Next Door Neighbours

[Daisy]

We've only got one set of next door neighbours - the house on the other side is set at 90 degrees to ours, so the side of our house is the bottom of their garden. So our one set of 'real' neighbours are always of interest.

About 12 years ago the family who had lived there since it was new moved away and a young couple about to get married moved in. They were lovely and we became good friends - in fact we started the allotment together. Then they had two gorgeous babies, but nearly 6 years ago they decided to spend a couple of years in Australia, and they rented their house out to a nice couple who were doing up a house they'd bought in the village. Within a couple of years they had moved on and someone else moved in. We never saw these people, despite calling round to introduce ourselves and sticking a 'welcome' card through the door. They left one dark and stormy night having cheated the house owners out of a lot of money.

The next tenants were another lovely young family who we are still friendly with, but the owners decided they could no longer keep so much money tied up in a house in the UK. They're very happy in Oz, so I can't see them coming back here soon. The house is on the market for sale. But for various reasons no-one seems interested, so there are now short term tenants in there. They moved in a couple of weeks ago, but we've only met the husband and their two sons so far. He seems a lovely man and it would be nice if they were staying. They're looking to buy, but want somewhere bigger, so they're unlikely to stay either.

It would be so nice to have more permanent neighbours again. <sigh>

[Glammanana]

It must be difficult for your x-neighbours to keep on top of things whilst they live in Aus,they seem to have made the decision to stay there don't they.
It sounds as though you have been lucky and had good tenants in the house as some tenants can be "the tenants from hell" as well we know.
With luck now the weather is changing buyers will be looking to view and possibly buy,such a shame the present tenants need somewhere bigger they sound ideal neighbours.

[Plantaholic]

Houses are not moving very quickly in our area that is why GS and his wife were lucky to buy a larger house at a good price as the owners were moving back to Germany. We have nine gardens backing onto us but only one neighbour who like to be very private, I think they are nudists. They are very friendly with us but have a high gate at their entrance and you can't open it from the outside, we share a track up to our properties. The rest of the people in the road find them very odd as they don't have anything to do with anyone except us.

[Nanto2girls]

We have lived here for 50 years and have only had 2 sets of neighbours joined on to us.
Our house is on a corner,so neighbours at the other side of us. The house joined on is still council property.
Those that were here when we first came were ok. Well, the man was, the woman not so nice.
They moved into an aged persons bungalow about 12 years ago.
A younger couple then got the house, and we get on with them ok. Always have a chat when we are all out in the garden.
Just a couple of years after they moved in,their eldest boy(14) died from cancer.
We never see the younger boy,he's about 15. Hubby has remarked before,that he never helps his dad in the garden, in fact we never see him outside.
I suppose he spends time on computer when not at school. to be honest,i don't think we would recognise him if he walked into our house.

[Gemini]

I will add to this thread when I don't have a cat on my knee!

[Daisy]

Just a couple of years after they moved in,their eldest boy(14) died from cancer.
We never see the younger boy,he's about 15. Hubby has remarked before,that he never helps his dad in the garden, in fact we never see him outside.
I suppose he spends time on computer when not at school. to be honest,i don't think we would recognise him if he walked into our house.

Nanto - you never know what is going on in other people's homes and families. When we lived in Surrey there was a family in our street with a boy who was about 12 or 13. He never mixed with the other children, always wore his anorak with the hood up - summer and winter - and never spoke to anybody. Knowing what I know now, I believe he was autistic, but it wasn't very well recognised in the 1970s and I often wonder what became of him. How sad that your neighbours lost their older son - I don't think you ever get over such an awful loss. You can't imagine how it might have affected the family.

Plant - your GS did well to buy a larger house during a lull in the market.

Glamm - you're right - I can' see our original neighbours coming home until the children have at least finished school, if ever. She is a GP and working conditions for GPs there are much better - as she says, you have time to really look after your patients.

