Do you worry about your neighbors?

[DainBramaged]

Poll question: Do you worry about your neighbors?

I mean, are you obsessed with their every move, or are you just a live and let live type. Are you friends or enemies?

[Deep13]

1. Kitty!! Hey, save some corn for the rest of us. LOL. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. Never seen a vegetarian kitty before. n/t

[Mimosa]

36. I had one who liked to finish cantaloupe rinds! n/t

[MineralMan]

2. Other: I worry about one of my neighbors.

She's in her eighties and doesn't seem to have any family visiting. So, I bring her her newspaper every morning and chat with her for a few minutes, just to make sure she's OK. I take care of her snow-removal chores in the winter, too. She can't do it any longer. She has a suspicious-looking dark-skinned man mow her lawn, though. I think his name is Jesus.

[Scuba]

38. I love morels!!!

[MineralMan]

39. Yah, me too. Fortunately, they're actually fairly easy to find

here in Minnesota in the Spring. That's a good thing, since I can't afford to buy them. We have lots of hardwood forests, and lots of old dead trees to look around.

I saute my morels in butter, along with a little garlic. That's all. I like them just as they are.

[Scuba]

40. You can also soak them and freeze them for later...

...hunting morels is lotsa fun. I've never bought one.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. I know who some of my neighbors are. We have had a few conversations but we don't

have each other over for dinner or anything.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Close with one, cordial but cautious with others. "Arm's Length" might describe it.

OK kind of neighbors, just not too chummy.

[guruoo]

5. President kitteh. nt

[old mark]

6. We own our house and have lived here for 15 years...I don't know the last names

of anyone else in our neighborhood, and there are maybe 5 of them who I speak to other than to occasionally say hello...I don't want to know most of them at all, and don't want to know any of them any better than I do right now., The ones who are not actively evil and obnoxious are just dumbasses.

I have to tell you one of my brothers lives in a much fancier neighborhood and has almost exactly the same situation...there are many jerks for every great person and as far as I am concerned, they can all hang out with each other.

mark

[petronius]

7. I could hardly care less what my neighbors are up to (s long as they

don't keep me up at night or burn the complex down).

By the same token, I think policing the DU neighborhood is almost as unamiable as playing hall monitor on the street...

[ceile]

8. Subtle. n/t

[Obamanaut]

9. I just picked squash from my neighbor's garden next door. He knows

I do this while he's away during the week. I give it to other people in his name. This afternoon I will mow his yard.

The guy across the street comes to check on us if we don't call our daughter often enough - she calls him and asks him to do this. His mom lives with him, and my other daughter came by his house every day to check on his mom when she broke her hip - he works in the daytime.

The lady down the road works in the nursing home where my MIL lives, and gives her extremely good care. I give her blueberries, squash from my garden, and keep her flower beds supplied with leaves.

Two teenagers (same family) stop in to chat and to check on us, offering to do chores.

The lady at the end of the road takes in foster dogs.

It is a nice neighborhood. Quiet and peaceful. A dead-end road divided into 4 acre lots. There are 10 houses.

[lumberjack_jeff]

10. I worry.

One neighbor told me recently that he needed kidney surgery... I haven't yet heard how it went.

Another is crazy as a bedbug. If he hears a dog barking, he'll shoot his gun and yell in the dog's general direction. Oddly, this seems to work.

I occasionally feel the need to tell my wife that they moved to the country for the same reason we did; so people would leave them the fuck alone. I try to keep a small a footprint in their lives as I can unless they ask for my help. In return, I hope they'll ignore the flashes, smoke and industrial machinery sounds... unless they can see actual flames.

In the words of Oscar; "I wonder about him. I wonder about me. I wonder about you."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=624815#631089

[DainBramaged]

12. I have a really old lady in our building who we all help with the garbage

and check out often. We all pretty much know each other because of the dogs and cats we have who sit in the windows or can't wait to visit when being walked. And everyone shovels everyone else out in the winter. One new neighbor who moved in last year claimed his apartment was broken into, but everyone is positive it is an insurance scam since they chose a kitchen window (his claim) yet you can get into the ground floors using a credit card on the deck doors. We hadn't had a 'burglary' there in over a decade, so it was a surprise.

[noamnety]

27. Same here

I wouldn't say close knit because it depends on the neighbor, and we don't have meals together or anything. We haven't risen to a level of friendship exactly, just neighborly. We shovel each other out, if I forget to close the garage door at night the woman who's housebound will call to tell me. Sometimes if I see people out mowing their lawn, I will accost them with zucchinis.

[uppityperson]

15. Sounds like me and mine. Except for the Oscar part.

where in the state are you? Generalities fine

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. Southwest. West of Olympia.

