep to themselves but it wouldn't kill you to respond to a greeting at least!

Mountainsandh

We're very rural. We know most neighbours within a 4 km radius. We just know who they are, if there are children, and their occupation. We know some of them better than others.

A house was built 200 m down the road from us a few years ago, and children are in the same school/classes as ours, but they don't really have the same interests so we never got into that calling into each other sort of mode. We're friendly all the same, we're there for each other in case of hardship like the snow, or when either of us goes on holidays, to keep an eye on the place.
We just don't intrude on each other.

We know the farmers who farm the fields around us well, and again although we don't intrude on each other, we'll stop for the chat sometimes, and will help each other when needed. I'm friends on Facebook with the farmers who sold us our land and house, so anytime I notice strange activity on their land (all around us) or straying cows, I can let them know quickly.

Within a 10 km radius, we know more "extended" neighbours, within the community, and some call regularly for tea or drinks in a shed we renovated as the ultimate man cave. We have parties sometimes there and invite our community friends. Mr M is a trad musician and has hundreds of acquaintances, but some of our dearest friends are older generation neighbours in that 10 km radius. They call up for music chats, or to meet and play with other musicians who occasionally stay with us.

When we moved here, these previous generations guys told us all about our house and how they used to walk across fields from their native houses to come to parties at ours. We were hoping to recreate that to an extent, and I think we did.
These people took very gentle and discreet care of me when Mr M was away for months at a time and I was pregnant over the years. Now we try to discreetly and gently take care of them as age related ailments are catching up with them.

This is the nicest aspect of where we live, and really important to us.

.......

Not too long living in a new house and the neighbour on one side is pretty weird but an absolutely fantastic neighbour, never hear anything from him at all but he'd ask us to keep an eye on his place if he was away and during the snow we dropped him in milk and bread after we'd trekked to the shops.

The neighbours on the other side are a big family, I call the father "the noise maker" because he is ALWAYS out in the garden making noise. Cutting shrubbery, mowing the lawn, cutting tiles, building something - he is out there every evening and all weekend April to November. He behaves like he is "Mr Community" but I get a bad vibe off him so I keep my distance. At least 2 of his kids are ignorant ****s who will ramp the music up in the shed (where theres a bit of a gym) after 10pm on a school night and dont consider the neighbours. Theres been more than one "TURN THE ****ING MUSIC OFF" over the wall at 11pm on a Tuesday night. Interestingly Mr Community himself never seems to be around for these events.

John_Rambo

CeilingFly wrote: »

Live on a rural lane and know all the neighbours. Like most rural areas, everyone respects each other's privacy but are available 24/7 if there's an emergency.

I'd never move back to Dublin let alone London where in 3 years I still didn't know the name of any neighbours except one. But she was Scottish

We’ve the same experience here in Dublin as you. Everyone very friendly, good community, yearly street-fest, everyone’s helpful and neighbourly, but we’ve a lad from rural Ireland that just doesn’t want to know anyone, unfriendly and is the only one that won't pop out to see if everything ok when one of the house alarms goes off.

Pretty Isolated so only have one real "neighbour" and he is a Religious nut job who is convinced we are the evil spawn of Satan. He hisses at us sometimes as we go past - tries to stop certain people going onto our land, especially a local priest - and he performs what I can only assume are some kind of exorcism ceremonies over the fence with one of those things priests usually use to fling holy water across the congregations faces (oooo-err). He had complete ructions the first time we got pregnant.

He also seems to have an interest in astronomy and the use of his telescope. But seemingly only in the day time. Focused mainly in our garden. And generally only when there is naked sunbathers there. I am assuming it is not the north star he seeks.

Oh and he calls the police on us for the smallest things.

All of which sounds really annoying - but actually we find it endlessly amusing and funny. And we have a great relationship going with the cop who usually has to call out to us for the most frivolous of reasons.

Other than that no neighbours - but we are recognised and known by a lot of the people in the local town so I probably know randomers in the town better than I know my nutty next door neighbour.

Edgware

I have always found Mr Fritzl a very nice neighbour and indeed Mr West before him. Great family people who kept to themselves but always ready to help digging the garden or doing renovations

EPAndlee

I've had the same neighbours for 26 years so know them really well, there's never a bother when it comes borrowing, giving a hand with something etc. There's always someone making noise be it tractors,chainsaws whatever it is normally starts about half 7 every morning and nobody ever complains. It's the joys of living in a rural area. I'd know nearly everyone within 10kms of where I'm living