Is your neighbor a friend or a foe? For these individuals, their neighbors are their biggest foes. They are sharing neighbor drama and seeking the internet’s verdict on their behavior. Content has been edited for clarity.
Hurtful Words
“My neighbor is normally a pretty chill woman. She’s in her early 20s and used to watch my daughter, Sam.
My daughter has behavioral issues, and I did warn my neighbor, but she said she’d do her best. My daughter struck a nerve in this woman, and I felt awful. Sam’s shenanigans aren’t limited to the house, unfortunately. She’ll rip up grass on other people’s lawns, create a mess on the sidewalk, and be loud at night. In a small cul-de-sac of three houses not too far from each other, you’re going to hear her.
Recently, my neighbor had her niece over, and, of course, my daughter wanted to play and meet her. She walked over herself. My oldest was watching her from the porch. Anyway, my daughter walked over, introduced herself, and was asked to hike it back over to our house. When Sam asked why, my neighbor said it was because she didn’t want her over there.
My daughter asked why, and I couldn’t believe it, but this woman looked my daughter in the face and said, ‘I don’t like you, Sam, I am.’
My daughter was crushed by this. Of course, I took issue when I heard this because what grown adult says this to a kid? I marched over and kindly asked that she apologize, but she told me my kid sucks and wasn’t welcome. Sure, whatever, but did you have to tell my kid you don’t like her? I called her a jerk, and she called me one right back because my daughter is a nightmare, and I shouldn’t expect people to tolerate her.
I told some other moms in the area, and a few have decided not to allow her to babysit for them again.
Apparently, Sam deserved it because she is a nuisance, according to my MIL and her kids, and I had no right to yell at her about it. My sister, my mom, and my dad think that was just too harsh for her, and she needs to apologize. Am I the a**hole for calling her out?”
Ring Camera Footage
“About 4 years ago, a couple about my age moved in next door and we’ve pretty much been at odds since day one. There have been numerous times and issues that we’ve disagreed on.
I have 3 cats that I sometimes let out into my backyard. My neighbors have a dog that would jump the 5-foot chain link fence separating our yards to chase my cats. I told my neighbors if I caught their dog doing it again, I would call the cops. They actually had the audacity to ask if I would be willing to split the cost of a taller privacy fence instead of, you know, training your dog not to jump the fence. Obviously, I refused as I wasn’t the one causing the problem and the fence is technically on their property anyway. They ended up putting in a taller fence.
Then, they asked me to split the cost of taking down an Ash tree that was on their property. It had become infested with some bug that killed the tree and dead limbs were falling on their driveway. They had the city come out and the survey guy said the tree was actually about 10% on my property. I told them the tree was theirs and if they wanted it down, they’d have to pay for it because I didn’t have a problem with it.
Needless to say, we’re not friends.
I am currently out of town visiting family for a couple of weeks. I have a friend who comes over to my house every day to check on my cats and check for mail and packages. I have medication for my cats that is delivered regularly.
I got a notification the other day that some packages were delivered, so I texted my friend to let them know. But before my friend could get there, I got a notification from my Ring doorbell. I pulled up the live feed and saw my neighbor on my patio. I asked him what he was doing and he said a package of theirs got delivered to my house by mistake so he was just grabbing it.
I told him to leave and that my friend would bring over his package when she came over. He said he was not waiting for that and tried to leave. I told him if he takes a package from my porch I’m calling the cops.
He shoved the package in front of the camera and said ‘That’s my name and address. I’m taking my package.’
Then he walked away. So, I called the police and told them that he had stolen a package from me and I had video proof. They said they would investigate.
When my friend got there a little later, the police were talking to my neighbors. The police must have left while she was checking on my cats because when she went to leave it was just my neighbors outside.
The husband yelled at her to tell me that I was a huge jerk and that I needed to take the police off speed-dial and let them deal with more important things instead of using them as my own personal problem-solving service.”
“No Parking” Sign
“I have been living in my current house for about four years. It’s a lovely neighborhood, and I generally have a great relationship with my neighbors. However, there’s one neighbor, Dave (45M), who has been causing some issues lately, and I need some perspective on whether or not I am the jerk here.
Dave and his family moved into the house next door about a year ago. They have a narrow driveway that can fit only one car, and their house doesn’t have much street parking available. This hasn’t been a problem until recently when Dave started hosting large gatherings at his house.
During these gatherings, Dave’s guests would park their cars on the street, which would quickly become overcrowded. As a result, some of his guests started using my driveway without asking for permission. Initially, I let it slide because I didn’t want to cause any conflict. However, it began happening more frequently, and on a few occasions, I’d be unable to move my own car when I had to go to work or leave for my own business forcing me to go to Dave’s house and play a guessing game for someone to move their car.
I decided to address the issue with Dave, explaining that I didn’t mind his guests occasionally using my driveway, but I would appreciate it if he could ask for permission first. Dave seemed understanding and apologized for the inconvenience.
However, the situation didn’t improve. Dave continued to host gatherings, and his guests continued to use my driveway without permission. I decided to take matters into my own hands and placed a ‘No Parking’ sign in my driveway, along with a polite note asking Dave’s guests to respect my property, also with a warning that I’d have their vehicles towed.
Last weekend, Dave hosted another party, and his guests were forced to find alternative parking due to the sign. Dave confronted me, saying I was being unreasonable and that I should be more accommodating to his guests. He argued that it was just for a few hours and that I was creating unnecessary tension in the neighborhood.
I stood my ground, explaining that I had tried to address the issue politely and that my driveway was my private property. I added that he should have respected my request for permission and made better arrangements for his guests’ parking.
Ever since then me and Dave have not spoken to each other with him and his family most of the time shooting me a bad look.
So, AITA for not allowing my neighbor to use my driveway for his guests, despite having tried to address the issue politely?”