:hi:

[uppityperson]

28. If I ask again, just remind me, can't keep everyone straight

So hi neighbor! Near PT here

[northoftheborder]

13. Neighbors

Three of my neighbors I know by name, speak to outside, talk on phone occasionally, could call on for help (these are on each side of me and across the street); (in other words, not personal friends, but acquainted). one of these three neighbors - we can count on each other to handle mail, paper, and pets when out of town. Others on my street I know slightly, or not at all, don't even know their name. I live in a residential neighborhood, houses, near center of city. None of the poll answers fit my situation. I'm satisfied with my relationships with my neighbors. (only one jerk!)

[tech9413]

17. I'm pretty much in the same situation as you

I grew up in the neighborhood where I live. Most of the people are the same ones I grew up with except for a few. We're friendly with all of them and do favors for each other. The next door neighbors have only been in the neighborhood for about 10 years. They are a bit white-trashy but still good people. I help them with their computers and electronics and he helps me with my car if I need it.

It's a more rural community so it's not unusual for the kids to keep their parents home or inherit an aunt or uncles in the same neighborhood. It's really comfortable to know your neighbors, something of their history and family. I spent 15 yrs in NJ and it was hard to have only a nodding acquaintance with your neighbors. Hard to find that level of intimacy that's comfortable for all. Especially when you're socially stunted.

[11 Bravo]

14. Other: Some of them are close friends with whom we socialize regularly.

The rest we nod and say hello to as we see them on the cul-de-sac.

[a la izquierda]

16. Other:

I don't know the sorority girl next door, and don't want to. If she has a party and wakes me up, I'll call the cops (we've had very bad luck with the house next door). Drug dealers, one time.
Our other neighbors are great. One set are hardcore "Don't tread on me, we hate public schools folks." Thusly, we don't talk about politics at all. The folks across the street are Mexicans. They love me. I love them. We talk about Mexico.
As long as everybody minds their Ps and Qs, I don't care...
They all recycle, though ;)

[stuntcat]

18. I vote kitteh :)

On my right is a HUGE added onto house where a Salvadorian immigrant and his big family lives. Their addition shades some of my garden and three of their 7 cars are always right in front of my house. I'm okay with them other than that though, the dad Jose is really cool and his kids always say hey and stuff.
It's the new neighbors on the other side I have issues with, for one I think they're horrible for making an innocent baby (the rest of the century SUCKING the way it will) but now they're pregnant again. And she works for Sierra Club, it seems like someone at her office would by now show some concern about our population and consumption. But whatever, I wanted to just avoid them (which is hard in a cul-de-sac) but then they started complaining about the 3 cats I trapped and neutered. As if it's MY fault the cats exist in the first place :eyes: The only thing that's my fault is all the kittens that weren't born this spring because I had three girls neutered. And one of the cats is inside for good and one will be soon and I think the third has been DEAD for over a year anyway. Before I had them fixed, I'd already trapped one of their littermates and taken it to the shelter where I'm sure it was put to sleep. If these selfish monkeys want to blame everything animal-related that happens in the neighborhood on me instead of being glad I got them spayed then fine whatever, it's no surprise from them. They probably think I'm some crazy lady helping cats take over the neighborhood but this was the first and probably last time I've T-N-Red. oh I could go on like this all GD day, etc etc etc etc.

The thing about it that sucks is our yards are so close together and I have big flower beds out there and lots of veggies and fruit and a pond I'm trying to build, but I'm scared of going outside because I don't know how to deal with them, or their toddler loudness, or their relatives who are always visiting now and I'm sure heard creepy stories about me. We have a row of bushes growing around the yard but it's going slow and in the cold weather they loose their leaves :((((

I'm sorry, I don't think this was the point of the poll. I'm a little too bothered by this, it's just that they live RIGHT THERE, I can't get away from them. It's breaking my heart because I want to go outside. Even though we have the prettiest flowers and the least people and the quietest lives, these people think I'M the problem neighbor. omg blah blah blah sorry about spewing :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
I should delete this, but just let this be a f'in warning- don't necessarily expect people to fall into Ecstasy over you popping out darling lil #8-billion, and don't pick out something that's not life-threatening to start complaining to your otherwise-perfect neighbors about.

[Common Sense Party]

23. Let me get this straight: Your neighbors are BAD people because they

procreated?

[stuntcat]

24. Earth-rapingly selfish :)

But I don't bug them with how it horrifies me, with how I feel about people giving innocent babies the rest of this terrible century. Nope I'd hoped to just wave and say hey and not have to deal with them.

I guess they'd be happy with me if I'd ignored that litter of wildcats altogether? :shrug: Maybe it would be great if we had 4 kids like Jose does, and filled our house up with people? Oh yeah, I'M a terrible horrible neighbor!

