'Just a matter of time before he'll have to explain': Neighbor doubles down on overreaction

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 2, 2024 5:00 PM EST

These people have a great plan to deal with a not-so-nice neighbor. No matter where you grew up, chances are you've encountered a neighbor like the guy in this story. He seems a bit cranky, overreactive, and anti-social. You can try as hard as you want to be nice to this neighbor, but it won't matter much. Some people just want to be left alone all the time. 

This is the kind of neighbor who yells at kids who are playing in their own backyards, or calls their parents to complain that they're skateboarding around the neighborhood. They love to make the biggest mountains out of the smallest of molehills. When they act this way, some folks try to just be extra kind. There are lots of trials and tribulations that can cause someone to become angry at the world, but sometimes they just need a little kindness to start acting normally again. 

Others do not want to be contacted ever. No amount of fresh-baked cookies or invitations to dinner can break through to them. Well, to each their own. And the OP of this story is going about things in the perfect way after an encounter with a neighbor like that. 

After you check out this story of neighborly pettiness, read about the final straw moments that led people to quit their jobs on the spot. 

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  • 01
    'Neighbor won't even face in my direction, so I made sure he's the one feeling left out'
    via Chang Qing on Unsplash
  • 02
    Neighbor won't even face in my direction so I made sure he's the one feeling left out.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 03
    Met my nextdoor neighbor the day we moved in to rental house. It's a nice neighborhood, so I can only imagine having a rental property isn't popular. I figured that going in and planned to go out of our way to be good, responsible, and quiet neighbors, and to make friends if we could.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 04
    We complimented their freshly laid sod, which was being put in by landscapers while we chatted. It was clearly a big deal to him by how he talked about his yard.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 05
    Two days later I accidentally rolled onto the edge of his grass while trying to back out and return our moving truck. It bunched up a piece of sod, but did virtually no damage. Didn't even create a divot in the dirt. Before I was even out of the truck he screamed something and slammed the door behind him.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 06
    I knocked until he answered, admitted the error, and offered to pay the landscaping bill to have it repaired, even though simply pushing the sod back into place and adding some water would have made it good as new. He said he would send me the bill and shut the door in my face.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 07
    No bill, because surprise there was no damage, but nonetheless he started treating us like we ran over his grandmother. Not only does he refuse to talk to us, he'll even go as far as turning 180 so to not face in our direction if we drive by. Ridiculous.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 08
    Now honestly, he's putting in way more effort to avoid us than we even care about his approval in the first place. So really, jokes on him to begin with. But it's about the principle of the thing... Queue petty revenge.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 09
    When we first met, he had said Halloween was a big deal in our neighborhood. I bought king- sized candy bars just in the chance he'd be told or hear how great our house was for having them.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 10
    I made Christmas gifts for 3 neighbors on both sides (and these guys to be polite) and delivered them to introduce ourselves. Then, we've had every one of our other neighbors over for dinner. It's a very close neighborhood, so when they inevitably talk about us, it'll always be brought up how we had them over. Just a matter of time before he'll have to explain why.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 11
    I also befriended his wife and now we go on dog walks together every week. Since I had a group chat to give them both my number when we moved in, I use it to coordinate when we're meeting.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 12
    He may not have anything to do with us directly, but I'll be damned if it's not going to be as difficult as possible for him. I've got big plans for a neighborhood BBQ this summer. That should really be a riot.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 13
    Tl;dr My new neighbor is a baby and trying to avoid us so I'm making friends with everyone to annoy him.
    via u/DragonSpiritAnimal
  • 14
    Tobias_Atwood I love it. Can't wait for the story on the Spite BBQ.
    via u/Tobias_Atwood
  • 15
    Entertainer13 Reminds me of a weird thing. My parents had a neighbor that we got along with for over a decade. He stopped chatting with them for a bit, but didn't think anything of it.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 16
    Anyway, a tornado came through and knocked over a tree in their backyard over the fence they shared with the neighbor. Everyone was OK.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 17
    My dad new a guy who would cut it up for free and went next door to let him know. He knew he was home but the guy wouldn't answer.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 18
    Later that day a crew showed up and chopped up the tree and the neighbor came over with a bill and told my dad to pay half. My dad said he had a guy coming over who was going to do it for free. The neighbor got angry and asked why he didn't tell him, and my dad said it was cause he was hiding in his house all day. The neighbor stormed off.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 19
    When my dad confronted him about it, by repeatedly knocking on the door, he asked why he's so angry and refuses to talk to him. The guy yelled it was just the whole family and to leave him alone.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 20
    To this day, we don't know what him off. He went from nicely chatting to being like OP's neighbor, turning away from anyone in our family and even going inside the house if we were outside.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 21
    My dad has told me he got a little spiteful and has gone outside when he sees the neighbor doing yard work. He'll just sit down and read a book while the neighbor runs inside and has his plans for the day ruined. We can be a loud family, argumentative, so maybe we're just obnoxious to him. I don't know.
    via u/Entertainer13
  • 22
    Bearscare21 This is what I aspire to. For now I settle for being as nice as I can to the older woman at work that doesn't seem to like me. She retires in a year and I'll be damned if she doesn't like me before she goes.
    via u/Bearscare21
  • 23
    SCphotog Incoming silly meme- ish quote... to be sure it's not always possible and doesn't make sense in every situation but it's GOOD where it fits. "The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make them your friend". Good luck.
    via u/SCphotog
  • 24
    something-um-bananas. Screaming at you was definitely wrong, but why are you angry that he's avoiding you guys? I would feel relieved if someone who screamed at me never bothered me again.
    via u/something-um-bananas
  • 25
    seagull321 I like your style! Ignore the silly man and befriend everyone around him. He can't have anything negative about you that isn't a lie and that wouldn't have all the neighbors wondering what's wrong with him. Well played!!!!!
    via u/seagull321

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housing neighbors petty-revenge-reddit kindness neighborhood neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories petty revenge terrible neighbors petty
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