Monday, June 04, 2007

nosey neighbors, dogcatchers and the HOA

Last week was not my best week here in Georgia, to say the least. 3 letters from the HOA, 2 citations from the water department, complete with pictures and diagrams, a nasty email from a neighbor and a brewhaha over a neighborhood party involving police left me feeling a little...well a little out of control, I suppose. The HOA is my biggest pet peeve and the brewhaha over the party magnified all that I think is evil about them. The theory is they are good for property values and if everyone keeps their house looking like no one lives there, then everyone is going to want to buy your house. The reality is it often causes speculation about neighbors. Who's turning whom in to the HOA. Who's complaining about whom. What your mulch looks like and when you last watered are frequent conversations.

Anyway, I happen to live in a part of the neighborhood where most everyone is friendly and happy to see each other. We wave and speak and most of us don't really care what each other's lawn looks like. This week, we've been behaving like neighbors, which is what we really want in a neighborhood. For example, my dog got out the other day while I was gone and 2 different neighbors worked together to get him back and fix it so he couldn't get out again. One of my neighbors accidentally made too many pies and brought us one. And I noticed that my neighbors were still home when they shouldn't have been. This made me worry, so I went to check on them. They were alright, but I'm still glad I went to check. If something were to happen to me or my family, I want nosey neighbors. Those that notice something is not quite right and do something about it. Neighborhoods are a great place to live.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hope you had an awesome trip and come home rested and refreshed! Yes, I love my neighbors, too (you're welcome for the pie - I couldn't have planned that one better).

I felt a little better about those stinkin' HOA dues yesterday when we reserved the pavilion for Christian's baseball team party. It was great and everyone was so complimentary about the neighborhood and rec area.

Our house will NEVER look like no one lives here. I've got to hurry and remove the playset from the front yard (from THE PICNIC!). It was a huge success. The apple juice disappeared in seconds, and Michelle G., Blair, and I enjoyed a little adult conversation while the kids played (and we speculated on the infinitesimal chance of rain).