Neighbors, they can be wonderful if you have good ones. However, when things go sideways they can really get crazy. The craziest neighbors this writer has seen are right next to my sister. They bought their home with the one next door still for sale. The realtor, who we went to school with, promised to find her “the best neighbors ever"...PSYCH.
I'll set the stage: it's a small, very rural, farming town. *cue banjos* The neighbors that moved in next door were nice but a bit...different. They are a slightly older couple who decided to start their own home-based church, often meeting at the house. Fine, whatever right? Well, they also enjoy sharing conspiracy theories, and apparently, just a home and plain fence were too normal.
It started with the spray paint on the fence. Gems like "Repent Now", "Salvation" and simply "JESUS" scrawled in bright red paint on an old wooden fence. Then they decided to form a church band in their garage. A home gospel garage band except none of them can sing. Or really play. They also write some of their own songs and "practice" regularly.
So now all summer long (for a couple of years now) my sister--and I when visiting--get to enjoy the sound of loud, off-tune, caterwauling while the two small dogs yap nonstop right outside in accompaniment. Welcome to rural Maine... pics or it didn't happen, right?
Google Maps
Redditor PickYourPoison2020 wanted to hear the juiciest neighbor drama the internet had to offer.
They asked:
"Screw love thy neighbor, why do you hate yours?"
If you've got one to top these we want to hear it.
Did she think no one would notice?
“I planted a smoke tree in my yard. Its a tree is red colored leaves. She dug it up and planted it in her own yard. I mean, who does crap like that? A crazy person. She is nuts.”
“Her daughter graduated from high school and moved to Northern CA. She rented her house out, and moved to Northern CA. Her daughter had moved to get away from her. She is crazy. We ignored her. I did put up an 8 foot fence.”
“dad chasing teenage son around their front yard with a snow shovel...”
“Trailer trash freeloading on their poor old grandmom's goodwill. They don't lift a finger to help her take trash out, get groceries, anything. She's like 85+ with the blinder glasses they give you at the eye doctor after a dilation and a walker."
“Have seen and heard everything from cops showing up, loud car stereo, power tools, screaming matches, and a full-blown dad chasing teenage son around their front yard with a snow shovel yelling 'I'll f**king kill you' for 20 minutes, all happening at all hours of the night and morning."
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Wanna bet they're also anti-maskers?
“During the pandemic shutdown, my backyard neighbors illegally and without permits, cut down two huge beautiful trees, slashed through the root system to build a retaining wall behind our shared fence, raised their property by 2 feet, and put in an outdoor patio with a kitchen and sitting area with TV.”
“They destroyed my septic system, and installed drainage pipes under the patio which drain against the fence, into my now destroyed septic system, leading to my yard being flooded with sewage water almost constantly. On top of this, they've had huge get togethers all pandemic long, with anywhere from 10-50 people in their yard, being loud, several times per week.”
“I've tried to get help from our local building inspector, but the wife's father is a well known and influential contractor, so they won't do anything. In the 2 years they've been there they've rendered my yard useless and tanked my property value. That's why I hate my neighbors.”
Poor little kitten!
“They arent my neighbors anymore, but they moved into a 2 bedroom house with a TON of foster kids. I'm happy they are fostering but they do NOT monitor these kids at all. Neighbors on the other side had to put up a fence because these kids kept trespassing on their property (I'm talking right up on the house and everything)."
“They would blast very vulgar music through speakers out the house windows all hours of the day, they threw trash in our yard all the time, they trespassed. The parents screamed at us once for shoveling the snow off their sidewalk for them. The rest of the neighbors on the street were elderly so we just did the whole street all the time."
"Worst of all though was when they broke into my house and stole our new kitten because they wanted it. Their dog tried to kill her, so instead of returning her they took her to an abandoned house and dumped her there. We never saw her again."
"The room they stole the cat from was trashed. When we confronted the parents about it they just blamed us and then had some of their relatives harass us via Facebook. We also had 2 ducks and they would regularly harass the ducks."
"One time they drove a lawnmower into our yard and right up against the duck fence, scared the sh!t out of them until the one duck got its head stuck in the fence and couldn't get out. Then they yelled at me because the duck was quacking loudly for help and I wasn't home at the time to do anything about it."
