So, you have a sidewalk which you are supposed to clear, but you’ve allowed it to be blocked by ivy for a substantial amount of time. Then you finally manage to pay someone to do this little job (which refutes your argument that you were “too busy”) and during this process the neighbor casually and jokingly tells your landscaper she’s glad she sidewalk is going to be clear.
Note: She never called the city. She never complained to you.
And for this, you say she’s a busybody bitch and you pit her?
Someone in this story is an asshole. Someone in this story is WAY too concerned abut what their neighbor is up to. But that someone isn’t your neighbor-- it’s you.
And, side note, you call her out for having a nice yard she maintains because it’s smaller than yours? What is your fucking problem?? She was smart enough to buy property she can maintain, and you aren’t. How is that her problem?
What’s with the inconsistent sidewalk sizing? I live in BFE, and know nothing about them, but when I lived in LA, they were all pretty much the same everywhere you went. What gives?
I live in the upper of a two-flat. Your rant doesn’t apply to me much, since our landlord is actually damn good at keeping on top of mowing/raking/whatever*. BUT even if it did, I’d shrug my shoulders and :ppppppppbbbbbbbbttttttt: to ya.
Lawn/outdoor maintenance is included in our lease, which means we pay for it already. Being renters, it’s not like we happen to have our own lawn mower (et al) or a place to store it. If a neighbor has an issue with the frequency of outdoor maintenance, they need to take it up with the landlord.
Seriously, we love our landlords. It’s an older husband and wife team who own several houses and two-flats. The wife is also a realtor so she’s great with handling contracts and the husband is retired from GM and can do TONS of repair work, maintenance and so on. They’re really friendly, too, and even gave us a deal on the rent (I know what prices are in my city).
I don’t blame the tenants for not looking after the places they rent; I blame the landlords. They don’t live here, so they don’t care if they look after the properties properly or not. This might not be universal, but it’s pretty universal where I live - nice yard, nice yard, nice yard, shithole because it’s a rental, nice yard, nice yard.
This might be a little bit of a hot-button issue with me.
Your neighborhood busybody is also the person who is going to call 911 when she sees a burglar breaking into your house or smoke pouring out of it when you are not at home.
I don’t know if I actually mentioned any personal preferences; I’ve only been talking about things that are required of homeowners by Calgary’s bylaws.
Your landscaper is a shit-stirrer. She probably did make a comment or two about the sidewalk, but it’s probable he embellished what and how she said it.
This is just a WAG, but I’m guessing the lack of sidewalk on the other side of the street means everyone appreciates your sidewalk that much more.
Sidewalks are a funny thing. They are really easy to take for granted until you get to a section that’s all fucked up. Recently my mother came to visit and I had to push someone around in a wheelchair for the first time in my life. It was fun when the path was all clear and there were no objects, cracks, or areas of unevenness. Otherwise, she’d get hitched up, which made her feel guilty for being unable to walk and made me feel ashamed for not being a good wheelchair-pusher. The experience made me really appreciate good sidewalks, lemme tell you.
I don’t like yardwork either. I’m just now getting the hang of weekend lawn mowing, Sometimes I let the grass out front get a little shaggy because it’s so hot and buggy and I just want to relax on the weekends. I’d probably feel a little bent out of shape if someone complained about it. But complaining about neighbors is no more illegal than letting the grass grow a little tall. Both are harmless but a bit impolite.
We live and we learn. At least now you’re more mindful about keeping the sidewalk free and clear.
