To mention to 80 year old neighbour his garden radio gets on our nerves?

[pinkieandpokie]

Him and his wife have lived in the house next door since 2010, we moved in in 2021, they’re detached houses. Hes always had his radio on in the garden which has grated on me a little since he knows everyone around can hear it, and it’s pretty much on from March to November, and it’s not exactly quiet but in the last year it’s got really loud and I can hear the mumbling noise (it’s always a talking station) with all my windows shut.

We aren’t on the best terms with him anyway where he’s been difficult with us in the past, but it’s got to the point that I feel we need to do something, do I:

• Mention it’s annoying, especially when I work from home
• Get him back by doing the same in my garden
• or ignore it because he’s 80 and deaf (but inconsiderate!

So I’ve taken, probably the most irresponsible of my 3 options as a 35 year old woman today, and I’ve put my radio on in the garden, loudly. Not a talking station but a music one. I’m hoping him or his wife pick up on it, connect the dots and think ooo is ours a bit loud too.
We’ll see!
Even if I do feel petty, at the same time it actually feels quite satisfying!

It might backfire. If they think you deserve it then knowing they got to you will just feel like a win.

I'm at the point with my neighbours where I just pretend they don't exist and enjoy the freedom. If they ever show annoyance with any of my perfectly normal activities, it's kind of satisfying.

You've made it awkward now by doing that. It would surely have been easier to just go talk to him? He may not realise, especially if he's hard of hearing.

This is true and I would think this in normal circumstances, but it’s already awkward where he’s not a particularly nice person anyway, and at least this way they can hear what we have to hear so it may open their eyes slightly. Either that or they’re just ignorant and inconsiderate and It feels good to get my own back!

This sounds very much like my neighbour who sits in his shed at the bottom of his garden for at least five hours a day with Radio Four blasting away. Unfortunately the shed is alongside my fence which is fairly close to my house. I usually keep my living room window closed because the noise is quite intrusive but it’s not great in the summer. I’ve been told that he was quite unpleasant when my house was being built and complained about the building work constantly. The builder also re-laid his garden path because he claimed it had been damaged due to vibrations, so I’m not keen to complain. The other neighbours must also hear it but it doesn’t seem as if they have complained so I will just have to put up with it I guess. My dogs bark sometimes so they can’t complain to me about that when they are making more noise consistently.

You're expecting him to read your mind though, and that's not realistic. He's not a mind reader and doesn't know why you're putting on music. If my neighbour did that out of the blue, I'd assume they were going through something and using music to help.

It might also backfire. There's not much noise that actually bothers me, but the more noise my neighbours make, the more I feel I am allowed to make, if that makes sense. Hence I find slightly noisy neighbours liberating as I don't need to consider my volume so much. I'd probably think, "She plays her music loudly, I'm obviously good with my radio."