New neighbors causing stress

[para504]

This is my first post and I am hoping to get some ideas on how to deal with a problem causing me a great deal of stress. New neighbors moved in 2 years ago and the teenage daughter/ friend is apparently in control of inviting a wide variety of delinquents to the property. there have been late night disturbances and I have confronted them about the noise and craziness to no avail and after subsequent incidences called the police to stop the party .

there a several coupes living in the home and the front porch contains trash cans and a pile of old clothes. A variety of what appear to be unemployed young males come and go regularly and often hang out on the front porch. One week ago someone drove a car through the adjacent  property and parked in front of the said residence and two young males opened the hood to begin some mechanical work. I confronted them about parking a car in the front of their home and they were annoyed with my suggestion that they move the car to the street. The same car tried to run me off the road as I followed them part of the way to work several days after I confronted them. Thanks for any suggestions on dealing with this issue.

[Tyler Durden]

Okay, the first thing you need to do is separate that which matters from that which truly doesn't.

 

If they're keeping you awake in the middle of the night on a weekday, that matters. But if they hang out in their front yard, keep trash and clothes there, work on a car there, that's their business.

 

The second thing you do is repair your image. Right now they view you as their annoying neighbor who complains about everything and calls the cops on them. That image will get you nowhere. In fact, it will get you the opposite of what you want, as you've already experienced with the car incident. They're not going to take you seriously unless they respect you, and they're not going to respect you unless they feel respected by you.

 

The easiest way to do that is to walk up to their house on a quiet day, ask for the dad or whoever is most respected, and say something like this: "I came here because, as neighbors, we've kind of gotten off to a bad start and I want to try and repair the relationship. You already now that I've had some trouble sleeping at night because of the noise, but I also realize that I've been kind of a dick to you guys calling the cops on you and complaining about all sorts of unrelated stuff. So I want to apologize for that. I want us to get along better in the future so I hope that we can make a new start. And in that light I would like to invite you all to dinner at my house. What do you say?"

 

During that dinner just be nice to them, show interest in them, show them that you are more than just some guy who likes to complain. Build some credit. And from that point on make sure to greet them when you see them and make some smalltalk when you have time. The car in the front yard was actually a great opportunity for smalltalk or for offering your help.

 

Once you've improved the relationship and changed your image to that of the friendly and respectable neighbor you'll actually have some credit with them. And asking them to keep the noise down won't be nearly as hard as it is now.