The Screw My Neighbor Is: How to Be a Good Neighbor

If you live in an apartment or condo, you may be subjected to some less-than-pleasant experiences from your neighbors. Whether it’s hearing their TV or footsteps, smelling their cooking, or witnessing them throwing out the trash, it can feel like there’s nothing you can do about it. But there are some things you can do to make your living situation more bearable—and make your neighbor’s life better as well. Here are some basic tips on how to be a good neighbor.

Make Peace with Your Neighbors

Tensions between neighbors can be more than annoying; they can be stressful and even harmful. If you’re constantly worrying about what your neighbor is doing, or if you find yourself losing sleep over it, that’s a sign you may need to make peace with your neighbor. Here are some steps you can take toward becoming good neighbors.

Solve Problems Together

One of my neighbors has been known to send out an email blast every time they heard me drop something while I was carrying it inside my home. Instead of being miffed, I solved their problem by purchasing noise-canceling headphones. The days of saying screw my neighbor is over! If you’re living with anyone who isn’t pulling their weight, start by evaluating your expectations. Maybe you have unrealistic expectations about how much tidying up you should be doing?

Consider Their Comfort Zone

When you’re working on your home, don’t forget that it’s important to consider others as well. This may sound like an obvious thing, but I can tell you from experience that lots of people do consider their comfort zone, only. If you’re planning to paint or build or otherwise make noise in your backyard, check with your neighbors first—and if they have young children or pets, be sure to choose a time when they won’t be at home. You want them to be happy with what you’re doing, too!

Offer Advice Without Being Rude

Being a good neighbor doesn’t necessarily require you to make new friends. You don’t have to be friends with your neighbors or even say hello when you see them. You don’t have to invite them over for dinner, though you can certainly do that if you like. What being a good neighbor does mean is respecting their space and privacy, as well as trying not to create problems for them?

Respect One Another’s Privacy

It can be tempting to go next door and borrow that screwdriver when you have a flat but try hard not to annoy your neighbors. If they ask you to do something—like pick up their mail while they’re away—it’s good manners as well as common sense to do it. The more you respect one another, the easier your relationships will be. When done properly, drafting and designing of buildings are respectful practices that minimize disturbance for all parties involved.

Common Courtesy Goes a Long Way

A good neighbor is someone who looks out for others and works toward making their community better. It’s easy to be a good neighbor, and it doesn’t take much time or effort. If you are respectful of your neighbors and go out of your way to treat them kindly, you can expect similar treatment in return.

Relax About Things You Can’t Control

Apartment Noise can make sleeping difficult, especially if you’re next door to someone who likes his music loud. The best way to deal with neighbor noise is to learn how to relax about things you can’t control. Just because your neighbor wants to get crazy at 4 am doesn’t mean that you need to be right there with him—just shut your windows and go back to sleep. Your body needs sleep more than it needs a good nightlife.

Conclusion

The old phrase doesn’t screw my neighbor is, in fact, not all that old at all. Whether it’s throwing parties until four o’clock in the morning, banging on doors at 1:00 AM, or incessantly playing that $400 digital piano — before your neighbors get fed up with you, it may be time to consider ways to improve your relationship. For some of these neighbors, I’m sure they may be much happier if they could just screw their neighbor and move on.