What are the BEST and WORST things your neighbours have done for you?

[PatheticTrumpet]

That's about it really - just wanted to know.

Neighbours from my previous home, who had just moved in, were having a high fence put in. Fine it replaced an ugly chain link. Then when the work was almost done she knocked on my door and asked me if I would like to have their fence man put in about three feet of fence perpendicular to the side of my house to meet part of her new fence, perpendicular to the side of hers, where she was having a side gate put in too. I thought it sounded like a nice idea to have the same fence style between the houses, and asked how much it might cost. Answer was $400 (twas in the US) I suspect she thought I would pay for her bit of fence plus the fancy gate.

Same neighbours never talked to us or to anyone else. Her mum used to drive in from another state and do their gardening, and I used to chat with her quite a bit she even helped me break into my house one time when I had locked myself out but the neighbours were a cold pair of people. They complained endlessly about my tree. Legally they could have trimmed whatever grew over their garden but I suspect they wanted me to pay for it as they would never attempt anything in the house or garden themselves and they would have hired a tree trimming company.

The previous owner of their house was an old lady whose alcoholic daughter and her two grown sons, also alcoholics, lived across the street. One of the sons used to take a lawnmower to the old lady's grass maybe twice a summer, and always out of his mind judging by the conduct of the mowing. When the old lady died, her house was sold and so was the one across the street, rehabbed and then sold again. During the rehabbing, the builders took five skips of rubbish out of the house across the street and three out of the old lady's before they could even start on stripping the walls and pulling up old carpet, pulling out the kitchens and bathrooms. A plague of mice hit the street, displaced residents of the two houses no doubt.

Everyone else was lovely. We had lovely street parties in summer and could always rely on people to keep an eye out for small children, pets, taking in parcels, shovelling snow, helping with cleaning up after floods or lugging tree limbs when they fell during storms.

Current neighbour to the north comes out his back door about ten times a day to smoke a fag, hock up a loogie or two, and spit them into his garden.

Had loads of neighbours over the last few years. One of the best times was when it snowed and everyone came out to play in the street including all the adults!!! Great times, it was quite a nice road except both my immediate neighbours were a nightmare. One side (attached to) had an awful dog that barked all the time and a dodgy water pump that made loads of noise when they used their shower and the other side, well he was a complete nutter. Late one evening he took a sledge hammer to the outside wall of his house??? Was raided by police. He dissapeared for about 4 months which was nice and he returned the day we moved out and he was wearing a fezz! Current neighbours we are joined to are really nice and put up with my DS running around in the house and being noisy and my addiction to animals!! The other side on the other hand are awful. Friends park over the drive way all the time, constant bickering. Three teenage kids who like to shreik and scream in the garden. Son hangs around spying on my DD when she goes in the garden so now she doesn't go out there very often. They are biggots and racists to boot.
I've had more bad neighbours than good ones sadly :(

We live in a split-level house - we're on the top floor, and a lovely couple are downstairs. They never, ever, complain about any noise despite my pre-emptive apologies before we did some sleep training (apparently they didn't hear any of DS's middle-of-the-night screams when he was a baby), they tell us in advance if they're entertaining (we share a garden - they have a big posh BBQ and some tables and chairs, we have a playhouse and slide). They never mind that DS is roaring around the garden when they might be wanting a weekend lie-in, they are so lovely. Oh! And they often knock on our door and say "we made too much of this special cuban dish we eat at this time of year - do you want some?"

Occasionally they play louder music on weekends, but never late in the night and never so it really disturbs me. Mainly I'm just jealous cos they're 5 years younger than us as pre-kids!

DS absolutely adores them and they always have time for a smile and a chat. We've had them up for tea and cake a couple of times, and DH and the man sometimes go out for a beer together. I think we've been very lucky.

We have some friendly families a few blocks away, where we tend to go and use their trampoline and drink lemonade in the garden, that sort of thing. Our flat is too small for much entertaining (breakfast bar for 2 chairs but no table, etc) but I wish we could repay some of the hospitality we've seen around here. I tend to show up with home-made treats when I can, to reciprocate!

On one side, chap was getting a taxi early in the morning to catch a flight, came out and saw someone had upturned our window box and all the plants and soil were on the pavement. Apparently he scooped it all back up for us and made the taxi wait while he went back in to get a watering can and give it a water. We were on holiday and he knew it would have just sat there til we got back otherwise.

On the other side, the stupid cow scared off our cleaning lady by heckling and hassling her (they knew each other from work).

