The 'Burbs!

​Having lived in three vastly different parts of the country, one thing I have noticed is the difference of the proximity to your neighbors in each state! In Connecticut we had a lot of space between houses, lots of privacy and thick trees to separate you from your neighbors. Winter was a little dicey because the trees had shed their leaves. Suddenly you could be making eye contact with a neighbor in a position you’d rather not be seen in! In Florida, houses are closer together but there is a lot of greenery for privacy, and everyone has a lanai. For those who don’t know, a lanai is kind of like a screened in porch and usually includes the pool. The houses are fairly close together, but it doesn’t always feel like it. Arizona is a whole different story! They wasted no land here to build on! You have a yard, but you really need to get lucky with a corner lot to have a spacious backyard. Or be wealthy. Properties are defined by a cinderblock wall and the neighborhood Mike and I live in, one wall of the house is right on the property line. So, when we got the house painted recently, the painters need permission to enter our neighbor’s yard to get to that side of the house.
Being so on top of your neighbors sucks! If you have a smoker next door, better get used to it!  As far as the neighbor lottery goes, we could be worse off, but I absolutely can not stand our neighbor’s dog and the fact they don’t maintain their property.
As many yards in Phoenix tend to be, they have rocks as opposed to grass, but it’s still wildly overgrown with weeds. Last summer we got a notice meant for them about the front yard being a fire hazard and to take immediate action. It was slightly funny because it took two morons, the first being the person who reported the disreputable yard with our address, and the second to come out and confirm that there was indeed a hazard that needed to be addressed. Neither of them realized it’s not our yard, despite it obviously belonging to their house.
They also have this huge bougainvillea that’s so overgrown, it’s now fully intertwined with the tree it was planted too close to, I honestly don’t even know what they’d do about it at this point. If you’ve ever experienced a bougainvillea, you know that they are quite beautiful when they bloom but then you spend the next few months with bright pink petals literally everywhere. The placement of it and the lack of maintenance means that twice a year we are constantly sweeping them off our little patio…a fool’s errand if I ever saw one!
Confined to this yard is an obnoxious dog! This poor pupper never leaves the yard for some actual exercise. At least he’s inside the house more than outside. But if we go out into our yard and he too is out, he repeatedly jumps up so he can see what we’re doing over the cinderblock wall, and it gets our dog, Ricky, agitated. After I started spraying him with water as a deterrent, I guess they figured out he was bothering us and will make him stop if they’re around. I hope they had a period of confusion as to how their dog kept getting wet outside! When I walk Ricky in the morning, he’ll also jump at the metal gate that goes into their backyard from the driveway. This is super annoying and also kind of scary. I don’t know if this dog is aggressive, bored or both. I’m leaning more towards bored, but I definitely don’t want to know what would happen should that gate ever be latched improperly and he came face to face with Ricky, who already has an intense dislike for him. Since this dog is forced to do all his business in a tiny area, I can also smell the pungent odor of animal urine wafting from their yard. Picture this: summer in Phoenix…the relentless desert sun baking everything it shines upon… essentially cooking the excrement strewn all about their yard. As someone who wants a pool, I hate that they have a beautiful one I’ve never once seen them use. Though I’m guessing it would be difficult to relax if it smells like you’re inside a litter box!