'I can't cope with my neighbour's 4am habit but they say my daytime routine is worse'
A woman has taken to social media to ask for advice on how to deal with her noisy neighbour, who she says stomps around at 4am and then has a complaint about her
A woman has shared her frustration over a neighbourly feud that's been ongoing for years, despite her best efforts to desperately keep the peace between them. Upon moving into her flat, she made every effort to be a good neighbour, leaving cards on special occasions, always greeting them with a smile and even politely asking if they could keep the noise down before 7am. "You know, basic decency," she penned.
However, her attempts at fostering a friendly relationship fell on deaf ears, as her upstairs neighbour continued to ignore her more than reasonable requests.
Taking to Reddit to vent her frustrations, she wrote: "The main culprit (let's call her Teresa) used to get ready for work at 4am during our first year. FOUR. IN. THE. MORNING.
"It sounded like a herd of elephants doing CrossFit in my ceiling. Then her schedule 'changed,' and for the past year and a half, she only works twice a month on weekends... Yet the early-morning chaos continues like clockwork".
In contrast, she and her husband are "very quiet," don't host parties and rarely have guests over.
"We know their bedroom is right above our living room, so out of respect, we shut everything down by 10pm during the week and retreat to our bedroom. Still, the stomping continues all night long, often exceeding 70db, and my security camera catches it regularly. I've been keeping a log for almost two years, just in case," she added.
She also claimed that her neighbours shadow her "from room to room, stomping in perfect sync" with wherever she moves around the flat.
"They eavesdrop on conversations. They text or call my phone in the middle of the night-often at 3am-while stomping over my bedroom because I wasn't answering. (I was asleep.) This morning at 6am, Teresa texted me again about 'running a machine.' I have no idea what she means, but apparently, she thinks my life is public property," she raged.
And she was even more furious because the neighbour has the cheek to moan about her music, which she only plays in the afternoons when she's "cooking or doing chores". "They even texted our landlord about it, even though I've never involved him otherwise-past experience shows landlords don't care about noise," she revealed.
"At some point, after years of polite patience, I snapped and cursed her out. Since then, I avoid her completely if I see her outside," she raged.
She also revealed that relocating wasn't an option at the moment, so there was nothing she'd be able to do on that front.
In the comments, someone wrote: "Block them from calling or texting you for a start".
She revealed that after their last lot of texting that she had done just that, saying she didn't respond and it was "straight to blocked" for them.
"With the documentation you have, I'd file a police report! This sounds like harassment to me, especially the calling while stomping to wake you up?" another suggested.
One Redditor wrote: "How to ignore ignorance: You have to somehow learn to accept that what is going on has nothing to do with you, and it's not because of you why they are doing it, and it's not your fault they are doing it. They obviously have some form of psychological issues or emotional issues.
"I don't know what, but they have something going on upstairs. Another thing you have to accept is that you can't change them; they have to change themselves. I know it's hard to be nice to people who don't respect you, but being nice to them and showing them you're happy is a good thing.
"Then they will see that their actions are not getting to you, and very well could change or stop doing it. You could address them by letter, explaining how their actions are making you feel. Read literature on how to accept difficult people".