Author Topic: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)  (Read 508075 times)

Sibley

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #850 on: August 07, 2020, 11:36:33 AM »
My neighbours pulled down a standalone double garage with a pitched roof. Guess what they're building in the exact same place? That's right, a standalone double garage with a pitched roof.

If I ever feel like spending the money, I will pull down a standalone 1.5 car garage with a pitched roof and replace with a standalone 1.5 car garage with a pitched roof.

Except the slab won't be in 6(?) pieces, the sill plate won't be half rotted/bug eaten away, the wood siding won't be split and some pieces slightly rotted (missed a few when I did the big repair) and the whole garage won't be underground because it was built before the backyard was regraded several inches higher. But it looks great from the outside!

IE - it's possible that the garage really does need significant work that makes it better to just replace than fix. Or they could be wasting a bunch of money.

When they started construction I asked what they were building and they said they had wanted a bigger garage in a slightly different position. They pointed out a place on my fence where the new garage was anticipated to come to. Makes no difference to me, I was just curious. But new garage is the same size and in the same place. I suspect they didn't get consent. Kind of stupid to pull down a garage before you get the new one consented.

They also retiled a relatively newly white tiled bathroom with white tiles. The new tiles are just as square as the old ones, just slightly smaller......

I fully anticipate them wanting to pull down the old wood fence at some point to replace it with the same frickin wood fence. That will be the point at which I comment to them on this stuff.

Ok, yeah, they're idiots. At least I have a good reason for tearing mine down. Assuming it doesn't fall down at some point.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #851 on: August 07, 2020, 06:43:13 PM »
My neighbours pulled down a standalone double garage with a pitched roof. Guess what they're building in the exact same place? That's right, a standalone double garage with a pitched roof.

If I ever feel like spending the money, I will pull down a standalone 1.5 car garage with a pitched roof and replace with a standalone 1.5 car garage with a pitched roof.

Except the slab won't be in 6(?) pieces, the sill plate won't be half rotted/bug eaten away, the wood siding won't be split and some pieces slightly rotted (missed a few when I did the big repair) and the whole garage won't be underground because it was built before the backyard was regraded several inches higher. But it looks great from the outside!

IE - it's possible that the garage really does need significant work that makes it better to just replace than fix. Or they could be wasting a bunch of money.

When they started construction I asked what they were building and they said they had wanted a bigger garage in a slightly different position. They pointed out a place on my fence where the new garage was anticipated to come to. Makes no difference to me, I was just curious. But new garage is the same size and in the same place. I suspect they didn't get consent. Kind of stupid to pull down a garage before you get the new one consented.

They also retiled a relatively newly white tiled bathroom with white tiles. The new tiles are just as square as the old ones, just slightly smaller......

I fully anticipate them wanting to pull down the old wood fence at some point to replace it with the same frickin wood fence. That will be the point at which I comment to them on this stuff.

Ok, yeah, they're idiots. At least I have a good reason for tearing mine down. Assuming it doesn't fall down at some point.

It's entirely possible there's something I don't know that makes them non-idiots, but I'm gonna go with idiots for the foreseeable.

I'm not a builder but it kind of seems to me that they're building this garage in quite an odd way. The framing is all up, now the outside cladding is on and they appear to be putting inside cladding on.... but there's no roof yet???

markbike528CBX

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #852 on: August 07, 2020, 07:17:13 PM »
Haha, that's why in Hawaii, you never wear your best slippahs to a party!
Haha, yeah! Many a times people go home with a different pair of rubbah slippahs than the ones they came with.
Yeah, "Party Slippahs" means a whole other thing in Hawaii ;-)
Does it relate to a quote from my mother-in-law  "I'm fine, my flip flops were drunk"   ?

SavinMaven

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #853 on: August 21, 2020, 06:39:43 PM »
Quote
But he is impressed that we know that the real limit for the 401k is $57k, not $19k,

Please tell me more!

Kierun

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #854 on: August 26, 2020, 07:09:28 PM »
Haha, that's why in Hawaii, you never wear your best slippahs to a party!
Haha, yeah! Many a times people go home with a different pair of rubbah slippahs than the ones they came with.
Yeah, "Party Slippahs" means a whole other thing in Hawaii ;-)
Does it relate to a quote from my mother-in-law  "I'm fine, my flip flops were drunk"   ?
I've not heard that one before

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #855 on: September 17, 2020, 10:43:36 AM »
My troll neighbor is quite sure what is good for my property.  She is quite sure she will arrange to have my tree pruned and that I will pay for it.  She is quite disgusted with my refusal to do what she is quite sure is best for me.  Alas, so many of the little people will simply not do what is necessary for their own good.  She must be exhausted from being in charge of so many, many things. 
In what ways does your neighbor express their displeasure with your lack of compliance?

