30 Signs Of A Nosey Neighbor

1. They stop you on your way out of the house

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This nosey neighbor can't help but stop you as you're heading out the door. You're in a mad rush to get to your car, to run for the bus, to walk to your friend's but they have to stop you, and find out just where you're going. Who are you seeing? What will you get up to? It's almost like they wait by the front door to ambush you on your way out, knowing you will only ever be polite, despite your urgency.

2. They pause the TV to hear the goings on

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A neighbor who is especially intrigued by the goings on of the street will purposefully lower the volume to hear what's going on outside. It may not just be the TV either - it could be the radio, the phone, even pausing mid conversation to make sure they can hear every word. they want to know exactly what's happening, even if it means missing their favorite show.

3. You can see their curtains twitching

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A classic sign: you're in your front garden, chatting to a friend when you get the creepy feeling like you're being watched. You glance over to your neighbor's house and see the curtains twitch in that familiar way, trying to cover their tracks. They want to remain unseen, secretive, but they're not quite quick enough to stop you from catching them, and now you feel slightly uneasy.

4. They like to stand at the window

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Much like the curtain twitcher, this neighbor likes to stand at the front window of their house and glance out. There's a lack of shame in this act - they don't care who sees them, just as long as they can see you. They'll often be holding a cup of coffee, or have positioned a chair so they can relax whilst they peruse the goings on of their neighbors.

5. They're happy to take your mail in for you

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You're out at lunch with friends when you see the alarm go off on your Ring app. You open it up to see the mailman casually handing your parcels over to your neighbor, a welcoming smile on their face. But when you ask the neighbor for your mail, the enveloped almost look dog-eared, stuck back down with tape to avoid any allegations. But you know they've been snooping.

6. They like to pop over to borrow things

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One time to borrow a sack of sugar? Absolutely fine. Two times to ask to use the telephone? Of course. But three soon becomes ten, and they seem to just want to borrow everything in your house! Is it because they want an excuse to spend time with you? Or is it an opportunity to get a sneaky peak into your home, see how you live and gossip about it to the other neighbors? Our guess is probably the same as yours.

7. They come out in their dressing gowns

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This one is a classic example of a nosy neighbour. That one person who comes out in the dressing gown at the mere mention of some drama so they can get a better grasp of what's going on. They've clearly been sat waiting by the window, hoping for a ruckus, and now they can come and take a look at everybody's business. It may look like they've been caught off guard, but they've been waiting for this all day.

8. They peak over the fence when you're having a BBQ

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It's a pet peeve, especially when you haven't seen your family/friends for a while, and you see your neighbor's head poke over the top of your fence. Sometimes, they don't even say anything; they just want to see who's there, what you're cooking, what everyone is wearing, and hopefully catch a snippet of something intimate and deeply personal that they can spread around the neighborhood.

9. They knock on your door if they hear loud music

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It's 9'o'clock on a Saturday night. It's been a long week. All you wanted was to listen to some music with your friends and try to relax after a stressful time. But not long after they've arrived do you hear a tap tap at the door, and your neighbor, in their dressing gown, telling you that the music is far too loud. As you try to explain the situation, you can see that they're not even looking at you. They've come for another snoop at your home.

10. They're part of the Neighborhood Watch

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The Neighborhood Watch can, of course, be a very helpful resource and has helped thousands of people. But you've never received so many unnecessary calls to action in your life! Your neighbor thinks everyone who walks past their house is some kind of n'ere-do-well or hooligan. It's getting quite irritating. Last week they almost called 911 because they didn't recognise your brother! The power has definitely gone to their head.

11. They don't seem to have many visitors

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One of the saddest signs of a nosey neighbor is that your neighbor doesn't seem to have many people come to visit them. You know that they come from a big family, so you find it odd that they haven't seen any of them for while. They barely leave the house, apart to talk to your neighbors. They must have an awful lot of time on their hands, meaning they have a lot of time to snoop.

12. They ask a lot of personal questions

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Do they not know personal boundaries or are they choosing to ignore them? That's the real question. They don't seem to know the difference between interest and intense. They want to know about your relationship with your parents, how it's going between you and your partner, they've even asked about how much money you make. It's starting to make you uncomfortable, but how do you tell them it's too much?

13. They openly stare

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Is there anything more unsettling that feeling someone staring at you, looking at them (expecting them to stop), and finding that they seem to stare even harder, if that was possible? They have a serious problem of clocking when they've been clocked, and they have no issue in making full eye contact, refusing to look away, despite how physically uncomfortable you look. They want to know what's going on and their eyelids aren't going to stop them.

14. You can see them peak through the blinds

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Much like the curtain twitcher, you could almost call this kind of nosey neighbor Cillian Murphy, because they are most definitely a Peaky Blinder. You can see their eyes through the slats of their blinds, occasionally their hands grasping to make it easier to see you. Just as soon as you've looked, they've disappeared into thin air, but you know they'll be back soon.

15. They've installed a security camera

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This example is being nosey even when they're not physically there. If you see security cameras going up at your neighbor's place, it's easy to think it's so they feel safer. But when you look closer, you can see that the camera is aimed directly into your front window, and it's definitely on. They are desperate to catch a glimpse of what you're up to, even if it's just the newest series of Real Housewives.

