It’s nice to know your neighbors. But there’s a limit to everyone’s kindness, and we must respect each other’s boundaries too.

Reddit user Hippajibba says hers was recently violated. A single mom who lives nearby decided to treat herself and her kids to a swim in the Redditor’s pool without permission.

When the woman saw the unannounced guests, she confronted them and asked the group to leave. However, the mom interpreted it as a personal insult, and tensions began to escalate.

This woman and her husband loved to relax in their pool

Image credits: Oleksandr P (not the actual image)

Until one day, their neighbors also decided to visit it—secretly

Image credits: Digital Marketing Agency NTWRK (not the actual image)

Image credits: hippajibba

People value their privacy and good neighbors understand this

Image credits: freepik (not the actual image)

This story illustrate why we’re generally so wary of those who live around us. In fact, according to a survey conducted in May, only 17% of people trust their neighbors with a house key. However, it’s worth mentioning that the number seems to increase with age — people 60 or older are twice as likely to leave a house key with a neighbor than people aged 18-29.

But no matter how much you trust your neighbors, you may not want them in your backyard, especially if there’s something that might cause accidents, like a pool.

The study also discovered that 81% of people value privacy from their neighbors—only 19% said it’s not really a concern.

To increase it:

• 26% of respondents installed a fence or privacy screen;
• 24% of respondents planted trees;
• 15% of respondents arranged their patio furniture or patio layout;
• and 6% of respondents added soundproofing materials to their patio or yard.

The most common disputes the respondents have had with their neighbors were about noise (24%), parking (19%), pets or children (17%), properly lines (16%), trash disposal (9%), and splitting cost for shared amenities (6%).

Interestingly, 54% reported they’ve never had one. Hopefully, the woman who made the Reddit post can settle hers, too.

Most of those who read the story said the woman did nothing wrong

Some, however, thought the woman should’ve been more empathetic

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