[Common Sense Party]

25. Do you think all Americans should stop procreating?

[stuntcat]

26. actually..

until the oceans and the other species start making a comeback I think all humans should Halt it. With the way we consume now the Earth can not support us without the rest of the species paying, many being wiped out forever. The mass-extinction makes me ashamed of being a human at all.

Not only Americans though, certainly!

I don't know how old you are but when you're in your 70-80's remember that stuntcat said we weren't going to figure out in time how to sustain ourselves and that the disasters would get worse and the animals would keep being wiped out (cosmically Evil, imho) and giving the year 2090 to innocent babies wasn't really that moral a thing to do. I wish I was wrong, I wish the animals would all get their habitats back. I hope someday you can remember what I said and laugh at how wrong I was :)

[LWolf]

19. Other.

We wave when we pass. We talk a few times a year. One neighbor drops off garden produce now and then; I've dropped off saplings. We call each other if there is a problem; like my neighbor calls me when I have plumbing/irrigation problems; I call him when a cow breaches a fence. They call me when a horse decides their lawn is greener than our sage, dirt, and rocks. I call them when their dog escapes.

I have 3 neighbors on my private dirt road. We all get along fine. I had some conflict over the neighbor on the end; I bought the place with a shared well contract in place. The well is on her property. She had the well declared defunct and kicked me off, so I had to invest my retirement fund in a new well. Meanwhile, that well continues to serve her property without a problem. She's not my favorite person, but we are civil to one another if we happen to meet at the mailboxes.

The greater area meets to discuss road maintenance now and then.

We don't socialize, but we are neighbors.

[JDPriestly]

20. Our neighborhood is really, really like one big family.

We take care of each other. We attend each other's anniversaries, parties, funerals (yes, funerals), and we are really friends.

I'm talking about Northeast Los Angeles. People here are friendly and good.

Of course, I lived in the small towns in the Midwest and Austria and Germany for a long time, and I think I brought expectations about neighbors with me. I've lived in other cities too and I always seemed to have good relationships with my neighbors, but not as good as here.

[Blue_In_AK]

21. I don't pay them any mind,

especially now that the crack dealers across the street have moved. It's nice and quiet around here now.

[taterguy]

29. Only the ones who don't recycle

And the ones who leave Coors products in their recycling bins.

And the ones who drive to work when they could bike.

And the ones who don't walk their dogs often enough.

And the ones who don't have dogs since I just don't trust people that aren't dog lovers.

Other than that I'm a live and let live kind of guy.

:shrug:

[deaniac21]

30. Only the one's I'm having sex with.

[XemaSab]

31. Fortunately, the AMC on blocks is in the back yard.

The toilet, however...

[Initech]

32. Considering ours almost burned to the ground two years ago, we've been tight-knit since.

[ThatsMyBarack]

33. Cutest kitty gif ever!

nom nom nom....:loveya:

[DainBramaged]

35. Me loves hungry kitteh!

:loveya:

[MrSlayer]

34. Not really, most of my neighbors are assholes.

It would probably be better if most of them were no longer here.

[Skip Intro]

37. I keep an eye on those around me, in my neighborhood and elsewhere.

I've had no issues in the four years I've been here, but there is the odd robbery in the neighborhood. I don't really speak to my neighbors often, but wave at a few here and there as I drive in or out. But times are tough. I know first hand. And sadly, I've grown from being an idealistic young man who used to trust everyone to a cautious not exactly young man who now believes trust is something earned, not given.

[Prism]

41. They sort of include me in their crazy, whether or not I want it

The concept that people can hear them even if we can't see them seems to be somewhat foreign. It starts with their habit of loud, angry phone calls that they insist take place on the back deck. Since I always have the windows open, I am privy to their every personal problem. When they're screaming at each other in their home, I get to hear that, too.

I also have very strong opinions on their parenting skills. When they locked the sobbing, screaming, door-pounding 12 year-old outside in the yard because she did god knows what, I came this close to calling someone. The other day, the mother apparently tried a soap-in-the-mouth punishment, but got it in the kid's eye, and that led to the most awful keening sound.

I try to live and let live, but my god do they make it difficult.

Monday night, they got drunk and stomped around outside at 3 AM while talking very, very loudly.

It's ok, though. I know when to bide my time. I waited until the afternoon when the mom was outside relaxing/tanning and proceeded to blast the most god awful, ear-wormed techno I could imagine directly at her.

I felt marginally better.

[TBF]

42. Don't know most of their names (except immediate neighbors) -

but know them enough to say "hello" and wave. We run into the ones with young kids & dogs more than the others...