Neighbor Tells Mom To Keep Her Children Out Of Their Own Garden Due To His Work-From-Home Setup

Mar 06, 2023

While some people have the privilege to choose their neighbors, it isn’t usually the case for everyone. That’s why some people learn the art of adapting and getting along with other people. Unless the person is planning on eventually moving away, then the best way to have a peaceful life is either to maintain a healthy relationship with one’s neighbor or simply keep a distance from them while being civil towards each other. For most people, the best course of action is the latter.

One mom, for one, has done the same to her neighbor. While they don’t consider each other friends, they try to keep it civil as most acquaintances do. But in August 2022, she faced a dilemma after she encountered a problem with her neighbor that prompted the latter to ban her kids from talking in their own garden.  

The woman revealed that they had been using their garden the same way for years. But things changed after they got home from a holiday as the woman’s neighbor had re-organized his home, and moved his office to a space that faced their garden.

“We've come back from holiday to find neighbor has re-organized his home office and he now sits at a massive (open) window right on the boundary between our gardens. That must have been a spare bedroom before maybe, I don't know. We never saw anyone in it,” the woman shared.

While the woman was having a coffee one day, she noticed that she could hear her neighbor’s voice and his colleagues while they were having a meeting. But she knew she couldn’t do anything about it as it was his house anyway.  

“I sat outside at our patio table this morning to have a coffee and I could hear every word he said through his open window, could hear every word his colleagues said in their online meetings. He might as well have been sitting at the table with me. Not sure there's much I can do about that he can use his house however he likes,” she said.

One day during the school holidays, her 10-year-old son and his friends decided to play Pokemon cards in their garden. Sadly, her neighbor didn’t receive it well and came over to ask if she could take the kids inside as he had a whole afternoon packed with meetings.

“There's 4 of them, they are laughing and chatting but they're not shouting or being silly. And it's a sunny afternoon in the school holidays, they can be outside laughing in the garden if they want to be,” the woman said.

“Neighbour has just come to the door to ask me if I can take them inside because he has a full afternoon of work meetings and their noise is distracting him,” she added.

But the woman simply laughed it off and said no. So, the neighbor told the woman that she might not understand he has a very important job and that he was dealing with multi-million dollar contracts, so he needed to concentrate. The woman then refused the man’s request and said they would go on to use their garden just like they always did and shut the door. But the woman admitted the situation made her feel unsettled, as she revealed that she felt he was arrogant towards her.

“He's unsettled me though, he was so self-confident when he came to the door, so sure that he would get exactly what he wanted. How do you get that kind of confidence? I wish I had it. Or is it arrogance? He made me think I was in the wrong at first,” the woman said.

The woman said she didn’t know how to deal with the situation as they love their garden. She also cited that their neighbor was the one who made the changes at home and not them. While she admitted that she thinks her neighbor might be new to the work-from-home arrangement, she said she feels sad knowing it would be awful for both of them every day. 

However, people sided with the woman and said the man was entitled about the situation as he always has the option to move somewhere else.

“I work from home and use headphones and close my window if it's noisy outside. If his job is so important, he needs to find appropriate space in which to undertake it,” one person commented.

“Some people are just born with a different level of entitlement and lack of empathy for others. Enjoy your garden and don't be swayed! You've also done a great (job) of role modeling polite but firm boundaries for DC so big thumbs up all round,” another person said. 

“Hell no, he can move his office back if he’s got such an issue with it. Don’t change your behavior at all! Can you play a bit of low-level music to drown him out a bit?” a person remarked.

What do you think about the man’s behavior towards the woman? Do you agree with how she stood up for herself? If you were in the woman’s situation, how would have you reacted? Let us know what you think, and pass this on to your family and friends!