Annoyed Homeowner Considers Selling His House Because His Lonely Neighbor Is 'Too Nice'
It's good to be nice, but you need boundaries.
RealPeopleStudio | Shutterstock Do you like your neighbors? Having a good one is often a gamble. Sometimes they’ll be sweet, drop off desserts, grab your mail while you’re traveling, or invite you over for dinner. But then there are the ones who complain the moment you play music a little too loud or when kids are outside making noise.
A problem most people don't consider is having a neighbor who's too nice. Think it's impossible? You'd be wrong. One man turned to Reddit with this very reason. He claimed he and his wife are considering selling the house they love because their lonely neighbor requires much more attention than they want to provide him.
A man is considering selling his house because of an overly kind neighbor.
"My wife and I bought our first house in 2017," the homeowner wrote. He explained that they got a great deal, right before house prices and interest rates went up. Everything seemed perfect until their neighbor started, well, being neighborly. The husband explained that the man next door is in his late 60s, while the couple is in their mid-30s. The problem was that the neighbor wants to get involved in everything the couple does.
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The homeowner added that the neighbor, sadly, lost his wife to cancer five years ago, has no children, and retired this year. All of this helped explain the situation he is in right now. He has very little to do and no companions. These signs were evident on the first day the couple moved in. Right after signing the title, the two went to see their new place. Just five minutes after arriving, the husband wrote, the neighbor came over to talk.
"And it only gets worse," he added. The two are not the type to party, the husband said, but maybe six to ten times a year, they will invite friends over for a cookout. Every time they do, even when they don't play music or are loud, the neighbor shows up, asks what's going on, and leaves after a little while.
Giving someone a hand is a good act, but it's best to make sure they actually want it.
The husband recalled a few times when the neighbor did something that was meant to be helpful, but the couple didn’t want it. He said that one day, the neighbor asked to borrow his cordless leaf blower to clean out his gutters. The husband agreed.
"I'm sitting there on a conference call when I hear loud knocking on my roof," he wrote. "I proceed to go outside, and he is on MY ROOF BLOWING OUT MY GUTTERS." The homeowner then told the neighbor that he shouldn’t be cleaning his gutters and that he could do it himself on his own time.
One day, the couple’s Ring cameras were going off. They weren’t home and checked it. What did they see? "He is EDGING OUR ENTIRE FRONT LAWN." By the time they got home, the husband said, it was already done.
While I secretly wish this guy were my neighbor, the sad fact is that there are plenty of people who don't want or appreciate the sense of community that used to be much more prevalent in suburban neighborhoods. Now, everyone lives in their own little bubble, and it's not hard to see why we are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic.
The husband closed by saying that they just wanted peace and for the neighbor to respect their boundaries. Commenters suggested a bright solution: volunteer work. One user even mentioned an organization, Meals on Wheels, where the neighbor could surround himself with supportive people while doing good for those in need.
The crux of the issue is that the older neighbor needs companionship. The couple doesn’t want to give that, and they have the right not to do so. They didn’t sign up for all of this help or an overreaching friendship with the neighbor. They just want to be left alone. Perhaps with volunteer work, the neighbor could start feeling better about himself. You can tell he’s a good person trying to help, but he overlooks boundaries because he’s lonely.
Matt Machado is a writer studying journalism at the University of Central Florida. He covers relationships, psychology, celebrities, pop culture, and human interest topics.
