A woman recently revealed how her neighbor’s constant messaging makes her feel “very uncomfortable”

while gardening in her backyard. The neighbor has regularly sent messages such as “good job on the tidying” and “shouldn’t you be sowing seeds now?” making her feel increasingly unwelcome and uneasy. [i]

According to the woman, the messages are an invasive commentary on her daily activities, and the neighbor has also taken spare wood from her land “without asking.”This type of intrusive messaging has caused her to feel like her neighbor is watching her every move, making her reluctant to spend time gardening in her backyard. She has expressed her concerns to her neighbor, yet the messages have persisted. [ii]

The woman in the anonymous post explained that they were friendly when she first met the person who lives next door, and it was nice to get to know them. She thought the relationship between them would be positive and healthy. However, as time passed, the person started to do things that made her uncomfortable. [ii]

The neighbor has been sending the woman texts about what they can observe in her garden and living room, providing a constant running commentary as she goes about her gardening activities. This lack of privacy has been increasingly unsettling for the woman, so she decided to put up a taller fence between their properties to maintain a higher level of privacy. Unfortunately, this decision did not sit well with the neighbor, who expressed their displeasure. [iii]

When the woman told the neighbor she wanted to put up a higher fence, which she said wouldn’t be a “light issue” but “would mean they would no longer have free access to our garden or our animals,” the neighbor got “upset.” [iii]

After the argument about poultry, the woman said, “They sent a litany of insults to my husband and blamed me for everything.” Fellow forum users were sympathetic to the woman’s situation and urged her to block the neighbor’s number and prioritize her privacy. [iii]

References

[i] Mumsnet: By parents for parents, Neighbor has no boundaries (Mar. 2023)

[ii] Id.

[iii] Id.