'You’re new here, I’ve been here 10 years': Grandpa warns neighbor that he's building on a nature preserve, neighbor tells him to 'mind his own business'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Jul 14, 2023 3:00 PM EDT

Your neighbors can look out for you, but only if you actually get to know them. If you're the neighborhood's cranky dude who just wants to keep to himself, that's fine, but you can't expect your neighbors to have your back if you don't have theirs.

Some places, neighbors grow so close that they're almost family. It's a great feeling to be surrounded by friends, and they can watch your pets and water your plants while you're on vacation. You might even start a cycle of borrowing a cup of sugar and then returning your neighbor a few of the cookies you just made in some Tupperware. Then they make you a dessert to put in the Tupperware you just gave them. This begins a potentially life long cycle of giving and getting homemade foods, which is beneficial to all parties involved. Other neighbors trade favors — if you patch this hole in my wall, I'll fix the squeaking board on your front porch.

Not everyone wants to be a friendly neighbor, for a variety of things. Some folks just want to be left alone, others just aren't friendly or trusting. This guy was not a chatty neighbor, as this OP writes in a story about how his Gramps tried to be helpful. Scroll down to check out the full story. Then, these coworkers teamed up to let their other coworker fail.