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Original poster

Your neighbours!

67 replies

NowNumber5 · 03/08/2023 13:05

We generally only get to hear the horror stories connected with neighbourly relations, but does anyone actually genuinely like and get on with their neighbours?

Ours are okay but our house is uniquely positioned askew, so no direct neighbours either side of us, and our drive is opposite green space so no parking wars either.
To be perfectly honest, this was a major deciding factor for us when we bought this house.

Do you have good neighbours and do you think you are a good neighbour?

OP posts:
CoastalFamily · 03/08/2023 21:05

@HashBrownandBeans that sounds absolutely wonderful.

AdoptedBumpkin · 03/08/2023 21:10

We have some nice friendly neighbours on the street. Only bad neighbours are in a nearby street – they have a habit of playing loud music late at night, especially Saturdays. Thankfully it's not every week.

LadyMacbethssweetArabianhand · 03/08/2023 21:13

I live in pensioners paradise. All semi detached bungalows whose occupants are mainly in late 70s or upwards. I brought the average age down massively when I moved in at 60. All my neighbours are lovely. Kind and generous. A new garden bed I had made is completely filled with plants donated by neighbours. They are so kind to my grandsons and have given them toys. My newish neighbours across the road gave me garden produce just on Tuesday. My next door neighbours I rarely see but are very quiet and again nice to the boys. It's just a really nice street to stay in

ImGoingThroughChanges · 03/08/2023 21:16

I love my neighbours. Sometimes they moo quite loudly but they never complain about parking.

thistimelastweek · 03/08/2023 21:17

We have great neighbours.

Recently we thought about moving and the neighbours were one, though not the only, reason we decided to stay put.

golddustwomen · 03/08/2023 21:25

I love mine! One side is an elderly couple who are just so lovely and always have time for my children. The other side keep themselves to themselves, just how I like it Grin

BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah · 03/08/2023 21:28

Mine are lovely. One side we don't see so much as they are a busy family. But when we did have an issue that affected both properties they were fab about the whole thing.

The other side are great as well, except that they'll start chatting with me and suddenly I'll realise I've been stood there 20 minutes and was late for wherever I was going!

Malbecfan · 03/08/2023 21:30

Ours are great. Been here 17 years now and one side has been like surrogate grandparents to our DDs. Very sadly he died last month after quite a long illness. We know their children & grandchildren. On the other side they have grown up DC close in age to mine. Also lovely. Just beyond older couple's house, a redundant building was sold and converted into a house by the most lovely young guy. He and his parents are welcoming and delightful. I am lucky.

Rollerboots · 03/08/2023 21:33

used to have my friend next door. We had a gate into the garden at the back. Could wander through to babysit for each other wearing pjs, or borrow bread/ milk/ anything to save a wee trip to the shops , it was great! Our kids were the same age ,so you could have them all, or could have none as they were next door . Our end of the street is very friendly, and 8 families have even had weekends away together, and the most amazing WhatsApp group ever.. examples “anyone got a pirate costume?”
or emergency cucumber for gin. - sent over to you by a child within minutes!
incredibly lucky to have neighbours like these.

Soupsetscared · 03/08/2023 21:44

Adjourned is a single man. He doesn't have a TV, no loud music and no visitors so no parking wars. Only speaks occasionally. He is a very private person.
On the other side not attached is a couple about 10 years older than us very friendly
we bring each others bins in, lots of help between us.
It's only a small close everyone else is friendly but not in an intrusive way.

TheFlis12345 · 03/08/2023 21:45

We’re surrounded by nice neighbours, all considerate and friendly. Our direct next door neighbours are next level though, some of the kindest, most generous and lovely people I know. On paper we are very different people but we get on brilliantly, socialise a lot, and I can’t believe how lucky we are to have them.

Sandals94 · 03/08/2023 21:47

Ours took the fence down between us just as we were purchasing the house, then asked us to go halves replacing it which we couldn't afford straight away. We explained we could maybe in another year but they've never spoken to us since 😬 my DH dislikes them with a passion as we were really hoping for lovely neighbours in the little country village we've moved to and they've ruined it a bit as now it's awkward 😒

GammonAndEggs · 03/08/2023 21:53

After I left my exH, I bought a cheap house on a local, rundown housing estate. Even my mortgage broker advised me against living there as it was ‘rough’. I had 4 children under 5 and needed a roof, so that was that. (I wasn’t fazed by the area though).
I lived there for about two years and it was the best neighbourhood I’ve ever lived in.

