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May 3, 2024

9 types of neighbors

Somehow everyone has some: neighbors. Sometimes many, sometimes a few, some close, others afar, some loved and some hated. I also had them in all variants. From the weather-beaten farmer, whose yard was more than a mile away, to the rioting psychopath with whom I lived wall to wall in a Kreuzberg backyard. Since I now live at the 22nd address in my life, I think I can have a say in the subject of neighbors.

One of the biggest problems neighbors bring is obvious: you can not choose them, unlike friends or partners. Neighbors are just there when you move into a new apartment or house, or come to them without asking if you stay somewhere longer. It's like the lottery: Either you're lucky or not. The above-mentioned farmer was a godsend. One has occasionally met on the field, chatted a bit about hail, cows and sinking milk prices and then? Tschöh, to denne? said. The already mentioned psychopath was at the opposite end of the stress scale. Since I was already happy, if one night was quiet and the police did not hammer on his door.

Between these two extremes lies the whole range of neighborly unique pieces:

The invisible: Who lives there? Does not it smell weird here?
The egg-master: Thanks, neighbor, I'll bring you back tomorrow.?
The wannabe caretaker: "Do not connect your bike."
The Pedant: Green glass, however, belongs in the other bin.
The drunkard: ? Uppsala, schorry, wrong door caught.?
The curious one: What kind of noise did you hear last night?
The lonely: I still have a piece of cake
The police caller: "If not immediately rest, then?!?
The blasphemer: So, the Weissbier from the third floor has again?

Of course, all of these neighbor stereotypes also exist in the female form, but the gender-correct spelling is always at the expense of readability. Therefore the Inland I please think for yourself. This list makes no claim to completeness, but is waiting to be supplemented by you in the comments. What kind of neighbors do you live wall to wall, door to door or door to door?

My experience is that the conflict potential between neighbors is not directly related to spatial proximity. I have experienced greater hostility in widely dispersed neighborhoods in the village than in the tight housing situation of urban apartment blocks. The same is true for the opposite, that is, for harmonious or even friendly neighborhood relationships. And the often-lamented anonymity among neighbors is no longer a privilege of the big cities. If one hears in the news of a family drama in the village XY with 800 inhabitants, the questioned neighbors usually say something like:? We never thought that, the man has always greeted so friendly. And now something like that?

Let's take a look at a few figures: Every year in Germany about half a million neighborhood disputes go to court. But even if a quarrel does not end immediately before the Kadi, there is plenty of Zoff. A study shows that 38 percent of Germans in recent years had quarrels or arguments with their neighbors. At just under 14 percent, the noise pollution from music and TV is the most common reason for the dispute. Followed by controversy over the completion of community work, such as snow clearing or stairwell cleaning (9 percent) and wrongly parked cars (8 percent). With on the (very long) list are still pets, children's noise, leaves from neighbor's garden, smoke nuisance by crickets, mowing during the midday rest and, and, and? Four percent of all Germans have even moved because of stress with their neighbors before. Incidentally, this includes my own parents, but that's another story.

We note: It works well with the neighbors, it needs more than shiny clean rinsed glasses. Therefore, I conclude with a handful of tips for more harmony in the neighborhood, which in my view are actually self-evident. But you should never close to others (neighbors).