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Newsweek
2 days ago
- General
- Newsweek
Woman Gets New Apartment With Parking—a Week Later, Anonymous Notes Appear
"I got the notes on Monday, all four appeared at once," Elizabeth told Newsweek. "I have no idea who left them, but I have not gotten any further notes, so I choose to believe it was just a misunderstanding that they figured out when they went to talk to the management office." Parking and space-related conflicts are a growing source of tension in apartment communities. A recent survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Newsweek asked 1,000 U.S. adults about their most intense disputes with neighbors. The findings highlighted a wide range of issues, from noise complaints to more confrontational scenarios like property damage and boundary disputes. Gregg Ward, executive director of The Center for Respectful Leadership, warned against retaliatory behavior between neighbors. "If your neighbor doesn't behave in ways you want them to, the last thing you should do is get into a tit-for-tat battle with them," he told Newsweek. "This happens all too often, and it never ends well. In short, don't respond to disrespect with more disrespect—it will just make everything worse." 'Over the Top, Passive Aggressive' The handwritten notes in the viral Reddit post, each written in red ink, carried an unmistakably hostile tone. "Respect your neighbor + stop parking in their paid, assigned spot. It's just rude," read one. Another said: "I've tried to be kind but you ignored my note. You could have been towed week ago. Please let me park in the spot I've had for years. THX." Two others echoed similar sentiments, with one stating simply: "Not your spot. Please stop taking it. Thank you." Elizabeth said she responded by placing her own note on the windshield. It read: "I checked with the office and this is my spot. You should check with them too." She later found that her note had been removed but no additional messages were left. "This is a pretty common occurrence for many different reasons, including inept property management and just trying to bully someone else out of their spot," she told Newsweek. "I prefer to believe that it was unintentional, and the notes were just an over-the-top, passive aggressive response to someone they genuinely believe was wronging them." A number of Reddit users related to Elizabeth's experience and chimed in with their own stories of parking disputes caused by confusing or inaccurate leasing information. U/cacophobiaxo said: "As someone who rents apartments for a living, can confirm this is usually the case." One commenter, u/RogueKitteh, wrote: "This reminds me of when we first moved into our current place and the property manager at the time told us the wrong space number so we were parking in someone else's spot like an asshole for a few days." Another user, u/ecstaticegg, said: "Our complex put the 'wrong' parking spot number in OUR LEASE and then like twoyears later threatened to tow our car for parking in the spot we had been in for two years that was written into our lease agreement. I guess two leases had the same spot written in." U/luciipurrrxo said: "Well if they don't leave anymore notes, I'd say they realized they were wrong and feel I would have checked with the office before writing these goofy notes and claiming a spot that isn't mine." A stock image of a woman looking at a note left on the front window of a car. A stock image of a woman looking at a note left on the front window of a car. Getty Do you have a neighbor-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Newsweek
08-08-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Dog Owner Sparks Outrage Over Neighbors Who Block Sidewalk Daily
Parking disputes like the one depicted in the post are far from rare. A recent Talker Research survey conducted on behalf of Newsweek asked 1,000 U.S. adults about their most intense or unusual disputes with neighbors, revealing conflicts ranging from noise complaints and lawn battles to property damage and boundary disputes. Gregg Ward, executive director at The Center for Respectful Leadership, said that, while disagreements between neighbors are common, starting a war is never a good idea. "If your neighbor doesn't behave in ways you want them to, the last thing you should do is get into a tit-for-tat battle with them," Ward told Newsweek in April. "This happens all too often, and it never ends well. In short, don't respond to disrespect with more disrespect—it will just make everything worse." 'I Hate People Like This' The Reddit post resonated with many users who shared similar stories and vented their frustrations. One commenter, u/Psydop, wrote: "I hate people like this. They are so self centered and don't give a s*** about how their actions affect others … Call the city and file a complaint. And keep doing it until something is done about it." Another user, u/Deep-Ad-9728, described their own approach: "When I encounter this situation, I walk on their property instead of walking in the street. Onto their lawn, over their driveway, onto their lawn again … I sing a little jingle too: 'I'm a f*****' douchebag. Look what I can do.'" Others offered more passive-aggressive suggestions. U/iamr3d88 joked: "I wonder how many passes it would take for a trail to start to form in their front yard … Show them consequences to blocking the path." Safety concerns were also raised. U/AlphaNoodlz wrote: "I'd be worried about people running into my car and scratching it up honestly. That would be my main concern, so if for some reason it happened, I couldn't act surprised, right?" Some users shared personal experiences with long-term sidewalk blocking in their own neighborhoods. U/Maeberry2007 said: "I had neighbors who parked the same way and half their tree lawn was dead all year round from people walking on it … They parked that way for years." Advice to involve authorities was common. U/AlternativePerspecti recommended: "Call the city by law enforcement or the nonemergency number for the police. Loose dog in the neighborhood? See above. Late night loud parties? See above. Don't get frustrated; just call." Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system. Stock image: A woman walks a dog on a sidewalk. Stock image: A woman walks a dog on a sidewalk. Getty Do you have a neighbor-related story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
