We have a pretty good group of neighbors in the area where I raised my children. None of us are super close but there is usually some sort of party or BBQ that brings us together a couple times a year. People are busy with jobs and raising families so we fortunately have little to no drama.
But there is one guy who is quite a character and a bit of a nuisance to be honest. Our neighborhood has minimum lot requirement zoning so those of us on “flag” lots have very long driveways - most families have either a golf cart or a Gator for the purpose of getting their trash up to the road and to collect mail. This guy though uses his golf cart as more of a “visit vehicle” and it is not uncommon to see him driving across your lawn or meadow in one of his unannounced visits.
One evening in the early years I heard his golf cart coming across the lawn and he knocked on the door. I was home alone so stepped outside to have the conversation rather than inviting him in. He was smoking a cigar and telling me one of his far fetched stories. The cigar was getting short and I guess he was finished with it - he took the cigar scraped it across the stone on the outside wall of my house to put it out, and then flicked the stub into one of my front beds. I was really annoyed. I said nothing and he of course did not notice my annoyance, but that incident defined him in my mind forever.
@fireandrain , I saw this product advertised today and thought about your crazy neighbor. Perhaps you can have one of these drop shipped to their house? j/k of course.
Just came back from Home Depot, which didn’t have a single product that would turn the outdoor light into a motion sensor. Not impressed with Home Depot. There may be something useful on Amazon.
Our zoning restrictions on exterior lighting say “No glare onto adjacent properties is permitted.” Not exactly sure what that means.
We have no restrictions on outdoor lights…but then…we also have minimum two acre zoning, and live in the woods…so it’s not like the lights from a neighbor are ever shining in our window.
But we also have one nutty neighbor basically just a jerk.
I read an article once about neighbors that said every neighborhood had one nut…and suggested all the nuts be moved to a neighborhood of their own.
Unless you expect them to be violent, I would tell them very bluntly “I’m sorry that my light bothers you, but this is my home and I may use my kitchen light as I wish, and you have no right to tell me what to do in my own home, you old hag (ok - maybe leave that part out). I recommend you put blinds on your window or buy eyeshades. Do not leave any further notes on my house or complain to me about this again.” They may be bullies and get away with it because people pussy-foot around them. Or the daughter may be overwhelmed from dealing with whatever issues her mother has. But that’s not your problem.
We had neighbors with a horrible squeaky attic fan that was so loud we could not sit outside. Several neighbors had tried to talk to them about it with no luck. So I got a local roofing company to come to my house, look over the fence at their fan, and give a quote for replacing their fan, then I went to their door, introduced myself, explained that their fan was squeaking, and gave them the number and quote from the roofer. Actually, the other neighbors were all willing to chip in to pay for it (well, one neighbor was more interested in shooting paintballs full of WD40 at the fan). But the people were SO rude to me, told me their fan did NOT squeak, and told me it was too bad if it bothered anyone else (yes, they did contradict themselves). They also said some other weird crazy stuff!
Resolution? One of the neighbors found the son of these people and called him, and 3 days later the fan was GONE. Not replaced. GONE! And the hole was shingled over. Too bad the crazy lady next door to you doesn’t have a sane child you could call!
The neighborhood gathering would be a good time for you to mention that you have been keeping your yard lights on overnight due to the recent crime outbreak. If your lights are really annoying to other neighbors it would give them a chance to tell you in a reasonable setting. If no one says anything you can assume the mother/daughter pair doesn’t need any accommodations from you.
It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that both mother and daughter have mental problems.Actually, for all we know, mom sleeps like a baby and daughter’s making the whole thing up.
I live in a city and have some institutional neighbors. One is a hospital, and I dearly wish they would subsidize their employees’ parking because during the week, during the day, my block is a mess. It is the first block without parking meters and they all know it!
In the other direction is a small nursing home. They have generators that are so loud that it drives you crazy even when you’re inside with all the windows closed. I stood outside them with a friend and measured the noise and it was around 95 decibels, spiking at 100 sometimes!
Now, what kind of note should I put on their doors? Seriously, I’ve been thinking of writing to both of them and I wonder what department or person I should address it to.
Those comments are the funniest things I’ve read in a while! Maybe some of those suggestions would work for the OP! Or at least keep the daughter away!
We live in a community with an association. This seems to give a handful of neighbors free license to be in everyone’s business. Things got heated during board election time when one small group decided they were going to campaign for their candidate with yard signs and door to door canvassing. We have a “no soliciting” rule in our cc&rs and my neighbor slammed the door on one of them. Our neighborhood also has an online forum for friendly chat - that turned into something akin to FOX News. Our community was so divided. Thank goodness its over for now.
