# This is the woods! Be quiet! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 2, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236 "2003-02-02T04:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/1 "2003-02-02T04:08:25Z")
I moved here 7 years ago, and found this home to be particularly enjoyable because the rural, peaceful setting was a major change from suburban life. A vacant lot was purchased year before last and a home was built. The noise of construction was understandable. Then they moved in. Mr. Homeowner runs a trucking business, and keeps his tri-axle dump trucks at home. I’m not beefing about that, per se, but must you use the Jake brake in this remote setting, and must you announce your arrival with air horns? Mr. Homeowner has hobbies. They all seem to involve race cars, race trucks, and other loud vehicles devoid of any sound dampening. Nothing can be worked on at idle-everything must be repeated revved until all forms of life having a choice have fled. Mr. Homeowner has a daughter. I was not aware that degrees in quad runner could be obtained, but apparently the Redneck University of Bohunk is offering distance learning degrees in quad runner, and she’s working on her Masters. From the time she trudges up the road until well past dark, that damn thing runs, and runs and runs. In addition to being unable to use my phone during the summer, the quad runner has an added benefit. Vegetation cannot grow on their property with the constant assault, so every rain storm sends a wash of fine silt and mud down the road to grace the property of you-know-who. I’m trying to figure out what genetic mutation causes this type of asshat behavior. Whay don’t these toads read books, watch movies, surf the net, masturbate-do SOMETHING that is quiet!! Thank you for reading my rant. The asshats are still there, but I feel a bit better. ---
**Author:** ![SLASH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SLASH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SLASH)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/2 "2003-02-02T04:18:40Z")
Contact your local town/county govt about this. You don’t have to put up with that, especially if their actions are messing up your property. Of course though it’s your word against his. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/3 "2003-02-02T08:39:41Z")
I would think that living in the middle of nowhere for 7 years would detract from your desire to bash rednecks. My goodness, you must be in hell, everywhere you go _there’s another one of them. What’s wrong with these people? How come they can’t be normal!_ ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/4 "2003-02-02T12:58:58Z")
Ah. You must live in Libertaria. I’m told that’s the only place where that sort of thing can happen. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/5 "2003-02-02T13:43:16Z")
I suppose making an attempt to actually go over there and speak to them about the noise is out of the question. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/6 "2003-02-02T16:12:28Z")
Three words: foam ear plugs. One compound word: headphones. The problem is, legally speaking, they are just using and enjoying their property. I don’t see any unreasonable behavior. So, long-term, you better learn to get along or leave. If they start dirt track racing at night, sue. ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/7 "2003-02-02T19:23:55Z")
Even out in the country, there may be rules ‘n’ regulations about noise. My family moved 30 miles from the nearest town, five miles from a paved road, when I was about 12. Some noisy idiots moved in down the path and made life hell. Fifteen years later, the countryside still has raw gouges from their ATVs, for example. When Dad checked with a policeman friend of his, it turned out the noisy bums didn’t have a right to make life miserable for their neighbors, noise and air quality-wise. It took some doing, but eventually they were quieted down, got bored with living a quiet life and moved. The meth lab guys who moved in later were much more peaceful, but then the lab burned down (surprise! you’ve been living next to some really bad hats!) and talk about quiet after that. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/8 "2003-02-02T19:25:04Z")
> [@](#): > > The problem is, legally speaking, they are just using and enjoying their property. That depends on the location – most places that have noise bylaws have ones that are pretty broad in their language, making _any_ noise that’s audible on adjacent properties verboten – never mind airhorns and unmuffled engines. I hope that **danceswithcats** isn’t in an area so remote as to be devoid of noise bylaws. That would suck. I must say that the thread-title reminded me of some assholish behavior that led to the most reckless action I can recall ever having taken. I was camping in the Cascades many years ago, and was stunned when a crowd of young folks set up across the lake with a thunderous PA system on the back of a pick-up blasting crap “classic rock”, polluting the area for miles around. The first night they were there, I just stewed. The second night, I shot their speakers out with a .22 I doubt that they even heard the shots, and still wonder if they simply thought that they blew them out playing Bon Jovi at nosebleed levels- they didn’t pack up and leave, anyway. Although I was careful to make sure that no-one was near the truck, I still can’t believe that I discharged a weapon in the general direction of a group of people, and I’m grateful that nothing went horribly wrong. Temporary insanity, I guess. Still-- what sort of people think it’s acceptable to blast their music out over an eight-mile-long lake, ringed with people who have driven for hours to get away from the noise of civilization? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/9 "2003-02-02T19:41:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Still-- what sort of people think it’s acceptable to blast their music out over an eight-mile-long lake, ringed with people who have driven for hours to get away from the noise of civilization? It should be legal to shoot these people. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/10 "2003-02-02T21:11:04Z")
