Is this weird or am I rude and unsociable?!

True! It’s one of those strange social conventions we all seem to adhere to;

If you bump into someone you know in the supermarket, it’s polite to acknowledge each other and chat but you both know by aisle 3 you’ll be stonewalling each other and pretending to be engrossed in your shopping list 😂

Think this is very common tbh and most streets have a person like this. I’m fairly outgoing and socially comfortable and don’t mind chatting to people but it’s the expectation and the assumption that everyone has 15 minutes to spare in the middle of the working day and that you’re rude if you don’t.

In my previous home there was a woman like this who would involve everyone in her feud with a local guy. It felt like we were always being asked to take sides and was exhausting.

I always think it’s a bit standoffish to start a thread on a talk forum and then not talk to or thank anyone for engaging 🫤

So you may fall into the camp of Rude and unsociable In RL and could make slightly more effort to interact!

There comes a point when you mutually decide to ignore each other and peace resumes.. Until you end up behind them at the only till with a human operating 😂

Their poor dog!

It’s your choice who you speak to but it does seem a bit rude and unsociable to actively avoid them to the point they have noticed. I would just say a bright and breezy “hello” and keep walking.

The dog walkers on our estate all chat to each other, socialising is very much part of their exercise routine.

To pull this off properly you really need to be able to fart on command.

“Inform them if you smell gas!” That’s hilarious and I think needs to become a new MN term for functional and polite distance.

You are unfriendly but I’d do the same. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ve tried this at work,but once the phone started ringing loudly whilst I was deep in fake conversation on it 🤣

‘Hi - how are you ? Yes weathers been good hasn’t it. Can’t stop Fido needs his walk and then need to go Matilda’s reading with her and I’ve got a chicken in the oven. Never ends!!! and I Don’t want that dinner to burn ! See you soon - bye.’ Walk off! all polite and breezily said

I would def be avoiding.
I prefer the level of interaction where you say hello in passing and will take in a parcel or inform the other person if you smell gas but thats it!

Depends on my mood 😆 Usually I'd do same as you, but if feeling particularly chatty/lonely/bored/happy I might engage and have a good chat and gossip. These people always have interesting stories about other neighbours!

Sometimes you have to be a bit blunt.

Just day "Hi" and continue to walk briskly!

Funny how I always seem to get a phone call coming through whenever I spot certain neighbours approaching…

Sometimes you need a killer phrase. I had a friend who had an excellent line to ward off over-friendly people, but if I shared it here I'd be banned for life.

It worked though.

Yes this is the sort of Oh Hello Again situation I hate in the supermarket. It gets awkward as fuck after a while 😂🤣

@ToxicChristmas Come and live on my street, somehow magically we're all mostly of the same ilk! Say "you alright?" and that does it for a month until we see each other again haha.

Switch it for neighbour 😆

Indeed there is nothing worse.

I had this once, not with a neighbour, but with complete strangers. Being 5ft 8, I had no chance of getting something from the top of the aisles where Asda seem to put excess stock now. Thus, I looked around for someone taller, and happened upon an alpha male built like the proverbial brick out-house.

I asked his wife if he'd mind getting me down what I wanted, she said of course not, and TBH he'd have been in his 7th heaven had a woman asked him, but with this being another male in need of rescue, he puffed out his arms & chest and beamed from ear to ear for all he was worth, as he marched off and reached down the box, saving the day and me from myself.

And off we went in different directions...only to bump into each other in another aisle...then the next...and one after that. There's a limit to how many times we can reference that moment our paths crossed only minutes earlier. As I moved into another aisle and clocked them yet again, I quickly turned my trolley & headed for the checkouts, deciding that whatever it was I needed could wait until another time.

Could you say something like,

"I can't stop and chat, this new medication goes right through me if I stand still, in fact I can feel it bubbling up right now..."

And then move off smartly.

I must admit I do hate seeing neighbours I know in Tescos and usually pretend I haven’t seen them.

Theres nothing worse than chatting for a bit and then seeing them in every fucking aisle 😂

I used to get caught talking for hours with a couple in our road. They moved from a northern town where all the neighbours used to chat out the front and there was a real community spirit which we don’t really have here.

My advice would be to try being more assertive in bringing a conversation to a close rather than hiding.

I used to be awful at doing this but it’s actually not that hard and gets easier with practice!
So a quick friendly hello and a bit of cheery small talk, and then just be honest about needing to get on/ be somewhere.

I usually shut gossip about other neighbours down by saying I don’t know them well enough and don’t like to gossip (insert light hearted laugh here).

Finish with something like- so lovely to see you both looking well- and walk away.

Keep practicing this assertiveness and it’ll be really useful in many social situations.

“Hi there” (tight smile, keep walking) “oh sorry can’t stop, have a lovely walk, see you soon” (keep walking)

We have a neighbour like this, she's lovely but can chat your ear off for hours if you don't tell her you need to go. I've seen people run past or in when they spot her.