I have none to speak of, really. But I guess it makes me appreciate the little, kind things ten times as much.
 
I was cooking my dinner last night when the doorbell rang. After a quick "do I or don't I bother", curiosity got the best of me.
 
I ran across the house and took a peak through the window and saw our next door neighbour, a sweet retired lady, dressed as an elf. 
 
I opened the door and she had a cake and a envelope with a Christmas card for us in it. Apparently, she'd prepared little cakes for the neighbourhood. Our cat Gisèle, who spends all of her time at their house and practically lives in their backyard, accompanied her for the distribution.
 
A few days earlier, we'd received a Christmas card from another neighbour. 
 
That's a delightful and totally unusual thing for us. A friend from back home told us he thought this only happened on American TV shows. 
 
 

 

Ya, so they are not living in your house with both of you at this time.

The neighbors are not asking 50 questions?
Can they hear you playing, practicing music?
I need no answers just something for you perhaps to ponder.
Do the neighbors expect something in return for what they did?
Do you need a battleaxe to do battle with any of them?
 
 

We thought that stuff only happened in Canada.

bapu
We thought that stuff only happened in Canada.

Not where I am from. You mostly only talk to the people you already know.
 
It's one of the things that struck us when we moved to the US. Here, you make eye contact with someone, you say "hi". Back home, you don't acknowledge, until you know the person.
 
We're lucky that this lady and her husband love cats just as much as we do. In fact, she used to be a vet technician. Me and my wife refer to her as Gisèle's granny. She's a very sweet lady.
 
Wish I could say as much about our other neighbour - who's Canadian too, incidentally. He must come from a place similar as us as he barely ever acknowledge us. On the other hand, he has no problem intruding in our life w/ all the noise he makes.
 
From what I gather, he earns a living building props, mainly fake pianos. Only problem is that he operates his business in his garage, so it's power tools all year round. Not constantly, but all through the day, you'll hear the bench saw. He also has a tendency to renovate his bathroom at 2 am. 
 
He also likes to help out friends and keep their dog when they're on vacation. Problem is that he leaves them in his backyard, unsupervised, barking for hours. 
 
He's an absolutely inconsiderate fellow.

Sounds like a phone call to the police is in order (at 2 AM).

bapu
Sounds like a phone call to the police is in order (at 2 AM).

We tolerate, mostly because we live at night and rarely go to bed before 4, anyway. Maybe he knows that. I doubt that his other neighbour has the same schedule though.
 
I have no problem with people operating business at home, but only as long as they don't disturb me in my house.
 
At that point, either you rent a space to accommodate your commercial activities in an appropriate location, either you can't afford it because that business isn't lucrative enough. Therefore, your one option is to find a real job.
 
That's if you happen to have any notion that the world doesn't revolve around you. Which clearly isn't the case with that guy.
 
As I always say, responsibilities don't just vanish. If you don't take them, someone else is going to have to deal with the consequences. 

Ya, I hear you. When I gave up my shop I had to stop working on Bass rigs and half stacks. Not the sort of thing that works in an apartment. I do the sawing and machining out at a friends shop in the country but I wire and test everything in my living room.

Rain
It's one of the things that struck us when we moved to the US. Here, you make eye contact with someone, you say "hi". Back home, you don't acknowledge, until you know the person.
 
 
 
I talk to many newcomers to the U.S. when I walk my pooch at the local park and they say the same thing. They seem genuinely impressed with the friendliness of the American public in general.

Kind of nice.

ampfixer
Ya, I hear you. When I gave up my shop I had to stop working on Bass rigs and half stacks. Not the sort of thing that works in an apartment. I do the sawing and machining out at a friends shop in the country but I wire and test everything in my living room.

Then you're the type of Canadian neighbour I'd like. Plus, you know how to use a soldering iron... :P
 
One thing about houses here in Las Vegas is that they aren't especially well-insulated, and also relatively close to one another - maybe 12-15 feet apart. 
 
One of the first things I did when I installed my stuff in this room was to put on some music at a level similar to the loudest I thought I'd work and run outside to verify if it'd be a problem. Things seemed fine.
 
Yesterday though I went to pick up the mail - the mailbox is one house away from our driveway. I could hear my wife doing her vocal warm up routine in the bathroom at the other end of our house - no windows open...
 
Imagine the damage a Plexi could do... :P

Rain
Imagine the damage a Plexi could do... :P

Fire juan up and sea?