Having good neighbours is one of the keys to having a peaceful environment. Unpleasant neighbors are a relatively widespread issue all around the world and throughout history. Read the story and let us know how you would handle such a situation if they were your neighbours.
Source: Reddit
Our old neighbor, Mr. B passed away last year. He was a very sweet old man, kind of like the neighborhood grandpa. He was a widower, and the last couple years started having mobility issues. When it snowed, we would go over with the snow blower and clear his driveway and salt the walk. In the summer if I was out mowing, I would do his lawn too. When his health went downhill, we got his groceries and would bring him meals.
When he passed away, we continued to mow the lawn and take care of the outside of the house when it was vacant. His children were very appreciative and thanked us for taking care of Mr. B when they could not be here.
They eventually sold the house, and the new neighbors moved into the house in the fall. We introduced ourselves and did the standard neighbor greeting. We noticed they didn’t have any lawn mowers or snow blower, so we told them that they should get those things sooner rather than later since we typically start getting snow in November. A few times when I was out mowing, the neighbor asked me to mow their lawn, and I obliged, but told him that they should really consider getting their own yard tools or calling a service.
We just had a huge snow fall, and are expected to get more this weekend. The neighbor came to my house early on Sunday morning and banged on my door asking when I was going to be out snow blowing as they need to get to work. I told the neighbors that I was not going out to shovel/snow blow any time soon, so they may want to dig their cars out so they could get to work. He told me that they didn’t have any shovels and explained that they were relying on me to come over and take care of it.
I told him that I was not planning on doing that, told him that he could borrow a shovel if he would like, but I was going back to bed. When I did go out to shovel and snow blow several hours later, I did not do their driveway.
The neighbors are now angry at me, and he confronted me outside saying that it’s my fault that they had to call out of work. My wife thinks I should have sucked it up and went over, but I told her that I am not a landscaping service, and that I should not have to wake up early and shovel their driveway. Am I Wrong for not snow blowing for the neighbors?
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted: