A young family already has a lot of things to worry about. As a parent, you will always want to ensure that your children are only interacting with people who are going to be a positive influence on them. Unfortunately, every family has some people living in direct proximity to you and your family whom you may not know as well. These people are your neighbours.
Daily life gets so much easier when you get along with your immediate neighbours. So, why not set a good example for your kids by making the extra effort to get along with your neighbours?
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Establish A Parking Routine
Sadly, one of the most common disputes between neighbours involves rules about parking. Finding somewhere outside your house to safely leave your car can be extremely frustrating if neither of you has a driveway. It can be even more irritating if someone you know has parked outside your house when there is plenty of space elsewhere- especially if you have had a stressful day at work.
Avoiding this type of disagreement is not as difficult as it may seem. All it takes is some careful consideration from both parties. Always try to ensure that you park in the same space to establish it as yours and hopefully, your neighbours will do the same. Also, be prepared to move your car if you have had to park somewhere they have established as their spot.
Avoid Noisy Evenings
Most people will agree that one of the most annoying habits of a neighbour is when they make a lot of noise, particularly in the evenings when it is time to relax. People can really get under your skin by engaging in DIY projects or playing loud music at odd times. That is why you can avoid this by setting a precedent.
Always try to avoid unnecessary noise and you will avoid the possibility of your neighbours doing the same. Unfortunately, there may be times when you have to be noisy during a building project in your home or at a big birthday party. You can get ahead of these potential issues by warning your neighbours ahead of time that you may be noisy at some point. Try to be as specific as you can about the timings of the event, and your neighbours will most likely respond in kind if they run into the same issues.
Be Welcoming
The best bit about having neighbours is that they don’t always last forever. Most people move on after a long time living in one place, which is great news if you accidentally got off on the wrong foot with your previous neighbours.
You don’t have to be overly friendly, but making the effort to welcome any newcomers to the neighbourhood will immediately establish you as a friendly face. This means that your new neighbours will be more eager to stay on friendly terms in the future.
Maintain Boundaries
Maintaining personal boundaries with people nearby can be extremely difficult. Fortunately, you will have some clearly laid out boundaries around your property for you to separate any disputes.
There is a saying that states that good fences make good neighbours and this saying cannot be closer to the truth. That is why you want to put any fencing in your garden along any property lines. This will establish who owns what part of each property before any disputes can arise. The boundary lines of your property will be clearly labelled on the deed to your home so you should know where to instruct your timber merchants to erect your fence. Also, remember that it is the job of the person who put up the fence to fix it if it is damaged during a storm.
Avoid Gossip
People will always engage in behaviour that appears interesting out of context. This is especially true of your neighbours. Anyone that is close to you is going to engage in behaviour that you can see or hear. This behaviour can seem odd if you do not have the full story behind it.
As such, it can be extremely tempting to discuss any odd behaviour with your friends and family. However, you don’t always know who your neighbours are also friends with. Any negative information you share could easily make it back to your neighbours and paint you in a bad light. This will not go down well if you are trying to maintain a friendly relationship. That is why you should always avoid the temptation to gossip about your neighbours, even if they engage in confusing behaviour.
Conclusion
Maintaining a relationship with your neighbours can be tricky, especially if you have nothing in common. However, a positive relationship with these people will be much better for you and your family. That means it is always worth making an extra effort.
Our neighbours have been given their final written warning for Anti Social Behaviour
Oh no lets hope they start behaving or you get some lovely new neighbours
I get on well with both adjacent neighbours, and they are very good at taking in parcels for me!
Having good neighbours who take in parcels is great, we are the same with our neighbours
I think the best thing about moving into a new built flat is that everyone is new and so it was much easier to get to know everyone. One of our neighbours started a WhatsApp group for our floor so if anyone needed a favour or wanted to give something away, they can post it on the group. It was also a great way to get to know one another, which household has families and young children etc. Since then, however, a lot of people have moved out and new neighbours have moved in, but we try to add them into the group, greet them when we see them and get the kids to do the same. We are usually the first to put our hands up to offer help when is needed. I’m always helping people collect the post since I’m a full-time mum and I’m always at home and most of them are at work.
But there are some neighbours, which my husband like to call Ned Flanders. In our old house in Hartford, we found a neighbour in our garden helping us with gardening that we never asked for. As helpful as they were trying to be, I did feel they stepped over the boundary. I couldn’t even go to my nearest train station without my neighbour hooting at me, inviting me for a lift, to drive me there. It was a bit awkward and maybe being a Londoner, I wasn’t used to it
I think your old neighbourhood would get me as well, and I would have had tto say something. I do think it is nice to be neihbourly. One of my neighbours told me off the other day as we had another skip delivered and I saw what my husband was throwing out and I was getting stuff out. She said that wasn’t what I should be doing
It is really great to get on well with your neighbours so you can all look out for each other. My neighbours one side are elderly and I clean their house for them and they always give me treats for the children. I would hate to not get on with neighbours.
I could not cope if we did not get on with our neighbours as would make things very awkward
been so lucklky with all our neighbours – chatting and discussing and taking care of each of our needs – never had an issue
It is the best way to be
Good tips – we just do what we can to be good neighbours and get on great with them
Unless they are the neighbour from hell it should be easy to get on with your neighbours
I wish my neighbours were like this,but no they are Anti Social and noisy
Oh no there is nothing worse than anti social neighbours