Woman buys an expensive snow blower after struggling with snow for years and refuses to lend it or clear a neighbor’s drive for free during a major storm

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Feb 8, 2026 7:00 PM EST

Trying to be reasonable in a snowstorm is easy and basically means staying warm, inside, and not to demand stranger's expensive new snow blower to be community property.  

The setup is simple: a woman in her mid‑forties lives alone in a snowy climate, has already weathered a divorce, and spent over a year saving up for a premium two‑stage battery‑powered snow blower that cost nearly two thousand dollars. She did not buy it for status. She bought it because hiring people was unreliable, shoveling was physically exhausting, and getting to work in heavy snow meant she needed a real machine, not favors.

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    woman wearing a red knit hat and scarf uses a snow blower to clear a snow-covered driveway, throwing fresh snow into the air on a bright winter day in a residential outdoor setting.
    via backyardproductions

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    AITAH for not letting my neighbor borrow my snow blower and for not snow blowing their drive for them?

    I (45f) am divorced and live alone. I live in a cold climate area that can get a lot of snow.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 03
    I bought my current home 7 years ago, a few months after my divorce. Originally, I would pay my next door neighbor $20 to snow blow my drive when he did his, but he moved 2 years ago.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 04
    The first winter after he moved, I really struggled to remove the snow. I had a really hard time shoveling it and trying to hire people to come and remove it for me was difficult.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 05
    They were unreliable and wouldn't show or couldn't come in time for me to get to work, etc.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I started saving money to buy a nice snow blower for myself. I figured if I was buying one, I would get a large 2 stage one that could handle deep snow.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I also wanted a battery operated one because everyone I know with gas ones have issues every year with it not starting.
    via Queen_Aurelia

  • When the big storm hits, she hauls herself through twenty inches of snow, muscles the blower back and forth, gets her own driveway and sidewalks clear, and is physically wrecked, sore body, frozen fingers, wind‑burned face. At that point the only thing on her mind is getting inside, recharging, and surviving winter without feeling like Atlas with a snowblower.  

  • 08
    woman uses a red snow blower to clear a snow-covered driveway in front of a brick suburban house, with bare trees and fresh snowfall surrounding a quiet residential neighborhood in winter.
    via Nellie Adamyan

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 09
    I really did my research and I ended up buying one right before winter hit this year.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    It cost me close to $2,000. This was a lot of money for me to spend, especially on something that wasn't an absolute necessity.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    We have had a lot of snow this year, and having my snow blower has been great.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I sometimes struggle using it in really deep snow, but overall it has made snow removal so much easier.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 13
    A couple weeks ago, I was out snow blowing during that bad snow storm that hit most of the country.
    via Queen_Aurelia

  • Then a neighbor from across the street she has never met appears and asks to borrow the very equipment she maxed out her savings to buy. When she reasonably says no, same person, different drive, deeper snow, expensive gear, one person, one battery, she gets an eye‑roll and a follow‑up request to do his entire driveway for free. The unspoken assumption is that because she owns a snow blower, she is now the neighborhood clearing service.  

  • 14
    A neighbor from across the street came over and asked if he could use my snow blower when I was done.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    They just moved in recently and I have never met them. Given that it was a new snow blower and very expensive, I declined.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I explained to him that I didn't feel comfortable lending it out because of how I had to save for over a year to be able to purchase it and I was afraid to let others use it.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I am pretty sure he rolled his eyes. He then asked if I could just blow their drive for them.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I told him I had to recharge the batteries before the next use (the batteries were less than half charged after I used it and his drive is bigger than mine) and didn't want to have to come back out in this weather, plus it can be difficult for me to maneuver the blower in deep snow like we had.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    He did not mention any payment so I am assuming he expected it done for free.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I did offer to lend him my snow shovel. I was talking to some people I know (friends and co- workers) and some thought I was being ridiculous to not let him borrow it and other's understood where I was coming from.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    So AITAH? ETA: After I was done with my drive and sidewalks, I just wanted to go inside.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    It was difficult for me to get through the 20" on my drive. I am a very petite woman.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    My body was sore, my fingers were frozen despite gloves, my cheeks hurt from the wind.
    via Queen_Aurelia

  • What makes it quietly hilarious is how the system flips: she invested time, money, and physical effort to become self‑reliant, and instead of being praised for that, she is treated like a party‑pooper for not becoming the town’s unpaid janitor. The neighbor? He finds a plow truck a few hours later. He just got scared of the idea of paying and expected her to absorb the cost instead.  

