What Makes a Good Neighbour? Read the list.

I have had good neighbours – in most of my life, my neighbours over the years have been good.  In fact, some from many years ago are still friends.

It is something I am pondering as I await the arrival of new neighbours.  A health problem with the previous people who lived in the other half of the duplex in which I live, meant that they had to move.  The previous tenants were ok – not my favourite neighbours but they caused my no problems.  I wonder what is in store for me.

The house on the other side has given me some grief.  The tenants that were there when I arrived were no trouble.  I seldom saw or heard them.  They moved into a family home in the local area.  Their replacement family was the neighbours from hell.  A single mother, with a drinking problem, and a son with a lot of issues.  Friendship with them was challenging.  I found the boy rude, and the drunken woman would phone me with strange requests.  She was abusive when I complained about her dog barking continuously!  Ouch.

When she and her son moved on, two men, a woman and three children moved in.  The two men were often at work – and during the  day the woman would scream and yell at the children.  I was pondering, as was another neighbour, calling Children’s Services, but strangely she and the children disappeared.  I learned later that she and the children were asked to leave.  They were not related to the other men, one of whom also left.  The remaining bloke doesn’t really give much trouble – though when his dog barked non-stop under my bedroom window for nearly 10 hours without stopping I did, as politely as I could, tell him about it.  His response was one of abuse, with foul language.  He visited my unit later and apologised – perhaps due to the fact that his mother heard his foul rant. They leave their bins out for days, they never pick up the junk mail, and they have had washing on their clothes line for 6 weeks now.  (It has been dry and wet plenty of times.)

So I have created a list of things to do, to be a good neighbour.

  • Meet your neighbours and do your best to be pleasant at all times.
  • Don’t make excessive noise – dog barking, noisy parties, music played at excessive volume, etc doesn’t help a good neighbourly relationship.
  • Keep your lawns mowed and your yard tidy – which includes binning any junk mail you don’t want.
  • If you smoke cigarettes, don’t allow your smoke to waft into your neighbour’s yard/home.
  • Put your rubbish bin/s out on the allotted day, and bring them in as soon as possible
  • Take care when parking near your neighbour’s property.  Don’t block their vision, or driveway access.
  • Make arrangements to meet occasionally – perhaps a quick drink, morning tea etc.
  • Be aware of activities around your neighbourhood and record/report any suspicious behaviour.
  • If their garden is growing over into your yard, be polite and explain the problem if there is one.
  • Discuss any issues politely.
  • Don’t be rude.
  • Be pleasant to the children.
  • Do little things to help them, if you can.  e.g. bring their bins in
  • Advise them of any relevant neighbourhood news.

I am just hoping my new neighbours are pleasant folk!

 



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About Di Hill

My business card says "Writer, Traveller, Camera Addict, Bamboo Fan, Workshop Presenter." This website will focus on my writing - and the workshops I present. Workshops on Blogging, Marketing for Writers, and Life Story Writing.
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