Goldielocks

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #856 on: September 17, 2020, 10:44:15 AM »
@MissNancyPryor
What is the reason for pruning?  Blocking all the sun from her yard?  Access is blocked?

Is the tree truly on the property line or is it actually yours?  Usually trees are planted just to one side.

The best thing that works is to just say "I actually prefer the tree natural."   It is so hard to get a neighbor to prune (or pay for it) when they say that.

Goldielocks

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #857 on: September 17, 2020, 01:49:23 PM »
Wow,  Just wow.  "What should we plant next?" is so far over the top.

Most of the other stuff happens with neighbors from time to time so I get why you didn't make a fuss before.  But my neighbor asked me first about the water / sprinkler before we adjusted it.

I am not sure why her response to more people moving back was alarm and not for the increased house price, but whatever.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2020, 09:41:25 PM by Goldielocks »

SunnyDays

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #858 on: September 17, 2020, 04:32:21 PM »
What does she mean by “fully pruned?”  Pines are not generally in need of pruning except to manage dead branches and allow headroom underneath.  Does she want a shaped tree?  Sounds too big for that.  If you’re allowing her to do whatever she wants with the branches on her side, you’re being totally reasonable to not succumb to pressure to do more.  Sounds like she doesn’t have enough to do.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #859 on: September 17, 2020, 05:47:47 PM »
Dry rot is attacking my neighborhood. I've caught mine early and am defeating it through a combined application of caulk, primer, paint, and roofing sealant. None of it has gotten inside so far because it's been entirely confined to a few square inches of exterior trim. But some of my neighbors have obviously left their eaves, soffits, and other wood trim go for far too long. When it gets to the point where the trim on your eaves is eaten away or twisted up, that fungus has spread into whatever wood that piece is attached to. If it's your attic with all of the roof framing and the roof itself, you're basically screwed as badly as you would be if a tornado lifted off the roof of your house.

The houses that are the worst are invariably the ones that have multiple vehicles, new SUVs, and such out in front. It's sad because the neighborhood overall is pretty nice: brick, pitched roofs, and easy-to-maintain properties that have appreciated well and that aren't too oversized.

I've warned a couple neighbors who still have time to save their homes.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #860 on: September 17, 2020, 05:56:39 PM »
The tree is a large pine, 80+ feet tall, and the lowest branches are 30 feet up and well above interference with anything, well away from the house and garage.  If a branch fell it might hit the electrical drop from the alley to her house but it would have to be a lucky shot.  The trunk is on my side so it is my tree. 

There are more branches on that side vs. mine and if she removed several it would not be noticeable to the overall balance of the tree and it is so tall you really can't see the whole tree unless you are blocks away.  There are 30 others just like it within the city block that no one is paying to prune, they are all natural.  It has no gall and no insect-caused disease.  Per the arborist who took down the other tree last year it is healthy.  The reasons she noted were her concerns for her property couched in terms of "what is best for everyone" even though every reason was her own (wants to sweep fewer needles, that one branch on her side looks dead, it leans 3 degrees toward her property, etc).   

There is a bit more to the story.  During the first exchange about the tree I cheerfully mentioned that my adult daughter was moving back to this town from the big city after getting a new job, and that we were seeing many people leaving that big city now for political concerns and to reduce their cost of living.  The neighbor said, "We can't have that, there is not enough housing to support that!"  So that was really what got to me.  Not only is she declaring what shall be done on my property with my money, but thinks she has a right to say who can move to her town.  I left that exchange and stewed about it for 2 days and decided I have had enough from her and I put up the boundary and told her no on the tree.  She was curt and had a very snarky "you are not doing what is good for you" attitude.  Despite my being an exceedingly nice neighbor and very courteous, she turned on the bitch mode with this friction from me. 