Not.A.Fan

I have two bedsit houses next to me, one has 4 rooms, one has 6. Each have been worse than the other. Last year, the one with 4 bedsits had several parties until stupid o'clock, with one resident thinking he could MC over a microphone. He was more Jedward than Ice T. They also had a large Rusty Lee sounding woman who loved the shout from one end of the garden to another rather than having a normal conversation. I once got so tired of it (I have a young child who is often ill so needs his sleep) I leant over the fence and just asked them to keep it down a bit (It was gone Midnight so not exactly a great time of day). I got told to f off. The same night, I was woken by the 4 of them pushing a car onto my drive that was on fire, and whispers of "we cant call the fire brigade, I'll get chucked out", luckily a neighbour on the other side of the street saw and rang 999. Then her landlord happened to be driving my cab home and asked what I thought of his tenants. So I told him. And bingo, he dealt with it. No more noisy Rusty Lee woman and no more MC. However, he now has the over aged scooter rider (not a Vespa, a kids metal scooter) who thinks its perfectly reasonable to neck a load of drugs and do tricks whilst whooping at 4am outside my house.
The other side is owned by my Landlords brother, who is a twat, to put it nicely. He knowingly has people dealing in his house (The lady on the other side of them has rang the Police, the council and has now gone to a solicitor), but, as the guy's girlfriend works in a Gay pick up place in the next town, and he happens to be of a religion that isn't keen on homosexuality, he (the tenant) has enough dirt on him to stay in the house, rent free (we know this as my partner was out the front one day and asked how he could get away with blatant illegal activities and not paying rent and he told him, quite smug) and now there is a girl in the house who thinks its a laugh to wear a vest top that barely covers her underwear-less backside out the front of the house. Not saying she's a hoe, but she has her many and varied "gentleman callers" knock on OUR door when she's out to leave her a message. Last night, she was in and one disgruntled man turned up and hammered on first the front then her bedsit door from 9pm until 3am. Without stopping.
Oh and we have the "I've lived here longer than all of you thus I can make noise with my motorbike at 5am and leave the bike alarm going off for 2 days whilst I sun myself abroad" guy who lives opposite. He now wants to get "revenge" (cough) against the 5 people who tried to have his bike towed.
This from Berkshire, the Royal Borough. Its more like Beirut these days.

Best things my current neighbours have done for us are;
*Washing our clothes when our washer broke (several times as we have a shite washer)
*Helped us DH lay the living room wood floor.
*babysat the DD2 when I had to rush DD1 to the hospital in an ambulance and DH was in a karate class.
It is all reciprocated and I am gutted that they have put the ouse on the market as they want to move, but I am so glad to have made some fantastic new friends.
My other neighbours are fab and we have all just pulled together in the last couple of weeks due to one of our neighbours being gravely ill and being taken into hospital.
I love the people in this street, I would love a bigger house, but really do not want to move, even though the area we live in is considered to be awful

Worst things my neighbours have done (old neighbours before we moved to this street)
*attacked DH, myself and FIL over fucking parking of all things. How very dare we park on our own drive (when we had a car)
*smashed our front room window.

• broke into our house. *threatened to burn our house down with us in it. *threatened to poison our dogs *many, many, many, many more things that make me to even think about anymore.

We moved out the day they threatened to poison the dogs ad burn the house down and sofa surfed for 6 months while the house was sold and while we bought this one. Luckily we didn't have children then. It was the worst time of my life, I preferred sofa surfing to having the horrid, dense, pit of my stomach feeling I had when I lived in that house.

Best is my current neighbour who regularly bakes cakes and leaves them in the porch for us. She also leaves bags of home grown veg or cuttings from plants. She is 77, always lovely, feeds the dog treats over the fence and is the most wonderful neighbour ever. The ones on the other side aren't too shabby either!

Worst... we once had some students living next to us who had a penchant for Spandua Ballet, very loud, very late... other than that they were fab .

best... arriving back at our little terraced house for our wedding party in the garden, to find the lady next door had opened the gate to her garden and decorated it too for us to spill over into.
worst... three times now we've had groups of lads move into rented places next to us. Loud, drunken, shoot 'em up computer games etc, but the one that tipped me over the edge was Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" on repeat incessantly night in, night out (I eventually dragged one of them into my lounge and made him sit and listen to the racket at 3 a.m. - didn't do it again!). Nothing as awful as some of these though (my mum cops for that with hers).

Well, he gave me a big hug, but still has loads of tools of DHs that I don't expect to see again as he's moved out.

He's a well meaning lad, but non too bright and permanently between jobs and skint.

Sadly what he needs is a firm guiding hand from with it parents, not a dad who drinks and a Mum who's left.

Forever borrowing things, not all of which reappear and always borrowing the phone to sort out the benefits office. The big hug was just before he moved out because he said my phone worked magic. Ie the benefits office had paid up, he had insured his car and therefore he could get to his new job up at his Mum's. My phone isn't magic, he's much calmer when he isn't about to run out of credit.

I haven't seen him since, after 14 years it's quite strange. I hope he's ok.

best - I was studying in one of last evenings before A level exams, parents on holiday and DB (who was supposed to be hanging around) had gone to stay at girlfriends. I went to shop for late night munchies while revising and locked myself out. Bugger. Neighbour got toolkit out and broke in for me. Also fixed door.

equal best - Off to pick DS up from swimming one eve and realised I had left bag inside with keys, phone, etc. Neighbour offered help but I didn't know what to do so just went to pick up DS and took him round to GPs. Arrived there to a phonecall - neighbour had picked lock and then found my phone and called 'mum'.

worst - neighbour who used to complain every day about noise until I ended up tiptoeing round flat in soft slippers and eventually had to move out to save my sanity. Even came round one Saturday afternoon and said I see it is DS's birthday (2nd) - could he and his two friends not move around or make any noise as they don't want to be disturbed.

