TommyTheCat
Gonzo Scientist
Intro,
So let me preface this by saying that me and my roomates are at fault sometimes. We are loud people - we're student members of the Audio Engineering Society at Michigan Tech. Search for my "Winter Carnival" thread in Computers/etc. for proof of how serious I am.
But a couple times in the last few weeks we've had neighbors come over and basically "talk" to us (me and my roomate). Both neighbors are older men, probably over 50. Two projects have been taking up our free time between classes and etc. I have been installing a meager stereo system into my vehicle while my roomate has been finishing his modest home stereo setup. So for the past few weeks we've been cutting, routing, and screwing together wood outside the house. It gets loud - but we usually stop around 10pm.
Background on location,
We live in a house that is just across MTU campus (in a small town). Most of our neighbors are families, older people, and profs. We live on the main road, so there's only one house next to us and then the rest up the hill beyond that. It (next house) use to have a group of graduate students renting it but recently the "neighborhood" bought the house and most likely has plans to sell it to a family.
First neighbor,
The first came probably two weeks ago, came down the hill around 10pm and watched us installing the stereo in my car. Just before this we had been running some test tones through the subs and obviously made some noise. After a min or two he half-yelled from a distance:
"Are you guys running a business?"
"No."
"You had the whole neighborhood up last thursday night"
[it was probably a day when we came back from the bar, turned on the stereo and had the front door open for too long]
Walks up to us and then basically repeats a mantra of:
"We welcome students, and we know your landlord"
I tried to ask the guy about noise problems, whether they only occur when the house is opened up (windows, doors, etc.) But he just keeps up his mantra and walks away.
Second neighbor,
2-4pm today we had been tuning and listening to my roomates home stereo. Then we worked on my car at around 5pm. So tonight at around 9:30 maybe, another guy walks down to us when we're working in my hatch and asks my buddy:
"You guys seem to be working out here a lot. You got a business?"
"No, this is just a hobby"
[we can't tell whether he's sincere or not - maybe he doesn't know people who have hobbies like me or you. People who build big stereos or fast cars in their own driveways]
"Look at me - do you have a business?"
"No. We've been working on this for a while. This and my stereo - wanna listen to it?"
"No. I've already heard it. We'll talk about that later"
and he walks away.
What to do?
I'm not really keen on this kind of talk between neighbors. They both, to me, seem to be harassing us and berating us to stop doing what we want to do at all. They tell us to our face that we're welcome, but they don't seem to care to listen to us.
I know the first step is to figure out the noise ordiances of my community. I'm going to email my prof who's the former mayor and get the real info (from him or the local police).
But I want to ask you - how do you deal with people like this? I just dont know how to manipulate/counter older people who feel like they can talk to me like a kid.
So let me preface this by saying that me and my roomates are at fault sometimes. We are loud people - we're student members of the Audio Engineering Society at Michigan Tech. Search for my "Winter Carnival" thread in Computers/etc. for proof of how serious I am.
But a couple times in the last few weeks we've had neighbors come over and basically "talk" to us (me and my roomate). Both neighbors are older men, probably over 50. Two projects have been taking up our free time between classes and etc. I have been installing a meager stereo system into my vehicle while my roomate has been finishing his modest home stereo setup. So for the past few weeks we've been cutting, routing, and screwing together wood outside the house. It gets loud - but we usually stop around 10pm.
Background on location,
We live in a house that is just across MTU campus (in a small town). Most of our neighbors are families, older people, and profs. We live on the main road, so there's only one house next to us and then the rest up the hill beyond that. It (next house) use to have a group of graduate students renting it but recently the "neighborhood" bought the house and most likely has plans to sell it to a family.
First neighbor,
The first came probably two weeks ago, came down the hill around 10pm and watched us installing the stereo in my car. Just before this we had been running some test tones through the subs and obviously made some noise. After a min or two he half-yelled from a distance:
"Are you guys running a business?"
"No."
"You had the whole neighborhood up last thursday night"
[it was probably a day when we came back from the bar, turned on the stereo and had the front door open for too long]
Walks up to us and then basically repeats a mantra of:
"We welcome students, and we know your landlord"
I tried to ask the guy about noise problems, whether they only occur when the house is opened up (windows, doors, etc.) But he just keeps up his mantra and walks away.
Second neighbor,
2-4pm today we had been tuning and listening to my roomates home stereo. Then we worked on my car at around 5pm. So tonight at around 9:30 maybe, another guy walks down to us when we're working in my hatch and asks my buddy:
"You guys seem to be working out here a lot. You got a business?"
"No, this is just a hobby"
[we can't tell whether he's sincere or not - maybe he doesn't know people who have hobbies like me or you. People who build big stereos or fast cars in their own driveways]
"Look at me - do you have a business?"
"No. We've been working on this for a while. This and my stereo - wanna listen to it?"
"No. I've already heard it. We'll talk about that later"
and he walks away.
What to do?
I'm not really keen on this kind of talk between neighbors. They both, to me, seem to be harassing us and berating us to stop doing what we want to do at all. They tell us to our face that we're welcome, but they don't seem to care to listen to us.
I know the first step is to figure out the noise ordiances of my community. I'm going to email my prof who's the former mayor and get the real info (from him or the local police).
But I want to ask you - how do you deal with people like this? I just dont know how to manipulate/counter older people who feel like they can talk to me like a kid.