Disruptive or bossy neighbors can be quite a big headache. This is especially true if they start intruding on your property and complain about the way you live. Nonetheless, if it’s only complaints, you can simply ignore most of those if they are baseless. But boundaries are crossed when a neighbor rages at your child for doing nothing wrong.
Today’s story covers a disagreement between two neighbors. A man was fed up with his entitled neighbor and decided to take action. This resulted in a furious retired veteran, a ruined lawn, and a petty goodbye card.
More Info: Reddit
Being nagged is unpleasant enough, but it’s that much worse when it’s done by your entitled neighbors
Image credits: Zachary Keimig (not the actual photo)
A man approached Reddit to tell his story of how he shut down his entitled neighbor
Image credits: Marcus Aurelius (not the actual photo)
The neighbor was always angry and complaining, and on top of that, he used the man’s lawn and driveway for his own needs
Image credits: Dillon Kydd (not the actual photo)
The last straw for the man was when his 7-year-old daughter complimented the neighbor’s decorations and was yelled at for no reason
Image credits: u/Axoliien
The man was livid, he told the neighbor to stop using his lawn and driveway, or he’ll have him trespassed
Recently, a man approached Reddit to tell his tale of a dispute he had with his previous neighbor. An entitled retired veteran was nagging the man about his lawn and on top of that was using the man’s driveway and even parts of his property.
The story revolves around one specific neighbor, who lived next door. The man described this neighbor as “grumpy” and “always angry”. Apparently, the neighbor has never heard anyone say no to him, so he did pretty much what he wanted. For example, the neighbor’s fence was too short to have a gate, so he brought everything through the man’s yard.
The veteran also put his trash carts on the man’s property, including his lawnmower and even political signs. The OP didn’t care that much about this, even though he took care of his yard. So for the time being, he just let the neighbor use the yard the way he did.
One day, the OP’s wife accidentally swerved one wheel of her car onto the neighbor’s lawn, which resulted in a patch of mud. Of course, the neighbor was furious. But it didn’t escalate just yet. All of it changed when the man came home on a random day in November with his daughters.
The 7-year-old girl noticed her neighbor decorating his house with Christmas decorations and thought it was really pretty, so she said that. Suddenly, the neighbor completely lost it and started yelling at the little girl.
Dad was livid. Not only did the neighbor rage at his daughter, but he also insulted his wife. He said, “Women shouldn’t drive anyways.” Keep in mind that this is just for slightly scratching the lawn. On top of that, he threatened that unless the man “fixed” his wife’s driving, he would “dump rocks on the driveway” so they couldn’t use it.
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
This was the last straw for the man. He took the girls inside, found a copy of a survey he had gotten done just for this occasion, and went back to the neighbor. He told the veteran that the driveway isn’t his, nor does he have the right to use his yard that way, and showed him the precise line where his property ends. Additionally, he threatened the neighbor to have him trespassed if he did any of those things.
At that point, the neighbor was “beet red” and whined about how was he supposed to mow his lawn and do all of the other things he needed to do. The man simply told him, “Try me.” And it was the last time they ever spoke.
A year later, some guys came to work on the neighbor’s house, and the man didn’t let them use his driveway. Instead, they had to move their large lifter through the neighbor’s lawn, making it muddy in the process. Then, when the man was moving out, they left a card thanking the neighbor’s wife for being sweet, and mentioned to the veteran that they “hope his new neighbors would treat him with as much care and respect as he had afforded us.” However, this small neighborhood dispute is just one example of how differing perspectives and attitudes can cause friction.
The clash of generations is prevalent in today’s world. As covered in an article by the Financial Times, workplaces are increasingly becoming multicultural. In some cases, there can be up to 4 generations of employees which was never the case before in human history. Surveys suggest that only 6% of employees in such companies believe that their executives can effectively lead such a varied environment.
On the contrary, one could argue that generations “aren’t real”, as explored here. The core argument of this is that a “baby boomer” born in the US, has an entirely different social and historic background than one who was born in South Korea or Europe. Thus, their experience varies widely, which could shape vastly different worldviews, behavior, and values.
What do you think about the neighbor? Have you ever had a similar interaction? What do you think about the generational gap? Let us know in the comments below.