One doesn’t necessarily have to be friends with those living around them; but a good rule of thumb would be not to make their life any worse either. Yet some people don’t abide by such rules, this way likely encouraging their neighbors to consider moving away.

In Britain, for instance, as much as 60% of people seemingly don’t get along with their neighbors, according to a Daily Mail survey; nearly 30% of them say they would never socialize with the people living nearby.

When it comes to the US, the situation might seem worse, as nearly three-in-four (73%, to be exact) of them dislike a neighbor, LendingTree reports. However, on the upside, roughly as many of them like at least one person in the neighborhood.

The pictures on the list are just some examples showing what makes certain neighbors difficult to bear, but the reasons are nearly limitless. Some of the most common ones, though—for Americans, at least—include neighbors giving off a “weird vibe”, as well as being loud, rude, or nosy; their pets causing trouble is also in the top five.

Another reason some people are far from fond of those living nearby is the latter not upkeeping the exterior of their property; apparently, this annoys as much as 16% of Americans.

LendingTree revealed that the antipathy Americans feel towards their neighbors is not only based on what the latter do—or don’t do, for that matter—but also on competitiveness. It pointed out that as much as 17% of them feel financially pressured to keep up with those living around them; among those with a homeowners association, the number rises to 36%.

Despite the competition, a similar number of people—37%, to be exact—would rather have neighbors with the same views regarding a certain important matter: you guessed it right, political beliefs.

The reasons for Britons hating their neighbor seem to be similar to those living in the States; from troublesome pets to unattended gardens, they seem to hate it with a passion equally as strong. However, the things that annoy them more than anything else are not the same as those of their American counterparts, as people in Britain seem to be aggravated by annoying driving habits the most. According to the Daily Mail, there’s nothing worse for them than someone blocking their driveway or parking in their space.

Another thing Britons detest—number seven among the 20 reasons they hate their neighbor—is the latter hosting too many late-night parties. Ironically, reason number 19 is neighbors getting annoyed when the Britons themselves have a party.

Despite the numerous ways they can get on our nerves, neighbors can reportedly have a positive effect on our well-being (well, at least the less annoying ones can). A Rutgers study revealed that low levels of contact with people living nearby are linked to lower levels of satisfaction and psychological well-being in middle and later life.

Spanning over 10 years, the research found out that even though neighbors might not prevent an individual from facing certain hardships, they are an important part of one’s social landscape, whether it’s providing assistance that they do or ensuring daily communication.

For some, the importance of having friendly neighbors became evident during the pandemic. Due to the lockdown, restrictions, and health-related matters, some people had to rely on the kindness of others, some of whom often lived right next door.

A study on individuals supporting their neighbors during the early stage of the COVID-19 lockdown revealed that they used different means of communication to reach out to those living nearby who needed some sort of help, making even greater effort to contact vulnerable groups.

Their ways of supporting others included everything from delivering food and medical prescriptions, to providing information, advice or even sharing of experiences. Quite a few of such individuals reportedly felt more involved in the neighborhood life after the pandemic and showed interest in committing to it even more in the future.

While some people hate their neighbors—a few might love them—there are also individuals who don’t know their neighbors to begin with. Pew Research Center revealed that 57% of Americans say they know some of them and roughly one-in-four believe they know most of them. It also pointed out that it’s the older generations that seem to have a larger circle of acquaintances living nearby.

Pew Research Center also found that even in the age of digital technology, neighbors tend to communicate more face-to-face (20%) rather than using the phone or email (7%). 

Another interesting thing the survey revealed was that despite not knowing a lot of them, people tend to trust the neighbors they do know; roughly 66% of Americans—who know at least some of their neighbors—would feel comfortable trusting them with a spare set of their keys in case there’s an emergency.