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    I just didn't have it in me to stay outside and continue. It appears that he ended up hiring someone to clear his drive.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    A couple hours later, I saw a truck with a plow clearing his drive. There were a lot of people on the FB community groups offering up their services.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 26
    I am going to add the story about how the old next door neighbor started doing my drive for me because quite a few people have mentioned that.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 27
    There was a guy in his 20s that lived next door with his girlfriend. I started to get to know them shortly after I moved in because their dogs would dig under the fence into my yard.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I love dogs so it didn't bother me. One day I discovered their one dog was injured
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I helped them with that since I was a vet tech years ago. They would then ask me advice about their dogs occasionally.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    When winter came, I came home from work twice to find my drive had been cleared.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I did not know who did it. Eventually I discovered it was the guy next door.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I bought him an Amazon gift card as a thank you. He explained he had a powerful snow blower and enjoyed snow blowing and it was no problem to do my drive when he did his.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I insisted on paying him, and eventually he agreed to accept the $20. It took him 15 minutes max to do my drive.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    I never expected anyone to clear my drive nor did I ask him to do it.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    Since he insisted on doing it, I insisted on paying him. My original plan was to save up to buy a blower like I did when he moved and to hire someone with a plow off Facebook when there was a lot of snow until then.
    via Queen_Aurelia

  • Of course she is not the bad guy. She is the most reasonable person in the entire snowscape.

  • 36
    Thick-Actuary1462 "I offered to loan him my shovel" is the best part of this story.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 37
    Queen_Aurelia Original Poster's Reply I had my shovel out because I used it to clear off my front porch and steps.
    via Queen_Aurelia
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    DangerGoatDangergoat I need to buy a snow blower in the next year or two talk to me about yours? Also, NTA. -
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 39
    Queen_Aurelia Original Poster's Reply I have an EGO self-propelled 2 stage. I really like it.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 40
    QDKeck NTA - he could pick up a rock on his drive with the snow blower or a dropped item that is buried in the snow or he could be careless in general. You do not know this person nor owe them anything.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 41
    Queen_Aurelia Original Poster's Reply That is what was going through my head. My brother in law accidentally hit a landscaping rock snow blowing his drive last year. He couldn't tell where the drive ended and the landscaping began with all the snow. He completely busted up his snow blower.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 42
    clubfuckinfooted Last summer the woman who had just moved in next door asked if she could borrow my lawnmower since she was having people over. I agreed and brought it over. Two weeks later I called her and asked if I could have it back. She said "Oh, yeah. It's out in the yard". There it was sitting out there with an empty gas tank. Also, it had rained several times since then while it was sitting out. Lesson learned.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 43
    Football-Man-1889 Looks like he needs to invest in a good snow blower.., Definitely NTA In my experience he'll break it and deny any responsibility!
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 44
    Round_Elderberry81 NTA. I always say don't let people borrow things you can't afford to replace and a $2,000 snowblower is one of them. Unless the snow removal business is something you would consider respectfully declining is the right move.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 45
    BeccaBabey1031 Nta. This is our second winter in New England. Last year we had no snow blower and shoveling was ass. We had 2 neighbors come help us with their snow blowers, but they initiated. I would never have expected anyone to do our drive and walkways. My husband bought a snow blower this year and I'm so glad, because the snow was ridiculous, but I'm not lending it out. Don't want to cultivate a Homer Simpson
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 46
    Fancy-Still-4297 NTA for not "lending" an expensive tool to someone you've never even met. Rude and ridiculous for him to even ask.
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 47
    Unlucky-Captain 1431 The one time I lent my snowblower, you know it got broken NTA
    via Queen_Aurelia
  • 48
    ynotfoster I think you set a good boundary with them. We had a next-door neighbor who we called inventory eyes. He would stand in our garage and look at what we had so he'd know who to ask to borrow from.
    via Queen_Aurelia

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storm blizzard snow driveway shovel hoa neighbors neighborhood-drama payback entitled people
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