I have been a good and reasonable neighbor.  Incredibly, she tied my blackberry bush to her side of the fence so she could get the berries this year (she admitted that) and I said nothing.  One of my sprinkler heads was turned toward her lot so it would water there, I quietly turned it back and didn't make a stink even though that had to be deliberate.  She remarked that my fire pit caused some smoke to drift into their bedroom last year; I didn't burn it this at all this year to be kind.  She was worried about some bushes on the lot line and I cut them far back the next day.  She likes to remark that she chose several of the plantings in my yard for the prior owners and keeps track of them.  I lost a dogwood in my front yard to an ice storm last year and she likes to comment about what WE should put in to replace it.  Pretty nutty, very presumptuous.     

And yet the first time I said no about something, she mounts her high horse.  I realize I have let her run the show far too much in a misguided attempt to be neighborly and she is taking the proverbial mile.  Perhaps she didn't mean to say my daughter shouldn't be allowed to move back to her hometown, but that was really the last straw.   

Best to just let her be mad than to continually allow her to believe she is in charge of all she surveys.  Band aid ripped off.                       

Well, the issue, from her viewpoint, is that you were nice before and turned a blind eye to her shenanigans, so she knew you would be fine with the pruning.  Now you have turned on her with this refusal.   How dare you grow a backbone?

Let her be mad.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #861 on: September 17, 2020, 09:56:43 PM »
My new golden rule is that if I would never do it to someone, I don't have to take it from anyone, and I never would have dreamed of forcing my will on them as they have so often pushed me to do something for their benefit.  Good riddance.

@MissNancyPryor , that's a wonderful attitude.   Bravo to you!   Life generally gets better when you stop letting assholes mess around with you.

Our neighbor had a tree that was dying and leaned towards the powerline to our house.  It was a good 10 feet inside their property line in a naturally wooded portion of their lot next to our house.   In other words, there was no landscaping other than "let the trees for 20' from the property line do their thing."  And there were quite a few trees!   Cutting the branch on our side of the lot line wouldn't solve the problem of us losing power during the next hurricane or tropical storm.   With several a year nowadays it was just a matter of when, not if.   If it happened during a big storm it might be 3-5 days before we got power restored.

We let our neighbor know about our concern.   If he agreed it was a problem, we were willing to pay to have the tree removed.  If not, then that was his right.

That seemed to be a fairer way to handle a problem that would only affect us.  Besides, we liked all those (other) trees!


Sugaree

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #862 on: September 18, 2020, 12:27:08 PM »
My next door neighbor is freaking awesome.  She's quiet and easygoing.  I rarely see her, and when I do see her she's very nice.  However, the neighbors across the street from her and the ones that used to live next door hated her.  One day, the neighbor across the street was having some trees cut down and the neighbor next door asked the tree guys to take down a tree in her yard.  They then demanded that she repay them for the cost of cutting the tree.  That might have been the only time I've ever known her to be anything other than gracious.  She told them that not only would she not be paying, but they were all lucky that she wasn't demanding that they pay the value of the tree.  It's worth noting that we warned her what was going on and she asked "what tree?" because she didn't even notice that it was gone. 

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #863 on: September 18, 2020, 01:30:26 PM »
My next door neighbor is freaking awesome.  She's quiet and easygoing.  I rarely see her, and when I do see her she's very nice.  However, the neighbors across the street from her and the ones that used to live next door hated her.  One day, the neighbor across the street was having some trees cut down and the neighbor next door asked the tree guys to take down a tree in her yard.  They then demanded that she repay them for the cost of cutting the tree.  That might have been the only time I've ever known her to be anything other than gracious.  She told them that not only would she not be paying, but they were all lucky that she wasn't demanding that they pay the value of the tree.  It's worth noting that we warned her what was going on and she asked "what tree?" because she didn't even notice that it was gone.
Cutting down a tree that's not yours can turn out to be exceedingly expensive, particularly if it's a hardwood.  A few years ago, I read the story of a guy who lost a number of trees because a tree company thought that quoting a job meant that the guy had authorized it, and then refused to stop when he (as the homeowner) told them to stop.  His property backed up to a steep embankment, and the trees also prevented erosion.  The resulting liability, not just for the trees, but for remediating the resulting erosion, along with legal costs, penalties, etc, ended up bankrupting the company.

Tree law, in some places, is something you do *not* want to mess with.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #864 on: September 19, 2020, 12:46:41 AM »

Tree law, in some places, is something you do *not* want to mess with.

Tree law is no joke, but you know who lives in trees?  Birds.  And bird law is insane.

