Tips for getting along with your annoying neighbors
Rare is the man or woman who gets though life without having to deal at some point with annoying, wretched, awful neighbors-cave-people. Here are some tips for getting along with them. Let's explore this interesting topic further.
Now, the goal here is just to get along with your annoying neighbors. They could be annoying for any number of reasons. Perhaps they play their music too loudly. Perhaps they keep their lawn too trashy. Perhaps they harbor a savage dog who is always trying to eat your children. Perhaps they walk around naked in plain view of your horrified eyes. Or, perhaps, you are in one of these much less dramatic situations, which nevertheless raise anxiety levels and leave you feeling angry all day long. We know of a case, for example, where some bad neighbors built a balcony way up on the side of their house which allowed them to look over neighboring fences and see, or rather stare, at what the Jones's were up to. Nothing illegal; nothing to write a comedy sketch about; but irritating, thoughtless, and maddening just the same. First off, then, when it comes to getting along with annoying neighbors, is some sort of grasp of just how wide an array of behaviors this topic covers.
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It' s important to have a grasp of the wideness of the array because you want to get along with your neighbors, but do it in such a manner that you feel sane and human in the process. In other words, you want to get along with your annoying neighbors, but not at all costs. You have your dignity, you have your rights-lines must be drawn in the sand; otherwise, what's the point of getting up early and working hard to pay the mortgage and monthly car payments and so forth? Know what sorts of behavior count as merely annoying, and what sorts count as, if not blatantly illegal, at least something that tickles the ribs of the law, as it were. Too much noise, for example-your neighbors blasting their stereo at all hours of the night-this isn't something you have to simply shrug your shoulders, say a prayer, and "get along" with. This is a matter for the police to "get along" with.
So, once you've separated mere annoying behaviors from outright unacceptable ones, you've got to begin forming a philosophy of how to tolerate these annoying behaviors in such a way that you don't worsen them by aggravating your neighbors, and at the same time retain a chance of having an influence for good in getting these behaviors to lessen in intensity if not to cease altogether. An important part of the philosophy, obviously, will be the approach. Again, you don't want to aggravate these people, you don't want to push them; no one enjoys that pushed around feeling. Therefore, it might be wise to actually attempt establishing a relationship with your annoying neighbors before you begin requesting that they stop doing X and Y.
As crazy as that sounds, it's been known to work; for thousands of years, it has been known to work. Oftentimes the soft approach is the best approach. Let's say that your neighbors allow their kids to leave toys strewn all over the lawn, and that sometimes beach balls and so forth blow over onto your lawn. A definite annoyance; a definite case of annoying neighbors. You could try marching to their front door and demanding that they clean up their pigsty or else, or you could march to their front door with a plate of cookies, introduce yourself, and get to know them and their wild children a little better. Who knows-such a gesture could result in your neighbors suddenly noticing how boorish they've been, and telling little Tommy and Jane to clean up more often, and to keep their things from tarnishing your lawn. But even if such dramatic success doesn't occur instantly, you'll at least have started a conversation that, if sincerely kept up on your part, will eventually put you in a position of talking frankly to your annoying neighbors about their annoying ways without their throwing you out the front door straightaway.