[Qwerty]

The least I say about my next door neighbour the better as you all know, I just wish the tea trolley that’s been in the garden since February would wheel itself away 😏

[Gemini]

Daisy it would be nice if you could get some more permanent neighbours.
I bet you wish those neighbours would move on Qwerty.

We have nice neighbours on both sides. A middle aged couple on one side, with 2 daughters. One at uni, one who has graduated. The other side a young couple who work full time. Each of these sets of neighbours have 2 cats. This makes me very happy as we have 3! I have a fear of cat haters moving in on either side.
Directly opposite is a nice man, older than us, who is widowed. We only know him from passing the time of day and him taking a couple of parcels in for us, but he seems very pleasant. His garden is immaculate!

I have mentioned before that we were 'head hunted' as cat sitters for neighbours 3 doors down!

[Glammanana]

We have been very lucky with regard to neighbours over the years,here in the bungalow we have nice neighbours either side,our gardens are interconnected by garden gates which where put in for the ease of the gardeners to have access to all the rear gardens,we see one lady next door a couple of times a week and my Oliver goes into her bungalow to play with her 3 cats and see what she has put out for dinner for her cats just in case it is better than we are offering that day.
On the other side we have a gentleman who has just lost his partner of many years whose funeral is actually this afternoon,he is a helpful chap and loans hubby his long ladders when we clean under the eve's of the house he always stands at the bottom of the ladder when hubby assends between the two of them they resemble "The Worker" that famous Charlie Drake sketch from yrs ago,the past few months I have sent him in a Roast on a Sunday and small meals and scones during the week,but I don't want to become too involved just keep an eye on him in case he needs help in the future.

[Gemini]

That's very kind Glamma.

[WeeGranny]

We were the first to move into the courtyard and had no neighbours for about 9 months while the other houses were finished and sold. An elderly couple moved in next door and he was not a very nice man. Wouldn't speak unless he wanted to know something then he'd turn and walk away. Didn't speak to DD or myself, but would speak to menfolk. When he had to stop driving ( had only one eye and was in failing health) OH offered to take his wife to shops if she wanted. All was fine, though she was beginning to want to go just about everyday and one day OH said he was sorry, but couldn't take her and they didn't ask any more. She spent a lot of time in the garden which was immaculate. He died, she moved away and a youngish couple moved in and proceeded to tear the house apart! He is like his predecessor....speaks when he wants to know something! I think he's a bit OCD, their life seems very regimented for young people! She is, according to her father, a workaholic! The other couple are very elderly and are the parents of the lads who built the houses. We get on well with them and their family. They now have live-in carers so we're not as involved with them as we used to be, but we still visit and I take over some baking if I've done any. The lady in the front house is on her own and always has something to moan about. DD has just recently moved and the neighbours in her little street all seem very pleasant and people in village smile and say Hello.
Our village is becoming more friendly as we've had an influx of new people because of all the new houses that have been built. So it's nice to have people say hello when you pass them in the street. The locals always seemed a bit insular, but it was a military village for along time, so I think people assumed you'd be moving on in a couple of years.

[Enfys]

We’ve been lucky with neighbours over the years. We now have a young couple on one side, out at work all day so we don’t see much of them but when we do they are a,ways chatty and friendly. The other side is a man A few years younger than us who sadly lost his wife just before Christmas. We try to chat to him as much as we can and he seems to be getting on OK. We Know the people across the road just by taking in parcels for them. We like to be friendly with neighbours but not always in and out so ours are just fine.

[Daisy]

It's funny how a neighbourhood can change when houses change hands. So far we've been lucky almost everywhere. There was just one house (in Bromborough, Glam) where we had just one neighbour and the lady never spoke to anyone, so we didn't take it personally. But we were out at work all day anyway, so it didn't matter. In one house our neighbours were Iranian and the parents' English wasn't very good, but they were a lovely couple and so kind. She was always popping round with jars of pistachio nuts for the children because she said they were good for the blood. You didn't see pistachio nuts in England in those days, so they were a novelty to us.

What I do like is our little cul de sac have a real mixture of ages from primary school age, teenagers and oldies like us.