Good neighbors are definitely not a dime a dozen. So, if you’ve got one or more that looks out for you, helps with the kids, brings food when you’re sick, or just generally makes living in your neighborhood better than living anywhere else, you’re going to appreciate these 7 sweet stories.
7. Animal lover.
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“My dog started wanting to go outside at night more than usual. At first I was just like, ‘OK, that’s weird, but whatever.’ But eventually I started to get concerned. Why was she going outside so much? Did she have a bladder infection or some other illness? So one night I decided to see what she got up to.
“She was whining at the back door like usual. I opened the door for her, and she darted out, ran straight to the fence, and hopped up to greet my neighbor, who was out in her backyard as well. The neighbor petted my dog and stuff. I went out to talk to the neighbor, and I got the scoop: My neighbor had been having bouts of insomnia lately, so she’d go out into the backyard for some fresh air. Every time my dog heard her door open, she’d run outside to get pets.
“So my dog was being annoying because my neighbor was being so nice to her! I installed a dog door so now I don’t have to worry about it, and I’m only slightly jealous that my dog might like my neighbor more than me.”
6. I would have thanked him.
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“Growing up, all the other kids had to shovel the driveway before going to school every morning, but I NEVER had to. I just thought my dad did it before I woke up, or maybe the city sent someone specifically to our house to do the driveway (IDK, I was not a smart kid). Years later, I learned that our neighbor, this nice old man named Mr. Kippler, shoveled our drive EVERY SINGLE MORNING when he did his own. If I had known, I would’ve thanked him because he saved me a lot of snow shoveling!”
5. Saved from the meter maid.
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“I drive a motorcycle, and I have to park on the street in my neighborhood. There are all kinds of weird parking rules in my area, like, ‘You can’t park on this side of the street on Wednesdays from 9:15 a.m. to 11:35 a.m.” — stuff like that. It’s deliberately confusing.
“I once came home to find my motorcycle parked on the walkway leading up to my front door, which is not where I normally park it. While I was staring at the bike trying to figure out how it got there, my neighbor (who I’d never spoken to before this) jogged out of his house and told me that he’d seen the meter maid coming down the street and that my bike was parked there at a time it wasn’t supposed to be. So he quickly walked it up onto the sidewalk so I wouldn’t get a ticket!”
4. He might as well come to the show.
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“I played in a punk band in college. We practiced in my apartment, and we were very loud. My neighbor on the other side of the wall heard all of it. Whenever we ran into each other, I’d apologize for the noise and try to be super nice. But I always got the sense that he was annoyed by it (which was completely understandable).
“After a few months of screaming and pounding on instruments, my band scored our first gig. When we got onstage, I spotted my neighbor (who was totally not your typical punk rock fan) in the front row! I found him after the show and thanked him for coming, and said I was surprised to see him because I figured he’d be super annoyed by us making so much noise. He laughed and said he was kind of annoyed in the beginning had grown to enjoy it. He added that he already knew all the songs by heart, so he might as well come to the show.
“Shortly after that gig, we scrounged up enough money to rent a practice space. My neighbor still came to every show we played. That meant a lot to me.”
3. A new friend.
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“I locked myself out of my apartment while walking the dog. I also left my phone inside, so I had no way to contact anyone. I knocked on my neighbor’s door (I didn’t know him at the time) and asked if I could use his phone to call the only number I had memorized. I explained the predicament I was in, and he hesitated for a second and then said, ‘Um…one time I locked myself out, and I was able to open the door with a credit card. I could, uh, try that if you want.’
“We tried. It didn’t work, but I really appreciated his honesty and willingness to admit to his illegal skill in an attempt to help me out. He let me chill in his apartment, and we played video games until my girlfriend came home with the extra key. Now he’s one of my closest friends!”
2. Of course, she knew the whole time.
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“When I was about 8 years old, my BFF and I used to pick roses from the neighbor’s yard, then sell them back to her. She was this nice old lady, and she’d give us a quarter for each rose, then we’d spend it on the ice cream man. We thought we were pulling a fast one on her, but she apparently knew the whole time and just played along, which was very nice.”
1. He didn’t stop searching.
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“When I was younger I had a guinea pig named Lilly. She was my first pet, so I was OBSESSED with her. One of my favorite activities was putting her out on the lawn and letting her eat grass while I sat there and watched (yah, I was super cool). One day I must have looked away for .5 seconds, and Lilly was gone. Obviously, I started crying and frantically running around the yard looking for her with my dad.
“My neighbor (who we did not know at all) must of heard the commotion, came outside, and without hesitating helped us search. We searched for hours and couldn’t find her, so my dad took me inside. I was DEVASTATED.
“Turns out that our neighbor didn’t stop stop searching and that Lilly had somehow weaseled her way through a hole in the fence into HIS yard! So he found her and returned her to me, and literally I have never been so grateful!”
Great neighbors are hard to find!