-
Borrowing used to mean “I will take this thing and then bring it back in one piece.” Somewhere along the way, it quietly turned into “I will absorb this object into my life, and your role is to fund the experience.” The neighbor part is just cosmetic. The core is the same little fantasy that other people’s time, money, and patience are unlimited resources.
But the worst offenders are the ones who combine laziness with entitlement and then decorate it with fake friendliness. They show up only when something useful appears in public view, a power tool, a parking outlet, a snowblower, or a ladder.
Suddenly, it is not your gear on your property. It is our situation. They talk like you are being unfair to the community when you hesitate, even though the only “community” involved is them and their inability to plan ahead.
-
Entitled neighbour wanting to borrow snowblower
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
There is a specific rhythm to how this plays out. First comes the casual ask, like this is no big deal at all. Then, a little push when you try to set a limit. Time. Battery. Weather. Your own plans. None of that matters. The important thing is that they have decided the problem is urgent now, and therefore, you should rearrange your life around it. When that fails, you get the sulk, the huff, or the offended exit. A whole performance because the free thing was not instant or unlimited.
-
-
Over time, this turns regular living into a weird side job you never agreed to. You end up tracking who has which tool, who never returns anything, and who treats common areas like their personal extension cord. You notice who only appears when something is plugged in, running, buzzing, or available. The story is always the same. Borrowing is temporary. Sharing is mutual. Whatever this is, neighbors like that are doing neither. It is a quiet extraction dressed up as “just being neighborly,” and the joke is that they seem to be the only ones who believe it.
-
-
-
-
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
-
-
-
-
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!