Loving this thread!

Best has to be our old neighbours (who were well into their 70's) who lived across from us when we had DC1. Often used to come across and ask if I needed anything from the shops, dashed to the chemist late at night to get an emergency prescription when DH was away with work and DC was very poorly, minded DC when we were house hunting and went to view houses. They are the kindest couple I've ever met.

Worst, has to be the three so called "proffesional" ladies who moved in next door to us a week before DC2 was born. All night parties, loud noisy sex, taxi's pulling up and beeping their sodding horns day and night. Once went with a parcel I'd taken in for them to be confronted by one of them answering the door in a basque, stockings and suspenders (not a pretty sight, made me feel better about my post-baby body though!!), she shrieked that she thought I was her boyfriend then slammed the door. Never laughed so much in all my life. They all moved out 6 months later when it was revealed that one of their boyfriends had gotten "friendly" with the other 2 housemates. The police had to be called to resulting fall-out.

I have fabulous neighbours. They are sooo kind, they love my children, they never complain about the noise (in fact keep saying it's "lovely" to hear my DDs being "so happy"), they always want to babysit for me and are they completely when I try to give them chocolates/wine/whatever as a thank you.

Mind you, we got off on a good footing when, shortly after we moved in, their kitchen caught fire when they were out and I called the fire brigade for them.

Previous neighbours were not so good. They redecorated the shared area of our flats in the most hideous wallpaper you've ever seen - without even telling us, let alone getting permission which technically they should have done. They then moved our plants out of the front garden on to the pavement so that they could trim a hedge or something and unsurprisingly the plants (including an expensive bay tree and a couple of sentimental shrubs) got nicked. And don't get me started on the number of times they got home at 3am and put on loud music (our bedroom was two floors above their living room and it was still deafening.) Obviously, having seen some of the other posts on here, I feel pretty lucky that that's all I've had to put up with!

Best: asked me to marry him

Best: reciprocated in organising playdates with our son and theirs (same age) and are friendly
Worst (same neighbour): 1) regularly leave their son screaming his head off for ages in the middle of the night without seeming to calm him down (so we all get woken up) and 2) jumped ahead of us in the school waiting list by renting a flat opposite the school (while still living next door!) and 3) arranged for builders to come and repoint the exterior of their house without any warning - they turned up and started the job when we were in the middle of external redecorations so all our paintwork was ruined with dust.

We have a couple of lessies one side, they are very nice and a very quiet couple the other, it's quite quiet where we live.

Lessies???

Oh come on dropdread, you know what lessies are surely? Some people call them lezzers, some people call them lesbos ... y'know. You might even have seen some or met some once or twice?

Lesbians, I imagine.
We had a neighbour (who happened to be lesbian) who was a copper & she was a terrific source of gossip about local crime hot spots. Used to mow the lawn in her bra (in our otherwise conservative Muslim neighbourhood). After her lovely girlfriend moved in suddenly cute flowers & other nice homely touches were added to their home. Amused me & DH no end.

Lovely neighbours both sides. The worst they have done to me is borrow a tin of chopped tomatoes when I only has one left they really are that nice and the best is to look after DD for DH when I was In hospital. And I live in London village where allegedly people won't piss on you if you are on fire. I am a lucky sod. I will become a neighbour from hell though if either so much as think of moving to stop any undesirables moving in.

Have recently moved, so still early days (not been here 6 months yet).

On one side an older couple are friendly, and the husband painted my fence and gate as well as theirs (fence between two properties, so looks better if done in one go)... no bad things to mention.

On the other side (divorcee with some children) I have few complaints (noise isn't excessive, ball only oncein my back garden, only one attempt at "knock and run" on front door [I was upstairs on computer and saw youngster so knew not to go to open door anyway.

I helped her out by being in her home (while she was at work) and paying the X00 pound excess to double glazing firm a week or so after her house was broken into via door on conservatory. She has since
a) given up that job to work for herself somewhere else, 3 days a week
b) not yet given a clue as to when I will see the X00 pounds back

I'm not saying it is easy to find the cash when she has several mouths to feed and so on, but having said her grandmother was going to give her the money around the time of the break-in, I had hoped I'd get it back within a week or two of having paid it out to the glazing firm...

She went off to Spain for a week (family "do", not with the children as far as I know) so could have used some of the cash then...

She's hoping to move home before end of the year, so I just might see it returned but I'm not holding my breath. Nearly 3 months on, it looks like I may need to think of some form of payment that doesn't involve cash!

( PS X00 is X x 100 pounds and I'm not working - living on savings at present, and due to go into hospital for an operation next month, postponed from January, then February, then March... )

Oh I genuinely didn't know lessies was a known name for lesbians. Only ever seen it spelt with a z

Best - lets us use their indoor swimming pool whenever we like, and I also ride her horses!

Never had any bad ones thankfully

Got me pregnant! I now have a lovely 6 month old courtesy of the nice man in the flat downstairs (well, we actually moved in together two weeks before the little one was born).