College town neighbor problems.. wait.. the problems are from everyone over 40.

The BBQ Pit
1

I live in a college town and most of the complaints you hear about neighbors, break ins, or property damage are related to the younger crowd.

I’m 23 myself.
I live in an apartment building with four apartments. Downstairs from me is a 40 something year old guy who lives on permanent disability, always has one or two 18 year old girlfriends hanging around. Weird scene. While I don’t give a damn about the illegal use of marijuana (used to smoke myself) is generally high most of the time. On unemployment’s dime. Downstairs across is a retired guy, cleaned up alcoholic (though in one short convo I had with him he says he gets tanked on his birthday and new years day… that’s it, no more than that :rolleyes: ) disabled as well. Upstairs from him is a mildly mentally disabled woman who, if you say hello, will drag you into a conversation quickly about her love life with other outpatient disabled people she does cleaning with. I put my earbuds in most times leaving so that if I see her I can just wave and keep walking with the excuse that I can’t hear and I’m busy going somewhere.

I am the only one paying full rent for my place (and the only one with a full time job… The woman upstairs nextdoor works part time as a cleaning lady I think, part of her social well being program she explained to me)… Everyone else is on a public assistance program. Nothing wrong with that if its necessary.
Now the opposite downstairs neighbor’s son is in and out of jail… Bit of info I’ve gotten here and there from his dad. At one time he was around and him and several friends (all in their 40s) crowd out on the front porch and chain smoke. He went to jail and havn’t heard anything for a long time on that side of things.

I’d get cops knocking on my door every other month or so looking for someone that lives in the building. A couple times it was for a roommate of the older guy (one with the son) downstairs and they couldn’t find out what door is his (mine’s the only one with a name on it so they figured they’d come and ask me).

Argh. Whatever.

A couple times it was the state troopers knocking on my door early in the morning. Considering I have family in the area I get a little shock waking up early with the troopers there. (Has there been an accident?! What’s wrong?!?)
I called my landlord after the… oh… 4th time or so that happened. He had no idea it’d been going on and was understanding when I said I was a little annoyed with having the cops knock on my door all the time.

Well, guess the neighbor’s son is back around… Ran into him a few days ago at the little convenience store.

Today I get a knock on the door from the police. Ah, awesome, I was just laying down for a nap. Turns out downstairs neighbor (one with the son) had a break in an hour ago. I told the cop I hadn’t heard anything and he said it was from the back door (downstairs apartments have a back door here… Mine doesn’t). Told him I hadn’t heard anything and he just asked for my contact information. I called the landlord to inform him if the neighbor hadn’t already (also to let him know “THIS SHIT IS STILL HAPPENING… WHAT TYPE OF CROWD TO YOU RENT TO?!? MY LEASE IS UP SOON AND THIS CRAP IS MAKING ME NOT WANT TO SIGN ON FOR A THIRD YEAR!!”). Turns out he was in the apartment today putting in a deadbolt on the front door. Hrm… I mentioned the crap about the guy’s son and the cops always looking for him. Oh… Guess what? The son was there while he was installing the deadbolt. Pretty good timing to have a break in… the day of a new deadbolt on the front door and the day before a new one on the back.

Well, obviously wasn’t me, I come to the door barefoot and half awake so I wasn’t running into and out of my neighbor’s back door in the middle of February.

But to have to deal with the cops knocking on my door, the state police knocking on my door, the weird scene of four or five people waiting on the front porch for someone’s adult son to come home to their elderly dad’s place, the several friends of the mentally disabled lady’s most current boyfriend sitting on the porch…

When I lived in college housing in the middle of the frat house area I think I only had the cops knock on my door twice. Once was because of the music being loud and the bike cops wanted to keep the neighborhood quieter and the other was for them looking for someone that used to live in the apartment building months before I had moved in.

Now I live in a building where I’m the only one under 40 and I’m dealing with cops on a monthly basis and all the other weird stuff. And I don’t even live in a “seedy” part of town. I’m less than a block from the “downtown” of this town.