Catbert

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #865 on: September 19, 2020, 11:19:19 AM »
Wow,  Just wow.  "What should we plant next?" is so far over the top.

Most of the other stuff happens with neighbors from time to time so I get why you didn't make a fuss before.  But my neighbor asked me first about the water / sprinkler before we adjusted it.

I am not sure why her response to more people moving back was alarm and not for the increased house price, but whatever.

It's entirely possible that "people from the city" moving in the code for "people of a different color". 

Davnasty

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #866 on: September 19, 2020, 10:55:10 PM »

Tree law, in some places, is something you do *not* want to mess with.

Tree law is no joke, but you know who lives in trees?  Birds.  And bird law is insane.

The problem with bird law, is that it's not governed by reason.

Sibley

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #867 on: September 21, 2020, 01:51:25 PM »
My next door neighbor is freaking awesome.  She's quiet and easygoing.  I rarely see her, and when I do see her she's very nice.  However, the neighbors across the street from her and the ones that used to live next door hated her.  One day, the neighbor across the street was having some trees cut down and the neighbor next door asked the tree guys to take down a tree in her yard.  They then demanded that she repay them for the cost of cutting the tree.  That might have been the only time I've ever known her to be anything other than gracious.  She told them that not only would she not be paying, but they were all lucky that she wasn't demanding that they pay the value of the tree.  It's worth noting that we warned her what was going on and she asked "what tree?" because she didn't even notice that it was gone.
Cutting down a tree that's not yours can turn out to be exceedingly expensive, particularly if it's a hardwood.  A few years ago, I read the story of a guy who lost a number of trees because a tree company thought that quoting a job meant that the guy had authorized it, and then refused to stop when he (as the homeowner) told them to stop.  His property backed up to a steep embankment, and the trees also prevented erosion.  The resulting liability, not just for the trees, but for remediating the resulting erosion, along with legal costs, penalties, etc, ended up bankrupting the company.

Tree law, in some places, is something you do *not* want to mess with.

Frankly, that company deserved to go under. How stupid can you be?

sherr

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #868 on: September 25, 2020, 02:54:23 PM »
Quote
But he is impressed that we know that the real limit for the 401k is $57k, not $19k,

Please tell me more!

@SavinMaven I'm not sure I'm interpreting your request correctly, but just in case:
Employee contribution limit is $19k. Employee + Employer contribution is $57k. So if you're self-employed, you can contribute a bunch more from the "employer" side.

Catbert

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #869 on: October 22, 2020, 01:21:14 PM »
Not a big story, but it's been a month since anyone else posted, so...

My neighbors are probably in their early 70s.  He's retired military and they import handcrafts and sell through their small store and, I think, wholesale elsewhere.  As you can imagine they are in a world of hurt right now.  Same hurt they were in during the Great Recession.  Their screaming fights are mostly a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish so I'm only guess that they fights are about money.

Nevertheless, every two weeks they get bottled water delivered and every month they get pest control company to spray for bugs.  I've been told our local water tastes pretty crappy.  I grew up here so it just tastes like water to me.  Certainly it's safe to drink.  And yeah, we get spiders and ants outside, but I feel no compulsion to kill e-v-e-r-y
s-i-n-g-l-e one of them monthly.

shadowmoss

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #870 on: October 22, 2020, 02:35:23 PM »
If they are importing things the pest spraying may be a necessity.  I've heard some strange stories.

Catbert

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #871 on: October 22, 2020, 04:53:25 PM »
Hmmm.  Maybe.  But there stock isn't delivered to their house. 

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #872 on: October 23, 2020, 10:49:17 AM »
I'd be worried about constant applying fresh poison to my home might eventually poison my family.

Once in a while is one thing, monthly is another.

Nicholas Carter

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #873 on: February 10, 2021, 03:44:37 PM »

Tree law, in some places, is something you do *not* want to mess with.

Tree law is no joke, but you know who lives in trees?  Birds.  And bird law is insane.

The problem with bird law, is that it's not governed by reason.
Well of course not, it's governed by birds!

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #874 on: February 10, 2021, 04:07:14 PM »
Fun thing about a tree that owns itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_That_Owns_Itself

reeshau

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #875 on: February 23, 2021, 07:03:05 AM »
Quote
But he is impressed that we know that the real limit for the 401k is $57k, not $19k,

Please tell me more!