"God damn was I glad to move away from there. I purposefully bought a house with a lot of land so that I have a 'buffer zone' between me and any more potential bad neighbors."
30k wasn't a bad trade off...
“They poisoned my western red cedar because it was casting shade on their pool and dropping needles on their guest house. They drilled a few holes into the tree and poured poison into it. We noticed when the tree started to die from the top down.”
“Can't hate them too much tho we took the to court and got 30k for it. They still hate us, they glare at us every time the see us ; especially when we are on the patio...since we built it with the money we got from them.”
Best Excuses For Late Assignments That Were Actually True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
We need a drink just hearing it.
“They leave their dog out on their deck, tied to the railing with a VERY short leash, in summer heat or winter cold. It barks all day and whines to be let in but it's ignored until about midnight when they let it into the garage to sleep. Ugh humanity."
“Animal Control called, HOA has been notified, all to no avail. Just a reprimand saying don't leave your dog out in extreme weather (subzero or 100+F for more than 3 hours according to our county laws, which I think is BS), it's technically under 'shelter' which is a tiny piece of tarp that is pretty much useless, and they can't do anything about the barking cuz it's a dog and that's what dogs do."
"Other than it being tied outside, no signs of abuse, it's well fed and they play with it in the afternoon, albeit in their unfenced front yard and the dog is off the leash running around after tennis balls in the freaking street. HOA has been informed about the leash thing and noise ordinance violation (dog barking excessive noise after 10:30 pm) but not sure if there are disciplinary procedures regarding that."
"They moved in a month after I moved into my house. I hate them---my blood pressure. Also they had the nerve to complain to me that someone called Animal Control and HOA on him and he has terrible neighbors... I laughed in his face. I need a drink."
Sweet, satisfying revenge...
“I hate my neighbor because they used to burn garbage in their fireplace. It made foul smelling black smoke. When asked to stop burning it they threw it over the fence into our yard. Our dogs shredded the bags, and all three went to the vet for the night. I got my vengeance by throwing mint seeds into their anal-retentively well kept yard. Hearing him try to keep it under control is delicious.”
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“a voice that sounds like she just smoked 10 Newport's...”
“If she catches you outside, you're stuck in a conversation that you CANNOT get out of. She hates the neighbor's dog, on the other side of me. So when I'm trying to garden in peace, I have her yelling at the dog across my back yard, while it in turn barks at her. The whole time talking my ear off, in a voice that sounds like she just smoked 10 newports before i got outside. Which makes me not want to go outside, and I end up neglecting my garden sometimes.”
Others had the same problem being trapped in conversation.
“We just moved away from a very similar neighbor. She learned our schedule, would wait outside our place for us after work, coming home from walking the dog, etc. We felt like prisoners at our own home. Can't tell you how many times we circled the block waiting for her to go inside so we could avoid a 30 minute convo.”
“She's even resorted to bringing us our mail so that she can talk our ears off. The worst part of it all is that she means well, she's a super nice older lady who probably is just lonely, but personal space is necessary and sometime you just want to get home and unwind after work rather than listen to Marge talk about how the neighborhood used to look in 1997 and what each of her 11 grand kids want for Christmas.”
Ankle-biters...
“They have 2 annoying little yapper dogs and 2 kids they don't try to shut up or control. Thier kids hang over the fence teasing/playing with my dogs until they are barking mad.”
“First day we moved in the kids started and I asked them and their parents to not do it. I've since had many words with the parents next door....like talking to a brick wall. I'm moving in a couple weeks, I'm positive my dogs will like the new backyard.”
Pot kettle, kettle pot...
“Has a rock band that practices all the time (LOUD).. no one ever says anything to him about it. I play country on my little portable speaker at 7 on a Saturday and he huffy and puffs and asks me to turn my music down... hypocrite.” Extremelyhotchick
“gifted their three teenage kids dirtbikes for Christmas, duck calls...”
“One behind my house has multiple swastika tattoos and some kind of illicit business operating out of his house.The ones across the street gifted their three teenage kids dirtbikes for Christmas, duck calls for their birthdays and apparently an airhorn at some point recently.”
“We live in an otherwise quiet suburb surrounded by wide open space. Yet there is apparently nowhere better to ride dirt bikes or enjoy the wonderful sport of bad duck calls and uncreative swearing besides the street 15 feet from my house. They make swastika guy look like a good neighbor.” greypouponlifestyle
Before you moved in?
