Find out why 1 in 10 people have moved house because of their neighbours, and ways to keep good relations with your own neighbours.

According to a study about problem neighbours, nearly 1 in 10 people have moved house because they did not get on with their neighbours. The same study showed that disturbances between neighbours has risen by a third within the last two years, and 1 in 3 neighbours have had some kind of dispute.

It’s pretty miserable to feel bad feelings towards your neighbours, isn’t it? Some disputes are unavoidable, but there is a lot that we can do to keep things on good terms with the people living around us, including the following:

Keep Your Garden Tidy

Your garden is yours to keep as you want, but disputes do arise over the feeling of a messy garden being an eyesore, and if it’s very messy, over it being a hazard. If your neighbour thinks your garden is a potential health hazard they could even get the council involved. Utilise local self storage to store garden items out of season, keep shrubs trimmed and in good order and most importantly keep garden rubbish and debris tidy and regularly cleared and taken to the right place (tips/ recycling centres.

Keep Things Friendly

As difficult as it can be, if you can keep things friendly even in the event you feel annoyed, even in the event you don’t agree with your neighbours behaviour, staying friendly will help avoid conflict. Keep it calm, amicable and ideally, friendly, so you can talk through any problems and rectify them in a way that doesn’t result in an argument.

Ask First

Before doing anything that could upset your neighbours, ask first. Before having a big party, before painting the fence, before painting the house – just let them know it’s being done and check if it’s all acceptable. It is better to know about, and resolve an issue before the event, than after.

Be Kind

In our society kindness is something that brings people together, and it makes a huge difference when it comes to viewing how your neighbours might be behaving. Maybe they don’t know the music goes through the walls so loudly, maybe they didn’t realise their rose bush leaned onto your side. Speak to them as though they have no idea the thing that is happening is impacting you. Furthermore, check in on them, gift them spare veggies you have grown, or give them a Christmas card. It’s all about thinking the best of those around you, in the way you’d want them to think about you.

If All Else Fails…

If all else fails it could be a good idea to speak to a meditation service to try and resolve any disputes. It’s another step to take before thinking about giving up your home and moving because of the problem. Ultimately, though, life is too short to live unhappily in dispute with your neighbours and if moving house can resolve that problem when nothing else can, it might be a move you don’t regret.