@SavinMaven I'm not sure I'm interpreting your request correctly, but just in case:
Employee contribution limit is $19k. Employee + Employer contribution is $57k. So if you're self-employed, you can contribute a bunch more from the "employer" side.

That's not even the end of it.  Employee, deductible limit is $19k.  You can make non-deductible contributions above that, as long as employee + employer < $57k.  And when you roll over to an IRA, you can split that rollover, and your after-tax contributions can got to a Roth IRA with zero tax.  The earnings go into a traditional IRA.  So there is opportunity for non-self-employed, too.

sonofsven

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #876 on: February 25, 2021, 08:50:00 AM »
My neighbours pulled down a standalone double garage with a pitched roof. Guess what they're building in the exact same place? That's right, a standalone double garage with a pitched roof.

If I ever feel like spending the money, I will pull down a standalone 1.5 car garage with a pitched roof and replace with a standalone 1.5 car garage with a pitched roof.

Except the slab won't be in 6(?) pieces, the sill plate won't be half rotted/bug eaten away, the wood siding won't be split and some pieces slightly rotted (missed a few when I did the big repair) and the whole garage won't be underground because it was built before the backyard was regraded several inches higher. But it looks great from the outside!

IE - it's possible that the garage really does need significant work that makes it better to just replace than fix. Or they could be wasting a bunch of money.

When they started construction I asked what they were building and they said they had wanted a bigger garage in a slightly different position. They pointed out a place on my fence where the new garage was anticipated to come to. Makes no difference to me, I was just curious. But new garage is the same size and in the same place. I suspect they didn't get consent. Kind of stupid to pull down a garage before you get the new one consented.

They also retiled a relatively newly white tiled bathroom with white tiles. The new tiles are just as square as the old ones, just slightly smaller......

I fully anticipate them wanting to pull down the old wood fence at some point to replace it with the same frickin wood fence. That will be the point at which I comment to them on this stuff.

Ok, yeah, they're idiots. At least I have a good reason for tearing mine down. Assuming it doesn't fall down at some point.

It's entirely possible there's something I don't know that makes them non-idiots, but I'm gonna go with idiots for the foreseeable.

I'm not a builder but it kind of seems to me that they're building this garage in quite an odd way. The framing is all up, now the outside cladding is on and they appear to be putting inside cladding on.... but there's no roof yet???

I was on the fence, they might have rebuilt to have taller garage doors, older ones are 7' tall and new vehicles are often taller. (It's still quite an expense!)

Until you described their construction process.

I am a  builder. They're idiots

So did they ever get the roof on?

TheFrenchCat

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #877 on: April 08, 2021, 07:15:18 AM »
So it's trash day in my neighborhood, so I thought I'd share about my neighbors across the street.  Not only do they live in a McMansion, when the rest of the neighborhood is cottages, but they generate an unbelievable amount of trash every single week.  I just saw the dad drive up the short hill in his pickup truck to unload his trash by the side of the road.  The bed was so full that the pile of trash bags was higher than the roof of the truck.  It took him more than 5 full minutes to unload it all.  And they put out this much every single week!  I think it's at least partly due to all of the Amazon packages they receive pretty much every day.  But given that they're only a family of three, I really have no idea how you create that much trash every week.  Just one of their bags is more than we have in a week.  They're nice enough people, but I really don't understand this.

ixtap

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #878 on: April 08, 2021, 08:41:33 AM »
So it's trash day in my neighborhood, so I thought I'd share about my neighbors across the street.  Not only do they live in a McMansion, when the rest of the neighborhood is cottages, but they generate an unbelievable amount of trash every single week.  I just saw the dad drive up the short hill in his pickup truck to unload his trash by the side of the road.  The bed was so full that the pile of trash bags was higher than the roof of the truck.  It took him more than 5 full minutes to unload it all.  And they put out this much every single week!  I think it's at least partly due to all of the Amazon packages they receive pretty much every day.  But given that they're only a family of three, I really have no idea how you create that much trash every week.  Just one of their bags is more than we have in a week.  They're nice enough people, but I really don't understand this.

And here I was impressed that our roommate seems to generate a bit more trash than the two of us put together!

Freedomin5

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #879 on: April 08, 2021, 06:11:25 PM »
One of our neighbors is a single mom with two kids. They moved to China because she got better pay for her line of work here. In the US, they were drowning in debt, so they moved here on an expat package to get free housing, free healthcare, free tuition, and a higher salary. I met them when they first arrived, and their goal was to knock out their debt.