“They came over to complain about the noise before I moved in. The moving truck hadn't even shown up yet… he has been coming over regularly to complain even when there's not people here so I don't know if he has auditory hallucinations or what his problem is.” Possible_Koala2192
Glad the dogs are ok...
“My neighbor has two huge pit bulls that have ripped the fence between our properties to pieces and gotten into my yard a few times, and we've had to call animal control and the police. All the neighbors have called animal control and the cops about them.”
“They used to leave the dogs outside unsupervised and one would bark non-stop. Sometimes it would bark for 3 hours straight from midnight until 3 a.m.”
“We started to get an outdoor rat problem so I put out poison. I also have dogs, so I bought dog-proof bait boxes to keep them from getting at the poison.”
“This guy's dogs ripped through my fence and pulled the poison box into their yard and ripped it open to eat the poison (mind you, this box had been in my yard with my dogs without being ripped open for weeks). They found the box and asked what it was and I immediately told them what type of poison it was and to go to the vet.”
“The dogs are fine.Then the guy flips out on me about paying the vet bills. I told him hell no, it's not my fault he lets his dogs tear their way into my yard.” WTF_HomeSlice
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“didn’t get mail for three weeks...”
“They have a junkyard in their backyard and it is now spilling out in to their front yard. There is someone up 24 hours a day banging and throwing sh!t all loud doing god knows what. Also their dog bit the mail lady so the entire street didn't get mail for 3 weeks." attackedmoose
They didn't get invited.
“The men who live in the apartment across from mine have sex very loudly. Like, so loud I can't sleep at night. I knocked on their door one time while they were going at it, and when one of them answered the door I practically screamed at him 'I can't sleep because you guys f*ck so loudly. Either keep it down or invite me.' Sadly, they never invited me. But they have been quieter." BigGamerDood
“One night I had enough and called the SPCA...”
“They constantly
“This couple has 4-5kids who are constantly screaming and fighting. They all stomp up and down the stairs and slam doors. (Quick aside: they've slammed their balcony door so hard a few times it made the stuff on the mantle in my living room rattle.) The mom used to blast the tv in her room at 1am until I complained.”
“Easily worst of all: they used to have this really sweet little black cat that they neglected. They never fed him, and he was so scrawny his hip bones jutted out. I would give him food whenever I saw him.”
“One night I had enough and called the SPCA on them because it was below zero and there was plenty of snow on the ground. They basically left him out there to die because they got a new dog and stopped caring about him. Idk what happened to him after they took him away, but I hope he's good.” throwaway1946282
Those poor kids...
“I shared a wall with a family of 4 for 5 years. At least twice a week the mom would freak out at one of the kids, screaming at them for at least 30 minutes. Often it was clear that she was spanking them or some other form of physical punishment, because the kids would cry and scream as well."
“This happened at all hours including 3am a few times. One weekend I let two of my friends stay on my couch, because they were in between leases and couldn't afford a hotel."
“The family found out and tried to get me evicted for having guests over for too long. My ahole land lord took their side, but let me off with a warning. When I brought up all the sh!t they did, he said that that wasn't any of his business. I left a month later." dring157
Cats are holes too
“They collectively have like 6 or 7 cats which all treat my bird feeder and bath and my garden as their personal buffet. It's gotten to the point where they're so bold that if I run out there and try to chase them away, they just sit there looking at me going ‘yeah and what are you going to do to us?’ Because they know I can't lay a finger on them or I'm going to get hell from their owners.”
“I try to tell my neighbours to keep their cats indoors more often or at least put a bell on them but noooo there's no way mister fluffykins could possibly be killing all those birds and rooting through my poppies because he's so sweet and lazy and fat and wouldn't hurt a fly and I'm just a bastard who hates cats. Like no, mister fluffykins killed an entire family of bullfinches that were nesting nearby and left me to deal with their corpses and tore out my lemon balm he is not a sweet little cat he is an environmental pest.” Plethora_of_squids
Living in close proximity to others isn't always easy and takes cooperation from everyone. Unfortunately, that is not always how it works out. However, lucky for our entertainment, plenty of people were willing to share their crazy stories.
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.