Glad my lease is up in the not too distant future.

2

Well, a short conversation with the son (he knocked on my door a few minutes ago asking if I’d seen or heard anything) and I genuinely believe it wasn’t him. Looks like its the old roommate the troopers were looking for those few times they knocked…

I need to move to a better location.

3

On the positive side, in this economy, rent is going down in some places, and vacancies are going up. Find yourself a nicer place. Preferably with a bunch of doped up punk rock twenty year olds.

4

I’m surprised you signed on for the second year. I know inertia can be tough to overcome and often college renters will pressure you early about signing on for another year, but that sounds like a place I would have moved out of as soon as the first lease was up. What were you thinking signing up for the second year? I would hope you don’t sign up for a third year; it’s no one’s fault but your own if you keep putting up with this sort of a housing situation when it’s clear what the rest of the tenants are like.

5

It wasn’t that bad the first year. Old guy with 40-something year old son didn’t move in until 4 months after me and son was in jail still for a few months after that so not even an annoying crowd of son’s friends outside for the longest time… The son really only started being around lots just before his last stint in the can.
Downstairs of me? Generally ok most of the time but a weird social scene. All in all it only got way worse (cops knocking at least once a month looking for someone) within this yearlong lease.

6

You could possibly stop the cops from knocking on your door by going out and putting the names on all the doors, or printing up a “Building Directory” to hang by the front door.

Wouldn’t do much about the other behavior, but might get you more un-interrupted naps.

7

Oh, I’ve told the cops. My name isn’t the one you’re looking for. Its right on the door. NOT THE GUY YOU’RE LOOKING FOR should be below it.

Let them knock on every other door… There’s only three.
They still knock anyway to see if I’ve seen someone if they don’t answer the door.

I don’t effin’ know… I’m either at work or asleep.

8

Ha! I think you live near my mom. (No, really, I’m from Plattsburgh…I think we talked about it couple times.) She’s forever telling me similar stories about the cops showing up around her neighborhood looking for God knows who. Maybe you two should start a neighborhood watch? :stuck_out_tongue:

9

Can ya give him my email address? This is a man I need to learn from (Although I guess “sell weed” is pretty obvious advice.)

10

Oh… This is a text only dialogue… I forgot you guys don’t have the full visuals. You don’t want advice from this guy.

The current one blasts hip hop dance music REALLY LOUD. The floor vibrates. But I don’t mind because its usually around noon and I’m always up by then (and half the time not even here). Its also always less than an hour for some reason. I never figured that one out. 12:05 - 12:40 blasting music. or 12:20 - 12:50. Then back to dead silent.

Now if it was at 3 a.m. I’d have a serious problem…

Well just adds to the menagerie (or rather migraine) of strange here.

11

She’s probably in the shower. My kid brother used to do that too, but luckily he takes much shorter showers.

12

Sex music.

13

I think a lot of the problem is that you speak to the cops. From the information you’ve given about them, it sounds like your neighbors probably know better. Next time the porkers knock, my advice is to tell them to go away. Don’t answer any questions, just ask that they leave until they do so. Be polite, if you feel like it.

If you do that once or twice, they probably won’t come again unless whatever case they’re working is pertinent to you.

14

Sounds like he’s living the dream.

15

He’s a 40 year old banging teenagers. If he’s ugly, fat and disgusting, all the more reason I need to learn from him.

If letting her piss off the neighbors is how I gotta do it, fuck 'em.

16

Its buying pot and booze for them. I’m not saying anything because its got nothing to do with me and because they stick around so I know he’s not date raping the girls. That and the whole drama thing, he jumps right in… So if that’s your thing go for it.

The thing is I’ve never given them anything helpful. Once. They knock and ask if I’ve seen anyone. I always say no (truthfully, by the way, I’m always either at work or asleep. Sometimes at the coffee shop) This past time was the only time they wrote down my name after I said I hadn’t seen shit. And for a small town there’s actually enough police where its not the same guy saying “oh, well let’s go see if he’s seen anything today.”