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I bought my second home in Norfolk about 5 years ago. It was a
bank owned dump! We put so much money, hard work and old fashioned
sweat equity into this house! We did extensive landscaping ourselves;
it was backbreaking. I had people in the neighborhood, that I didn't
know, stop their cars and tell us what a fabulous job we have done
and thanked us profusely. Ours is one of the first homes in our
subdivision and it is the first impression for many of the more
expensive newer homes in the area.
Anyway, a few years ago we had a big pile of loam in our front yard
becuase our friend with the bobcat couldn't get to us for awhile.
The house and yard looked fabulous in comparison to what it was... but
a neighbor actually made a comment that the pile was there a little
too long. My husband was very offended. Here we are, trying to do
something good by lanscaping, and the neighbor was giving us a
timeframe? It was only there for a month or two! Well, how would
they feel if the house were still a dump?
I couldn't believe that a comment was made to us. How ungrateful!
and how demanding! We have also gotten comments on our RV that's
parked in our backyard. Once in a while it comes out when we are
going on vacation so that I can stock it up... Evidentally, it's a
problem to park it in our driveway overnight. I guess our 30K
fifth wheel is not classy enough for the neighborhood. My husband
keeps this thing, along with all our vehicles, so clean that you
could see yourself in it! No matter what our hobbies are... or what
we are into, it's going to offend someone. I can't live my life that
way, worrying about what the neighbors think. We are so respectful
of our neighborhood and we try our hardest not to inconvenience
anyone... People don't even realize that I have a dog... but yet I
am completely aware of the neighborhoods barking dogs that relieve
themselves all over our beautiful front landscaping!
I realize that this is not your situation... But I wanted you to
hear my story and to try to understand how some neighbors are.
Evidently nothing we did was good enough. Where do the demands
stop? Isn't this America?
Norfolk used to be a quaint old affordable cow town. Some folks
liked it that way. My husband grew up here when it wasn't "fancy".
He wanted to stay here becuase of the town's unpretentious atmosphere.
It's really changed. Many people come out from the more urban areas
attracted to the quaintness and affordablility, but then want to
change it to what they are used to and add the conveniences of
suburbia. They want to change it into the unaffordable town that
they just moved out of! It doesn't make sense to me.
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