This week is spring break. I bumped into them a few days ago carrying a few suitcases. I asked them where they were going. Disneyland. Staying at the Disney hotel. Out of curiosity, I looked up the prices. Prices start from USD$575 per night. They’re staying three nights. Plus I’m pretty sure they have annual passes. That’s USD$500 for one adult and two kids. So USD$2225 for 3 nights accommodations and park entry. Add in meals. Let’s say $100 a day. So about USD $2500 in total.

Now I know why they were drowning in debt in the US.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #880 on: April 08, 2021, 06:44:48 PM »
FWIW, there are Disney theme parks in China, too :D

Dollar Slice

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #881 on: April 08, 2021, 06:50:05 PM »
I think it's at least partly due to all of the Amazon packages they receive pretty much every day.  But given that they're only a family of three, I really have no idea how you create that much trash every week.

My apartment-across-the-hall neighbors are similar. Two parents, a toddler, and one small poorly-trained dog, and they are recycling cardboard boxes nearly every single day (which I know because they are assholes and leave their recycling in the hallway for the rest of us to walk around until they feel like bringing it down to the basement). Who the hell gets that many packages shipped to them, and how do they fit it all in a NYC apartment? I guess that's why they have to put their recycling in the hall, the apartment is probably stuffed floor-to-ceiling with all the junk they buy. Bonus: this is the family that was having dinner parties through the pandemic.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #882 on: April 08, 2021, 07:55:03 PM »
My ex-roommate was also a prolific garbage producer.  Almost nothing went in recycling except Amazon boxes, because it was just too much effort to sort it all out.  So my garbage can (the outdoor tin one) was pretty much full every week.  Sometimes the lid had to be forced on.  On my own, I produce one grocery bag of garbage every 2 - 3 weeks, in addition to recycling.  Fed Ex was at the door at least 3 times a week, once, 3 times in one day!  Needless to say, she was basically broke after working for 40 years, with just a few thousand tied up in a car and not much else.  Nothing has changed since she moved out, but at least I don’t have to witness it anymore.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #883 on: April 09, 2021, 12:29:35 AM »
FWIW, there are Disney theme parks in China, too :D

Yup, I was talking about Shanghai Disney. This single mom lives in Shanghai. Their company provided a USD$5M apartment for them in a swanky part of town about 30 minutes drive from Disneyland Shanghai. They still chose to shell out over $1500 to stay for 3 nights at the Disney resort hotel.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #884 on: April 09, 2021, 05:27:28 AM »
FWIW, there are Disney theme parks in China, too :D

Yup, I was talking about Shanghai Disney. This single mom lives in Shanghai. Their company provided a USD$5M apartment for them in a swanky part of town about 30 minutes drive from Disneyland Shanghai. They still chose to shell out over $1500 to stay for 3 nights at the Disney resort hotel.

I could understand if it was something unique to that city they had always wanted to do and was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in that area.   A 30 minute commute really means 90-120 minutes lost out of each sightseeing day after you take into account parking, etc.   

But in the same city they actually live in?    These people are just stupid with money.

RPlinker

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #885 on: April 09, 2021, 06:04:51 AM »
FWIW, there are Disney theme parks in China, too :D

Yup, I was talking about Shanghai Disney. This single mom lives in Shanghai. Their company provided a USD$5M apartment for them in a swanky part of town about 30 minutes drive from Disneyland Shanghai. They still chose to shell out over $1500 to stay for 3 nights at the Disney resort hotel.

I could understand if it was something unique to that city they had always wanted to do and was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in that area.   A 30 minute commute really means 90-120 minutes lost out of each sightseeing day after you take into account parking, etc.   

But in the same city they actually live in?    These people are just stupid with money.
If your company provides you a $5 million apartment what is $1500 to them? I suspect their time is valuable and that is a small amount of money compared to what their annual salary is.

 I understand the concept of this forum but I have been reading some of the posts in this thread and it makes me wonder why a lot of you are so judge mental of what other people do with their money. If they’re in debt or living above their means that’s one thing but if they have a lot of disposable income how they choose to spend it matters to you because?


