Discover how to deal with noisy neighbors in Romania.
Do you have experience with noisy neighbors? can’t sleep due to late-night footsteps from the flat above yours? working on their car at 9 am on a Sunday? vacuuming late at night? dogs barking all day & night? parking in your spot? We welcome your experiences on how to deal with these issues below.
In essence, there are 3 approaches to resolve this:
Direct friendly approach: introduce yourself calmly, explain who you are, and why their behaviors are affecting you & gently suggest ways in which they could compromise without reducing their freedoms or comfort. This is by far the most effective method in most cases as deep down, few people want to be a bad neighbour. Most people are capable of some level of empathy & respect, once they understand the reasons behind your request.
Indirect unfriendly approach: report your problem neighbor to the administration manager, landlord, property manager, police, or other person responsible for common property matters. Be aware, this approach can backfire because after you have resolved the issue, the relationship is likely to be strained and hard to repair. If you are going to bring a cake, do that before you involve the police, not after.
Revenge, direct or indirect: this is the most satisfying, but least beneficial. Remember the expression, ‘When you go for revenge, bring two shovels’. Once you go to war with your neighbor, it could be a permanent status, so be sure this is really what you want. Almost certainly, it is not. Typical methods include:
- Playing loud music & going out for the day,
- Using a drill or hammer at unfriendly hours
- parking your car awkwardly
- Late at night, using your washer/dryer/vacuum, flushing your toilet, slamming doors, loud TV or music
- Using your lawn mover, leaf blower,, chain saw
- You could have a few pizzas delivered to their address. When your neighbor refuses to pay because he didn’t order them, tell the delivery driver that you’ll buy them at a reduced price instead of them going to waste
- Place rubber snakes around their garden beds. Have the video camera ready for when they leap. Post the video on YouTube.
- Paint your house a bright yellow. When confronted, go into a rant how about much you love sunshine and you want to be surrounded by the rays of the sun!
- Roast a pig in a backyard pit. Be sure the wind is blowing in the direction of your neighbor's open windows
- Place a trail of sugar on your neighbor's front porch! The ants will appreciate it, but your neighbors won’t.
- If you live in an apartment and the tenants above you have heavy feet, use your broom handle to bang on the ceiling. While they are sleeping.
- Be adults. Call a truce. Shake hands. Proceed to #1 and start again.
Let us know what methods you have tried, what worked, and what didn’t. Please comment below in the box provided.