I’d not been there long and was sitting on the couch with a coffee while the DCs were playing peacefully on the rug. I suddenly became aware of a draught and realised with horror the front door was open; I leapt up and saw my 2 year old was gone.
I have never moved so fast in my life. As I bolted through the door I saw her sat playing with the gate latch and burst into tears; an old man across the road was at his own gate and he shouted ‘don’t you worry, my lass, she’s just come out. I’m watching her. There’s no worry’.
All of the neighbours were equally lovely.

Flipflopflopflip · 03/08/2023 21:55

Neighbour we are attached to is the best neighbour, he is literally never there 😂 seems to leave at 7 everyday and be back at 9 or so. our other neighbour, not attached, is very quiet, nice to chat to in passing, his little old mum who visits is so sweet. Neighbours across the close have a child similar age to our own and they love playing out the front together. So pretty perfect 🥰
I hope we are a good neighbour,generally quiet and keep ourselves to ourselves.

Previous attached neighbours came from hell itself so we feel lucky now.

RunningFromInsanity · 03/08/2023 21:56

Being detached is the key to having good neighbours.

TheHorneSection · 03/08/2023 21:56

We have the best neighbours. We moved into a cul-de-sac a year ago and expected it to be full of older people. There are older
people but there’s also a few families with children the same age.

The kids go in and out other houses all the time and get to play safely outside. People
lend food, share plants, take bins out (sometimes the kids decide to bring everyone’s bins back for them!), throw summer parties, babysit, cat sit… It’s an absolute dream living here and I’m never going to move, I couldn’t ask for better neighbours.

thatsn0tmyname · 03/08/2023 22:00

Everybody needs good neighbours and our neighbours have become good friends. The recent coronation/ jubilee street parties have definitely helped. Jane at #61 is currently feeding our cats and whatsapping photos of them whilst we're on holiday.

tianabiscuit · 03/08/2023 22:04

Ours are nice enough. We live in a cul de sac of 11 houses and (quite unusually it seems these days) are on at least nodding terms with all of them. There have been occasional disagreements, but nothing that has ever festered. We get on really well with the lady next door and the two directly opposite (who are mum/dad and daughter/sil living next door to each other).

We are middle aged and the youngest couple in the street by a good margin, also the only ones with school age children, so it's not like we socialise or anything, but we'll have a chat.

ActDottie · 03/08/2023 22:21

Old lady one side who seems nice and is always gardening - I love looking at her amazing garden! Other side a couple who I find really pretentious and the wife doesn’t speak only the husband! We also all have parking spaces round the back but they have recently started parking both their cars out front and this one in front of our house which really bugs me as the estate has been designed so everyone has their cars round the back! It really annoys me as I think it’s just laziness and the car doors opening and closing sets our dogs off… in case it’s not obvious I like one side but not the other!

Amonthinthecountry · 03/08/2023 22:24

Our neighbour is lovely. His dog is best friends with my toddler and they like to socialise through the fence.

echt · 03/08/2023 22:31

I have good neighbours, and not just NDNs but down the street too. We're not in each others' pockets but help out.

I live on my own and once, during lockdown the burglar alarm kicked off. I'd never used it (no code) and had no idea of how bloody deafening it was or how to turn it off. In the minute I was working out how to do this, three separate neighbours fetched up at my door to check that everything was OK. What good people.

CeriB82 · 03/08/2023 22:33

My nearest human neighbours are 0.6 mikes away.

otherwise all they do is bleet🐑🐏

Original poster
NowNumber5 · 03/08/2023 22:43

How refreshing to hear such positive neighbour stories for the majority of us.

This thread was partly inspired by us currently being 100 miles away from home, and realised at 7am this morning that we’d forgotten to put the bins out, so one quick text to Sandra @ No.8 (who we know is an early riser!) and it was all sorted.

I’m wondering has anyone reading these replies realised that they are actually living next door/in same cul de sac to a fellow MNetter? 😂

OP posts:
Sandals94 · 03/08/2023 22:52

NowNumber5 · 03/08/2023 22:43

How refreshing to hear such positive neighbour stories for the majority of us.

This thread was partly inspired by us currently being 100 miles away from home, and realised at 7am this morning that we’d forgotten to put the bins out, so one quick text to Sandra @ No.8 (who we know is an early riser!) and it was all sorted.

I’m wondering has anyone reading these replies realised that they are actually living next door/in same cul de sac to a fellow MNetter? 😂

Jesus, I never thought of that! Mine has young kids so I hope she isn't on here 🤣

UsingChangeofName · 03/08/2023 23:02

Do you have good neighbours and do you think you are a good neighbour?

Yes, and yes.
But, to be fair, it has been the same wherever I have lived, both as an adult and a child.
I suspect the overwhelming majority of neighbours are nice. It's like the relationships board, you hear about those having issues, not the overwhelming majority who just crack on with life.