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You Heard It Here: The Neighbors

Dee J. Adams Posted on by

Most people deal with it at some point. Having bad neighbors can be life altering. Whether they live above you and pound on your roof like elephants gone wild, or live next door to you and blast the music so loud it rocks the pictures on the walls, living near people that have no common courtesy is an absolute ball-buster.

Then there are those neighbors who save us on a regular basis. The ones who are there to take in our trashcans while we’re at work and the rain is coming down. The neighbor who brings over extra birthday cake after their child’s party, or picks you up when you get a flat tire fifteen minutes from home.

I used to have the good kind until my neighbors of 22 years sold their house and moved. Now I have neighbors who don’t seem to understand that when they leave their dog alone all night long, he barks…all night long.

My neighbor situation arose after I wrote Dangerously Close where Mel was not originally happy about having a neighbor. (Especially since he thought he had a private mountain top to himself.) He initially thought his neighbor Ashley was going to be a problem and worried that she might uncover his secret. Then he found out she couldn’t see him. So what started out as a potentially bad neighbor situation turned into one that he could live with. Ultimately it turned into the best relationship of his life.

Have you ever had a bad start with a neighbor, only to end up later being great friends? Or the other way around? Did you start off with a good relationship and something happened to change it into an uncomfortable one?

Comments

You Heard It Here: The Neighbors — 9 Comments

  1. I had great neighbors growing up, but then I moved away from them. I couldn’t even tell you my neighbors names now & I’m lived here for about 12 years. I still consider my “first” neighbors, neighbors & they are like family to me. They have made my life so much brighter.

    • Hi Sassi,
      I think great neighbors are just like family! (Maybe even better depending on the actual family. LOL. Kidding! Mostly!) Sometimes you just don’t know how good you’ve got it until it’s gone. (That’s a song, right?) Anyway… Good neighbors definitely make life better. Thanks for dropping in.

  2. I’ve always been blessed with good neighbors. We live in the country, so even if we had the other variety, they’d be far enough away we wouldn’t have to deal with him. Interesting to think about.

    • Hi Liz,
      You are a lucky gal! I think good neighbors sometimes go unappreciated until it’s too late. Not that I didn’t appreciate mine when I had them, but I didn’t realize how frustrating the other side of that coin is. I can see the upside of living in the country with a lot of space between you and your neighbors. Thanks for coming by!

  3. I’ve had the good, cookies from Nanny down the street, to the bad, “I’ll shoot you if you walk through my yard one more time.” I’ve had screamers live below me. “Really? It couldn’t still be that good. It has to hurt after an hour and a half. Stop faking it.” I’ve had the passive aggressive kind, “Did you know that the parking leads right to my bedroom window? When people start their cars and don’t immediately drive out, my bedroom is filled with carbon monoxide.” Ah, neighbors, I’ve had and been a few.

    • Hi Maria,
      Wow! That does run the gamut. Although you made me LOL with the second one. I went from really quiet neighbors to completely gone neighbors except for the barking dog (and odd parties that end late at night under my window when it takes 20 loud minutes for them say goodnight!). Although now I have their phone number and take much glee in calling them at 11:30 at night – at wherever the hell they are – to tell them their dog has been barking for 2 hours and I’d like to go to sleep now!! Ugh. It’s getting better though. The “fiance” has started to sleep over at night…with the dog. Very interesting.

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