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Tigerpine

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #886 on: April 09, 2021, 06:10:25 AM »
One of our neighbors is a single mom with two kids. They moved to China because she got better pay for her line of work here. In the US, they were drowning in debt, so they moved here on an expat package to get free housing, free healthcare, free tuition, and a higher salary. I met them when they first arrived, and their goal was to knock out their debt.
...
Now I know why they were drowning in debt in the US.
@RPlinker , I think this is the reason for the "judgement" directed at these neighbors.  They had a goal and appear to be taking actions contrary to said goal.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #887 on: April 09, 2021, 06:31:01 AM »
One of our neighbors is a single mom with two kids. They moved to China because she got better pay for her line of work here. In the US, they were drowning in debt, so they moved here on an expat package to get free housing, free healthcare, free tuition, and a higher salary. I met them when they first arrived, and their goal was to knock out their debt.
...
Now I know why they were drowning in debt in the US.
@RPlinker , I think this is the reason for the "judgement" directed at these neighbors.  They had a goal and appear to be taking actions contrary to said goal.

Yep, exactly!    I just plunked down over $600 for some enamel to make stuff with.   Crazy!   I'm about to spend a lot of money on a high grade resin 3D printer to make stuff with, like maybe $5000.   Probably more than this family spent on their trip.

The difference is that (a) I'm not drowning in debt (have no debt, actually!) and (b) we donate to charity to help out those less fortunate and (c) my investments made at least ten times what they spent on Disney hotels in the last 3 business days.

six-car-habit

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #888 on: April 09, 2021, 09:07:28 AM »
I think it's at least partly due to all of the Amazon packages they receive pretty much every day.  But given that they're only a family of three, I really have no idea how you create that much trash every week.

My apartment-across-the-hall neighbors are similar. Two parents, a toddler, and one small poorly-trained dog, and they are recycling cardboard boxes nearly every single day (which I know because they are assholes and leave their recycling in the hallway for the rest of us to walk around until they feel like bringing it down to the basement). Who the hell gets that many packages shipped to them, and how do they fit it all in a NYC apartment? I guess that's why they have to put their recycling in the hall, the apartment is probably stuffed floor-to-ceiling with all the junk they buy. Bonus: this is the family that was having dinner parties through the pandemic.

 I suppose some would consider this a jerk reaction, but i'd be tempted to buy a $5 roll of Duct Tape - and the next few times they leave their boxes in the hallway, I'd flatten them and tape them crudely to the wall outside/around their front door.  If they kept leaving boxes out for everyone to trip over,  and didn't get the hint, maybe start flattening the boxes and taping them straight across their doorway, so they have to remove the boxes and tape from the doorway to get out of their apartment.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #889 on: April 09, 2021, 10:12:39 AM »
I think it's at least partly due to all of the Amazon packages they receive pretty much every day.  But given that they're only a family of three, I really have no idea how you create that much trash every week.

My apartment-across-the-hall neighbors are similar. Two parents, a toddler, and one small poorly-trained dog, and they are recycling cardboard boxes nearly every single day (which I know because they are assholes and leave their recycling in the hallway for the rest of us to walk around until they feel like bringing it down to the basement). Who the hell gets that many packages shipped to them, and how do they fit it all in a NYC apartment? I guess that's why they have to put their recycling in the hall, the apartment is probably stuffed floor-to-ceiling with all the junk they buy. Bonus: this is the family that was having dinner parties through the pandemic.

 I suppose some would consider this a jerk reaction, but i'd be tempted to buy a $5 roll of Duct Tape - and the next few times they leave their boxes in the hallway, I'd flatten them and tape them crudely to the wall outside/around their front door.  If they kept leaving boxes out for everyone to trip over,  and didn't get the hint, maybe start flattening the boxes and taping them straight across their doorway, so they have to remove the boxes and tape from the doorway to get out of their apartment.

Perfect example of the Wendelken Pain Theory of Management.    When you have a long-standing problem it's usually because the people who cause the pain don't feel the pain.   The latter is a great way to transfer the pain back.

Generally best to ask them not to do it first, just in case they're just clueless instead of intentional jackasses. :)

AMandM

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #890 on: April 09, 2021, 01:57:32 PM »
Who the hell gets that many packages shipped to them, and how do they fit it all in a NYC apartment?

There was a young family around the corner from us who also had enormous amounts of amazon packaging in their recycling (I know, because it overflowed from their wheelie bin every week). A mutual friend explained that the parents would buy pretty much everything off amazon so as to avoid dragging their three little kids into stores, and since they had amazon prime they would order items individually. Run out of toothpaste, break a bowl, lose a mitten, need birthday candles... each of these would mean one more amazon box delivered.

