To think it’s weird that they keep asking about where I live

[Starbright9]

Recently moved into the village and I got talking to a school mum and they keep asking about which road I’ve moved onto and then trying to figure out which house I’m at and asking if I know my neighbours etc and they keep saying they never see my car there. They live about a 5/10 minute walk from mine and they have no reason to go onto my road apparently but have said they’ve walked up there a few times and not seen my car. Aibu to think it’s strange that they’re so bothered about where I live

It’s weird you care so much and don’t just say ‘I’ve moved into …… “ 🤷‍♀️

Village life. Sorry. Every, single, tiny thing becomes HUGE.
it’s why we’re moving to a city 😁

Because she's has just moved away from an abusive relationship, and she is not ready to give private information out to strangers!! Understand this!!

Be aloof and keep them guessing!! It will drive them mad!! CFs

If you think this is weird, a man my husband had never seen before walked up to him in the pub last week and went "aah you live at OUR HOUSE NAME"
It's a weird small town/village thing, they're obsessed with where you live, how nuch it cost, what youre doing to the house, people here talk openly about house values. Our next door neighbour said (as she introduced herself for the first time) "we saw what you got it for, I think it's because the third bedroom is a funny shape isn't it, because you got a bargain at £xyz, we heard youd offered on (name of another house across the road) but it was on for a lot more wasn't it". We've also had a man who lived in our house 30 years ago say he might pop round for old times sake, totally uninvited....
It was a real eye opener on how nosy people are, and how open they are about it!

This is definitely normal in villages. Pretty sure people are just being friendly. People are interested to know which house you bought because they know which houses are on the market/viewed it themselves/know other people that viewed it.
When we moved into our house and got chatting to people , we must have met 5 different people that had looked at it!

Village life…the best is you will probably be part of a caring and helpful community, and never be lonely. The worst is that everyone will want to - and expect to - know all your business.

Oh yes.....village life 😅 Watch the windows, people trying to get a glimpse without being seen 😅 Oh well, they'll get over it.....once they know everything about you 🤣

I live in a friendly South London street but could not cope with that level of noseyness. I'd not want to tell them anything at all.

I’ve never lived in a village but even I instantly thought ‘village life’.

It's normal!
I moved from a city to a village and was slightly taken aback by locals demanding my exact location, but now when I meet newcomers I find I want to know their exact location too!

"Oh, the one with the lamppost opposite, oh that was Brian and Linda's, nice to meet you!"

It's not even a status or house price thing to me it's just a village thing.

The locals even comment when I've washed the car or mown the lawn, it's just a conversation starter to them. Would never happen in London, it's so different and I love it.

Part of me loved it, part of me hated it.

Sometimes it's easier just to satisfy other people's curiosity. When I first moved here my neighbour used to drive his quad along the boundary fence with his head turned aside to check me out. He did this every day for about a month.I waved. He waived. I called round to introduce myself. He asked me where I came from and we had a nice chat. That was it. He just wanted to know who had moved in next to him and satisfy himself all was OK.

It’s literally so they can return your kid’s pe bag when they leave it on the slides.

And so you know where to take theirs when you find it!

We’ve been in a village for 25 years now. We’re still ‘new’! But we’re very much accepted and appreciated, getting involved, knowing who’s who etc.

That's normal where I am in rural Wales. It's a type of networking thing. Instead of asking "What do you do?" Which I hate anyway. They ask where you live, it's still a bit old school and they'll usually know the whole history of your home and ask you how your nearest neighbours are.
It can sound a bit "red flag" if you're had to deal with abuse/stalking but I promise it's normally harmless.

Definitely village life. Everyone knows what you are doing all the time; sometimes that feels annoying and intrusive, and sometimes it makes you feel very safe.

The conversations will have started with “have you seen number 28 is on the market?” “Where are Mary and William moving, then?” “Oh they are off to join a commune/ move closer to the grandchildren/ he’s run off with his personal aromatherapist.” Then “I see there’s a sold sign. I wonder who is moving in.” “I hope they have children to keep the school going. I wonder if she can be recruited into the WI/ litter picking group/ yoga club.” Then they meet you and it’s “oh, have you moved into Mary’s old house? Mary loved those roses/ hated gardening and let the garden go to rack and ruin.”

People like to talk. But if there is any aggro with the ex turning up, there will always be someone keeping an eye out for you. Good luck!

Ds2 is profoundly dead and autistic. It's true that it takes a village to raise a child.
When I was teaching him independence skills I used to ring the shop and then walk halfway with him. I then put a note round his neck which said "Mumma knows where I am, please don't take me home." I put money in his wallet give him a list and send him off.
Our neighbour over the road became his adopted grandmother. Between her, his social worker and I we taught him what to do in an emergency. Because he couldn't dial 999 if there was ever an emergency we taught him to go Grandma Edith and she had his Granny and Godmothers phone numbers. Thankfully we never needed to put this plan into place...

dead
DEAF

I've just moved into a new area, and there is only one neighbour who literally wants to know everything about us, I feel like she wants to be part of the family! She annoys the hell out of us.

The funny thing is, she is the only one like that on the road, no one else is like that.

This drives me mad, who cares where someone lives but that’s how some are in a village they like to suss you out. 🤣

I moved to a small village about 6 years ago and people are like that here. I work in the pub and whenever someone is mentioned it's 'so and so from this house on that street'. I didn't like it at first but it's grown on me now.

Start growing the biggest turnip in the village now!

There's a lot of sinister motive attached to this on the thread.

I think in reality it's more 'oh you bought old Mays house and live next door but one to my auntie'.

When you know most of the people in your local streets you are interested who has moved where which can be entirely friendly.

Generally when you tell someone where I live you are told 'oh Dite was born in that house and lived there til he was 93. The family ran a sweet shop out of the room at the side'. It's local interest.

How small does this happen? We’re contemplating moving to a small town of 17,000 - is that a possibility? Or is it just small villages. This would drive me mad😬

It’s literally so they can return your kid’s pe bag when they leave it on the slides

This is so true. A week after dd started at the local school there was a knock at the door and a threesome of little girls, probably three or four years older than dd, were standing there with her coat that she’d dropped on the way home. They knew her name and where she lived, and had brought it straight round.

We’d moved to the village from an edgy part of SE London where literally anything not bolted down got nicked within seconds, so I found this astonishing and rather wonderful.