It was something that I have discussed before. I have had a range of neighbours while living at Beachmere, and was devastated when my "best" ones moved north. Their replacement - an older couple didn't impress me. We shared a duplex - and a driveway. I was away when they moved in, and when I returned I knocked on the door to introduce myself.
The gent answered, and was unimpressed to meet his neighbour. "We don't need to have anything to do with neighbours" he stated to my surprise. The conversation was short and difficult for me.
As it turned out - over the next 8 months our "relationship" developed. He spoke with me occasionally and brought my rubbish bin in at times. I did little things for him - yes, I took his bins up from the road a couple of times and put his "junk mail" near his door.
The house on the other side of the fence had a series of tenants and in the four years I was there, some five different tenants had come and gone. Barking dogs was the biggest issue and noise. On one occasion I spoke to the owner of the a dog that had barked non stop all night - the dog was home alone for over 24 hours. He told me he didn't give a "F...... Sh.. " about me. He claimed it couldn't have been his dog. Mmmm. As it turns out his mother heard his tirade to me, and I can only guess she was the one who "suggested" he apologise to me. Which he did.
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| Another image from Unsplashed |
Anyway, I moved out just under a week ago. I'm house sitting now.
Within hours of arriving at my friend's place - I am housesitting for her while she is away - and LuLu her cat needed company - neighbour number one appeared. He'd been keeping "an eye" on the house and came to check that I was not a robber. Interesting man, same age as my daughter, who lives next door. We chatted and he's invited me in for a cup of tea.
The next morning, it was the neighbour on the other side who introduced herself. Quite friendly and offered her services if I need help etc.
I was taken by the difference in the neighbourhoods! This is a very old suburb - with a bit of class. The area I came from certainly was not classy - many young people and some with big issues in their lives.
Neighbours was something I wrote about a year ago.
I do think it is a good idea to be friends with neighbours. You never know when you or they will need help. And why not be friendly?
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