Basically we have an awful next door neighbour who I think has actually toppled over into batshit territory.
Okay so here's the backstoy so not to drip feed. We've lived here for nearly 10 years, at first neighbourly relations were amicable enough, had the odd beer with him. But nothing much in common, he's 10 years older than us and has kids I suspect he wanted to be actual friends with us but we have our own friends, hobbies and no kids (until recently) so we did our own thing and tried to just be friendly but not friends.
He fell out with our other next door neighbours a couple of years after they moved in because a friend of their's parked on the street outside our house but near his drive (he believes he owns the street including the street in front of our house) and they got a dog which he also hated. He once went round to their house to argue the toss but had a hammer in his hand to look intimidating. He also had another falling out with a neighbour a couple of doors the other way over some work he did poorly (he's a tradesman) they paid for what he did but didn't let him complete the job, he then turned into an intimidating twat to them too and would literally call them names and swear if they passed in the street.
Both of these neighbours moved a couple of years ago now, problem neighbour being one of the main catalysts.
Now for the past few years my neighbour has had an injury no doubt brought on by his trade and I believe he's been abusing prescription drugs and definitely smokes alot of weed (always has done the latter but think all substance abuse has escalated) and he's started picking on us now.
He has got a piece of machinery and generator that he noisily uses in his garden on every sunny day. Apparently someone complained to the council and he blamed us (it wasn't) but told my husband he knew people (not sure he does) and was trying to be threatening. He is mostly all bite than bark (but not sure) but I do think his behaviour is getting more erratic and is starting to worry me.
He stares at me when I'm using the garden (he has a raised bit of patio that can look into our garden) he also shuck the hedge next to where I was sitting on the grass with my toddler in the garden and said "how you doing prinnypree?" (I said "good thankyou") and later was whistling and saying "dickhead" under his breathe whilst walking round his garden to either me or my husband yesterday.
His wife is really lovely and I worry about her (although never heard anything that would prompt me to call police or SS apart from his batshittyness aimed at us) and his kids are well behaved and polite to us even though they're teens/tweens.
Now my dilemna is I would love to move because I actually hate him, he gives me anxiety attacks and I feel so uncomfortable in my own garden.
The "problem" is our house is in the catchment of an outstanding primary that feeds into the oversubscribed secondary and I have a 2 year old, we did plan to move but after my son got into the primary and we could then move to a cheaper bit of town, still in the secondary catchment but would get us a bit more bang for our buck as the houses in our area have gone especially bonkers, my 77yr old Mum has also recently moved house 100 miles to be 5 minutes walk from me to be near her grandchild, she's practically next door to the school. However with the neighbours behaviour escalating I don't know what is best to do?
I would have been so happy to have several more years in this house (even though its tiny it has potential to extend) but his behaviour has completely ruined it. Am I completely daft to put up with this for 2 more years just to get into the primary school I want. WWYD?
YABU to stay
YANBU grin and bear the noise and the intimidation and just hope he doesn't actually escalate to violence or other vindictive behaviour.