16. They look through your windows

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Your car breaks down, so you decide to get a lift back with a colleague, and as you pull up to your house, you can see your neighbor, hands up to their forehead to get a better look, glaring into your front room. Do they want to see if someone's home? Do they want an even deeper look into your decor, even after they borrowed that sack of sugar? Or are they looking for something more sinister?

17. They dig through your trash

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It was a low moment for the two of you. You heard the rumblings from your side door, turned on the security light and found your neighbor digging through your garbage. This is a complete overstepping of your boundaries but they cannot help themselves. Being this nosey neighbor is almost like an obsession and they want to find out every single thing about you, and everyone else on your street, even if it means acting like a raccoon.

18. They open windows when their neighbours are chatting

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The nosiest of neighbours finds that when the people next door are having conversations with people across the street, they need to open their window to get full access to the discussion at hand. Maybe they think it's about them, or maybe they want to get to know their neighbors even better, but nevertheless, they are contented and unashamed to crack the window ajar if it means they get the full scoop.

19. They're a total gossip

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You have found that your neighbor cannot keep anything between the two of you. It can be the most trivial thing in the world, like what you did at the weekend, or it can be something intimate you didn't really want to share, like family news, and yet you seem to be hearing about it from multiple different people. A nosey neighbor is a complete gossip and loves to give information, just as much as they love to receive it.

20. They like all of your social media posts

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Not only does a nosey neighbor love being involved in your physical life, they love to find out everything about you online too! They like every single one of your posts, occasionally commenting something small to show they know more than others, and feel almost like they're tracking your every move. How do you say to them that they need to back off? Especially when you're the one that sent the friend request in the first place?

21. They seem to know your day-to-day

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Armed with the information of social media, plus being able to see when you're about to jump in your car and at what times of the day, your neighbor seemingly knows your entire schedule. They often interject when you're not in the place they think you're supposed to be, asking why the change and is everything alright? Sometimes their nosiness can be disconcerting, but others, it can be pretty thoughtful.

22. They text you constantly

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You thought the idea of a group chat would be great! A place where you can all come together to discuss the issues of the street, find out if anyone has any resources you need, or even organise parties for you to get to know each other better. What has actually happened is that your nosey neighbour messages every time they see something that doesn't fit into the norm and it's driving you up the wall!

23. They talk to constructors on your property

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When the time comes where you decide you're going to withhold some information from your nosey neighbor, they are undoubtably going to try and get the inside scoop from another source. This is especially true if you're having any kind of renovations done to your home. Your neighbor will find themselves asking contractors, builders, gardeners, whoever they can find to tell them exactly what's going on in your home.

24. They spend a lot of time on their front lawn

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They've even set up a bench, right in the centre, so that they can relax as they watch the goings on of the street. Don't get it twisted, you love to people-watch, you're all for it. But there's something about seeing your neighbour, a coffee in their hand, just watching as you all go about your business, ready to pounce when anything seems out of the ordinary. They're ready for action.

25. They've started gardening on your lawn

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It started with just some weeds at first. Then they decided that because they were doing their lawn, they would do yours too. Now, it's escalated to the point where they're in your garden almost everyday, probably judging your azaleas and your daisies and your roses. They want an excuse to further infiltrate into your life, and to get a better view on just what's going on with you.

26. They watch one too many thrillers

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We've all got wrapped up in a series that has taken our breath away, but this neighbor is taking it to new heights. Forget Woman In the Window, it's Neighbor In Your Personal Space, and they cannot seem to remember the social boundaries they should be abiding by. It's almost like they think they're going to bear witness to some kind of grizzly murder or hideous crime, when really they're overstepping their mark in a big way.

27. They love to visit you on a whim

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Your neighbor messages you so much and yet, they cannot seem to understand that a text message would be appropriate to check if you were free before they randomly showed up at your house. They don't seem to care what you're in the middle of or whether it's a good time, they've made the decision that they want to visit you, perhaps to catch you off guard, and by Jove, they're going to do it.

28. They have a lot of time on their hands

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It could be unemployment, it could be retirement, or it could simply be because they don't have many social interactions on a whole, but you've found that your nosey neighbor seems to have an incredible amount of time on their hands, especially if they're treating every other person on the street the same way they're treating you. It's almost like they don't quite know what to do with themselves.

29. They invite you over a lot

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This characteristic is a tough one. Is it that your neighbor is lonely and enjoys your company? Or are the simply trying to get more time with you one on one so that they can ask you even more deep, personal questions that they can ultimately gossip about to everyone else. Nevertheless, the more your neighbor asks if you'd like to go round, the more inclined you are to say no, thank you!

30. They interrogate the new neighbours

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You've been in their shoes before. What seems like an innocent casserole or meat loaf is actually an opportunity for your nosey neighbor to get their foot in the door of the new neighbors' lives. They want to know everything about these new residents from the get go and seem to have shifted some of their focus from you onto them. They won't rest until they know everything about everyone.