PDXTabs

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #891 on: April 09, 2021, 02:10:53 PM »
Who the hell gets that many packages shipped to them, and how do they fit it all in a NYC apartment?

There was a young family around the corner from us who also had enormous amounts of amazon packaging in their recycling (I know, because it overflowed from their wheelie bin every week). A mutual friend explained that the parents would buy pretty much everything off amazon so as to avoid dragging their three little kids into stores, and since they had amazon prime they would order items individually. Run out of toothpaste, break a bowl, lose a mitten, need birthday candles... each of these would mean one more amazon box delivered.

Me too, but isn't that what Prime day is for?

Dollar Slice

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #892 on: April 09, 2021, 02:18:45 PM »
I suppose some would consider this a jerk reaction, but...

I've had a lot of very creative ideas over the past year, but unfortunately there are security cameras ;-) 

There was a young family around the corner from us who also had enormous amounts of amazon packaging in their recycling (I know, because it overflowed from their wheelie bin every week). A mutual friend explained that the parents would buy pretty much everything off amazon so as to avoid dragging their three little kids into stores, and since they had amazon prime they would order items individually. Run out of toothpaste, break a bowl, lose a mitten, need birthday candles... each of these would mean one more amazon box delivered.

That may be part of it. The other part is food and alcohol (pizza boxes and other take-out containers, boxes from cases of wine and cases of beer, all the bottles and cans, etc.). These people do a LOT of home drinking.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #893 on: April 09, 2021, 03:54:26 PM »
There was a young family around the corner from us who also had enormous amounts of amazon packaging in their recycling

We have a house like that a block over.   Except that they order so much stuff it often completely fills the front porch -- which runs the length of the house.    Apparently it takes them some time to move it inside -- like weeks.   I asked someone in the neighborhood about it and apparently the belief is there's someone there with a mental disease.   

It's either that or they are running some kind of criminal package shipping organization and are lazy about hiding their tracks.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #894 on: April 10, 2021, 02:48:44 AM »
FWIW, there are Disney theme parks in China, too :D

Yup, I was talking about Shanghai Disney. This single mom lives in Shanghai. Their company provided a USD$5M apartment for them in a swanky part of town about 30 minutes drive from Disneyland Shanghai. They still chose to shell out over $1500 to stay for 3 nights at the Disney resort hotel.

I could understand if it was something unique to that city they had always wanted to do and was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in that area.   A 30 minute commute really means 90-120 minutes lost out of each sightseeing day after you take into account parking, etc.   

But in the same city they actually live in?    These people are just stupid with money.
If your company provides you a $5 million apartment what is $1500 to them? I suspect their time is valuable and that is a small amount of money compared to what their annual salary is.

 I understand the concept of this forum but I have been reading some of the posts in this thread and it makes me wonder why a lot of you are so judge mental of what other people do with their money. If they’re in debt or living above their means that’s one thing but if they have a lot of disposable income how they choose to spend it matters to you because?


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Expat housing is its own thing.  The value of the housing is not necessarily commensurate with salary; it's a neighborhood built to Western standards, and where all the foreigners are sent, both drones and execs.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #895 on: April 18, 2021, 03:18:05 PM »
This is a house in our neighborhood.   It's been like this long before we found the neighborhood 16 months ago.   It's better now than when we first saw it, at that point the entire front porch across the front of the house was filled with packages.  The same packages stay there for awhile.

I have no idea whether the house is so chock full of hoarded stuff that it takes them awhile to find room, or what.

Apparently it's not a criminal enterprise, at least according to the president of the voluntary HOA for the neighborhood.


AlanStache

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #896 on: April 18, 2021, 03:43:46 PM »
So its hoarding, or some shopping disorder.

AMandM

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #897 on: April 18, 2021, 07:29:09 PM »
Maybe they still think it has to sit out to get decontaminated in case of Covid?

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #898 on: April 18, 2021, 07:39:53 PM »
Maybe they still think it has to sit out to get decontaminated in case of Covid?
This has been going on for a couple of years before Covid...

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #899 on: May 01, 2021, 04:28:46 PM »
In my neighborhood Facebook group, a member just posted to ask whoever has a HS kid who is driving a Tesla super fast in the neighborhood to please slow down.  Dang this hood has gotten boughie since I moved in here 4 years ago.  A HS driving a Tesla shakes head.