**Larry** , they’re victims of the disease that’s taken over so much of North America - the symptoms are not caring how your actions affect other people (not even realizing that they _do_ affect other people, in fact), doing whatever you can get away with, and not accepting responsibility for anything you _do_ get caught doing. There doesn’t seem to be a cure, though. Maybe someday all of us people who have managed to avoid catching this disease can build a commune somewhere and just leave the rest of the diseased to make each other’s lives miserable. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/11 "2003-02-02T22:56:48Z")
Maybe you should have looked into what living in a rural area is really like instead of the typical surbanite romantized idea. Gotta love when the city folk move in. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/12 "2003-02-03T00:02:38Z")
He’s lived there for 7 years, I think he probably knows what it is like. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/13 "2003-02-03T00:08:12Z")
He should have found out what rural living was really like, and what alot of rural people really lived like, BEFORE he moved in. Sorry I wasn’t clear. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/14 "2003-02-03T02:51:28Z")
**THespos** raises a valid question. I’ve considered speaking to the neighbor, but decided against it. My logic is that if you are sufficiently inconsiderate and self-centered to cause the problem, you’re likely not receptive to dialog. _If_ I speak to neighbor, and he tells me to piss off, and I then contact Township/County for redress, it’s a no brainer who launched the beef. I work out of town for days at a time, and don’t need my home vandalised, an act that would likely go without discovery until my return. **Eternal** raises another issue. I’ve no desire to hurt them in any way. I don’t believe my OP contained any such thought. All I seek is respect for the environment, and respect for one’s neighbors, no less than I afford. \*\* Witch \*\* posts comments that I’m not sure I understand. I’m fully aware that there is no cable TV, police protection is limited, fire department response is incapable of saving the house unless immediately reported, and I must get my septic tank pumped. If the water doesn’t come out of the well, it’s my problem, and during a power failure, I’m one of the last to be restored. I accepted all of the above, knowingly, and all I ask is a little peace and quiet. My business is construction, and at times I do welding, sandblasting, painting and other noisy stuff in my shop. I installed soundproofing materials before setting up business, out of respect for neighbors. Is it too much to expect the same measure in return? Your sarcasm, Witch, is out of line, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/15 "2003-02-03T03:51:17Z")
I’m not sarcastic at all. I’m tired of people coming and moving to the “country” assuming they are getting bucolic silence. The woods indeed. Guess what? PEOPLE DO LIVE HERE. And guess what else? People that live in rural areas tend to like to work on their cars. We like NASCAR too. I know in my town anyway this is true. Seems to be in yours too. We all all also have quad runners, and enjoy using them _on our land_. You don’t like it? You think we should pick up a book or sit like a bunch of pasty faced zombies in front of the net 24/7? Well, that’s too bad. I don’t move to the city and then complain about the noise of the traffic, or the crowds. Why did you buy a parcel of land so close to someone else’s property? Nice thing about “the woods.” They are vast. That’s what you get for thinking like a surburbanite. Our small towns that people having been living happily in for generations are being invaded by tightasses like you. You come expecting everyone to bend to YOUR ideas of how things should be, totally disregarding a way of life that has gone on QUITE well without you, thank you very much. Feel free to return to the land of minivans. Us ol’ hicks won’t miss you a bit. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/16 "2003-02-03T03:55:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beagle \* > \*\*Three words: foam ear plugs. One compound word: headphones. > > The problem is, legally speaking, they are just using and enjoying their property. I don’t see any unreasonable behavior. So, long-term, you better learn to get along or leave. > > If they start dirt track racing at night, sue. \*\* Depends upon where you live, “legally speaking”. In my town, people are NOT allowed to just make noise that “leaves their property line”. The OP should probably check into the laws in her neck of the woods, she might have the law on her side! ---
**Author:** ![Sejal\_Traurig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Sejal\_Traurig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sejal_Traurig)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/17 "2003-02-03T04:02:15Z")
**Witch** Go back and read the OP… Someone ended up building next to the OPs land… He (Assumed… Could be she) didn’t move in next to them… Your argument that the OP invaded someone else’s territory doesn’t wash… The OP lived there for 5 years _before_ the offender moved in… ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/18 "2003-02-03T04:02:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Feel free to return to the land of minivans. Us ol’ hicks won’t miss you a bit. I don’t quite follow how someone who’s lived somewhere for seven years has less tenure than people who just moved in. But then, I’m from a rural area originally, and we do tend to be dim. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/19 "2003-02-03T04:02:44Z")
What, basic consideration for your neighbors is contrary to established traditions of rural living? Funny, I grew up in a rural area and people who created nuisance noise were taken still to task for it. And you’re faulting **danceswithcats** for purchasing a house next to a vacant lot that was later purchased by a noisy asshole? ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236/20 "2003-02-03T04:12:23Z")
Revving an engine or driving a legal offroad vehicle on your own rural property can be illegal? That would be news to me. Sure, laws vary. I think this case would boil down to an interpretation of the facts. If the neighbor is an unreasonably noisy asshole, it may be actionable. IMO, the facts so far alleged do not suggest unreasonable behavior. The best chance is restrictive covenants. You can “legislate” all kinds of strange things in those. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-the-woods-be-quiet/152236.md?page=2)