“Curious” neighbour

Your property is probably very secure when you are away with your neighbours obviously keeping a close eye on it.

Why offer them such info to work with, if you don’t want their unfiltered input ?!

Made me feel bad now. My friend is on holiday in Corfu and just posted where she is having lunch. I got on Google maps to have a look, or should I keep that to myself. I am just interested so that I can ask her about it when she comes home. We have been friends for 56 years so I don't think she will think me weird.....or will she?

I would find it all very annoying to be honest, but then we doNot tell our neighbours our private business anyway, we only tell them odd snippets more idle chit chat, we have too many curtain twitchers down our road, it’s quite amusing

We have quite the opposite in our semi. Despite sharing a dividing wall and garden fence with our neighbours, they go out of their way to avoid us, literally scuttling into their house if they're outside when we come in or out to avoid answering our "hellos" to them! In five years of living beside them, we'probably spoken for a total of five minutes, when it was absolutely necessary. So the opposite situation to yours Esspee, but still weird! ?

I'm very lucky to have lovely, helpful and friendly neighbours on both sides of me but the one across the road is a total pain in the backside. No matter what time of the day I leave my house, she's immediately out of her front door shouting "Chewbacca, are you going out? Where are you going? You couldn't just get me....... could you?" As soon as I pull onto my driveway, she's back out, shouting "Chewbacca, have you a minute, I need to ask you......". She's not a little old lady, living alone and short of company; she's younger than me with adult children living with her. She just seems to need to know where I'm going and where I've been. Does my 'ead in!

The lady over the road (a few years older than us) always seems to know what everyone is doing, and one day during lockdown at about 11am we had a text from her saying 'Haven't noticed any movements today, are you ok?' Kind of her, but we felt a bit weird, that we were being watched, we had got up quite late and were getting on with our lives indoors and in the back garden, as directed by the Government!

I wouldn’t find anything wrong with that particular subject. I wouldn’t do it myself, but it’s being different that makes us so interesting as a human race. If they were privy to the exact time you went to bed every night.....well, I would find that creepy, not just odd!

That last bit made me laugh Toad-in-the-hole!

My ‘curious’ neighbour once commented on the very late night we had and didn’t like it when I retorted, well you were up late as well!

Mine also likes to inform me, on a regular basis, that most people in the street have given her a set of keys for safe-keeping. There’s usually a long pause after she’s said it, where it’s obvious I’m meant to say, here’s ours!

That will never happen as I’ve seen how often she goes over to those houses while they’re away!

My neighbour knocks frantically on my door as soon as I come in, (if she missed calling out to me as I came down the path- rare, that) as well as peering through the window.
If that doesn't work, she phones.

You win MissA! That would drive me insane!

It does, and has for the last 17 years.

They are probably very lonely and struggle to find things to fill their days, hence the curtain twitching and filling in the diary. However, I can see why you would be unsettled by this. It would make me wonder if they had binoculars trained on my house so they didn't miss anything.

Nope.
My neighbour has a huge family, who all have lots of friends, and they all visit a lot.

They come and knock at mine, too.

Maybe it's because you're friendly and welcoming MissA. They probably go home and say to each other "Isn't MissA lovely! She's always so pleased to see anyone and stand and chat, even when she's clearly on her knees with exhaustion! I think we make her day for her!"

I'm sure they do.
I hope they never read gransnet!

Oh no Miss A. That would drive me mad too.

It really does, because I need my own space, but since neither of us is likely to move, I have to try and let it go.
She means no harm (I keep reminding myself!)

MissAdventure
I got caught out one day by a neighbour like that.
I started walking quickly and said I had to go to ASDA now as me and MrS were going out.
She said oh, I'll come with you ?

Did you have to take her?

That`s the very reason i don`t tell neighbours anything.
One in particular tells me all the gossip that`s going on and i have told her i`m not interested in their business,but she carries on regardless.
I can`t avoid her as i have to pass her house to get to mine.

I have an acquaintance who lives around the corner. She will ask questions about our upcoming plans then google locations etc. and come back with comments I find negative : the rooms look small etc. Last winter (before co-vid) we had a holiday at a resort in Cuba. Reviews online were mixed and I refused to tell her the name of the resort. I just changed the subject when she asked. I really am uncomfortable answering her questions. And I always thought she had a phenomenal memory. But maybe she also keeps a diary!

can't imagine asking or researching other people's holiday locations.
i find it utterly boring.
one neighbour near here was so good at extracting information, she would inform me of what when my relatives were going on holiday etc with all the details.
and this from a relative who is taciturn by nature. she would prise it out somehow and then parade her knowledge before me. i learned to say, oh is he, in a bored vague way.

Some people have nothing better to do

I live in a Park (Mobile) Home, most people are friendly & we do hold keys for close neighbours. I am not "nosy" but it is difficult not to notice whether some-one is at home or not, as our road is a dead end you see cars & generally know visitors vehicles.

We don't live in each others pockets, neither are we constantly in each others homes. There is a plus side in knowing each others routines not blow by blow as it is useful if some-one hasn't been seen out & about or lights haven't gone on in the evening as many of my neighbours are elderly (80+) some-one would ring or pop round to check they're ok. Many of us are living on our own, we're also a good "neighbourhood watch" as strangers wandering around stick out like a sore thumb .

I only give out information which isn't too personal as do my friends, there is an odd gossip but pretty harmless really