I am so frustrated right now. My evil and very rude neighbor, who at 70+ years is old enough to know better, is playing music so loudly that I can hear it in my house with the doors and windows closed. And I’m not even sitting in my office. In my office it is even worse. How am I supposed to work with the same three records playing over and over again?
Don’t tell me to put in earplugs. I am in my own FRIGGING HOUSE. I deserve peace and quiet in here at least.
Let’s not even think about the upcoming spring and summer months when I won’t be able to enjoy MY OWN BACKYARD because the rude neighbor will be out there from sun-up until way past dark, drinking, smoking, and playing the same three damn records over and over again.
I know. You’re going to tell me to go talk to them. And I will. AGAIN. But it won’t do any good. In fact it will probably just make them turn the music up even louder. These are the same people who never paid for their share or any portion of the "good neighbor" fence. The ones who have rats living under their deck and do nothing about it. The ones who hate (and have told me so to my face many times) what we have done to the yard. The ones who hang over the back fence to peer into my house. (Grow trees, grow.) The ones who have a rusted, rotten old motorhome and truck sitting in their driveway that never move.
We live in a nice neighborhood and everyone else is wonderful.
But these neighbors not so much. Not at all. Not even a little bit. Grrr.
The authorities – your local law enforcement – can’t help? I know it isn’t always possible, I’m just asking.
Well you know what happens once you get the authorities involved is that it really pisses the people off. I’m trying not to go there but now that I’m working from home all the time I may have no choice.
I wonder if others in the neighborhood are bothered by their music, too? Do they have neighbors on the other side of their house? Do people live across the street? If you’re not the only people in close proximity, they may not know it was you who called the cops (and the cops aren’t supposed to reveal that info). I do not hesitate to call the police when my neighbors crank up their music (especially the ones who insist on playing a song that consists of nothing but the words “b**ch” and “n***er” repeated over and over). As far as they know, it could be anybody on our street. And, you know, I don’t need my 4-year-old repeating language like that…
You’d think the others in the neighborhood would have problems with it too, wouldn’t you? Sigh. Alas, we’re in an old neighborhood with a lot of people who have been here for years and years and years where their kids all went to school together. Everyone just laughs at my neighbor and says that’s just the way they are. I’m pretty sure fingers would be pointed back at me.
I don’t have any suggestions (other than what you’ve already tried), but you have my ultimate sympathies. I live next to an axe murderer. He’s chopped down so many lovely trees… 🙁
Thanks for the sympathy….today at least was quiet.
I feel for you. Our neighbors play their television so incredibly loud, you can hear it over our tv even on a winter night with our windows and their windows closed. And the guy had three old junky motorcycles that he never rides anywhere. Just every day, he brings them out onto the driveway–which is six feet from my window–and revs them endlessly. Seriously, it goes on for about an hour and then he puts them away and gets out his truck to work on it, with the doors open and the radio blaring. (He has also run over my garden hose twice with his lawnmower even though my garden hose was ten feet inside my yard.)
The only thing I can recommend is headphones. I don’t like writing to music, so I pick something instrumental and monotonous, like chamber music, so it kind of fades away after awhile. But it helps.
Thanks, Melissa. I have a hard time with headphones but I may have to give it a try. I can’t write to music either but maybe some white noise. Ugh.
I say call the cops. Again and again. Each time they write up a report and eventually they’ll get a citation. Having to pay big bucks might make them be more neighborly. Good luck1
I’m with Kym. Call the cops. Often. They are making your life miserable. Return the favor.
Thanks. It might come to that but I’m going to hope it doesn’t since they aren’t the sort of people you want to tick off either.
I am going to try talking to them. I’m also going to try the loud music of my own back to them.
Oh, I wasn’t going to suggest talking to them again. I was going to suggest what I did to get a neighbor to quit playing loud music: I set up large speakers in my windows facing her apartment and blasted her with bagpipe music every time she played her own tunes.
I like this idea a lot! Thanks. 😉
Susan, I have to admit, in your shoes I’d be thinking of not-so-legal ways to deal with the problem without getting caught. lol
I have no advice for your very sucky problem–but I do like ‘madwriter’s bagpipe solution! 🙂
Yeah, I’m thinking I like that solution too! I’ll let you know what happens.
Ugh. That’s very frustrating, especially if you’re trying to work or relax.
I know you don’t want to call the police on your neighbors because that can cause bad feelings, but I think it’s an option. I’d try talking to them one more time, explaining why it’s so unbearable, and if it happens again, I’d call the cops.
It’s your neighborhood, too, and you do have rights!
Good luck.
Yes. I am going to give talking to them another try. Thanks.
I feel for you. Bad neighbors can make one’s life miserable — and you’re right, it’s very tricky calling the cops because it could exascerbate the whole situation. I wish I had some advice for you, other than using noise reduction headphones.
I know how you feel, but our situation isn’t as constant as yours. We live next door to a frat.
When M’s mother lived here, she used to play the radio extra loudly as retaliation for the noisy parties. They’d turn up the music even louder.
We only called the cops on them once, when they actually damaged our property. Oh yeah, also when one of the party guests kicked the door of my car (on *our* driveway) in a drunken fight.
Because the noise is actually interfering with your ability to work (and could be considered “disturbing the peace”?) I think you should call the police.
Loads of sympathy and hugs.
Lots of towns have Loud Noise ordinances. Maybe you could get a copy of yours (from the town hall?), place it in an official-looking envelope, and put it in his mailbox? Sneakysneakysneaky.
Thanks for the sympathy. Funny thing is, the neighbor has a really big water feature…doesn’t help. We are putting in a couple which I hope will at least soften things.
And I am going to try to be the first one to get the music on and crank mine up…wonder how they’ll feel about all my songs in French? 🙂
rude neighbors
I also work from home. Our neighbors have geese, guinea hens, and peacocks all which roam into our yard at numerous times during the day. The guinea hens are very loud and sit right outside our windows making a racket. The peacocks have kept our children up at night roosting in the trees and making outrageous noises. The geese were pooping all over our driveway but luckily they at least are afraid of our dog so we bring her out and they fly away. We finally complained to them about the peacocks after they pecked our cats ear bloody while he was laying on our deck. They say they were a gift…there’s not much they can do. They could pen them, but they obviously just don’t care.
Re: rude neighbors
What’s amazing to us is that they have all these animals that THEY think are so wonderful and yet they’re in the neighbors’ yards all day, not theirs.
Re: rude neighbors
Kill them one at a time until they are all gone.