All these stories illustrate that the best way to have good neighbours is to be one yourself! I have two such stories myself.

When we were gutting our new house (we moved from my in-laws' property where we were living to the one next door which we bought) a neighbour who is a carpet layer by trade offered to put in all our carpets for free. My late mom in law had welcomed him kindly to the neighbourhood twenty years before and he was so happy to have the chance to repay that kindness. Because she was a good neighbour, he was!

Another neighbour got very angry with us once when a cow escaped to his field; even threatened to shoot the cow. We apologized and brought her home. A few years later, all his cows (about 100) got out of his barn while he was laid up sick. My husband herded them all back into his barn and made sure the gate was properly fastened. When the neighbour was able to get out of bed two days later he saw all the hoofprints in his field and called us, "were my cows out?!" My husband explained that they were, and he had put them back in two days ago! Now this neighbour leaves treats for our kids in our mailbox and recently let us unload 25 tonnes of hay in his yard because the truck couldn't make the turn into our driveway. Since it was coming on dark and the weather was taking a turn for the worse, he offered to let Husband store some bales in his barn for as long as we need. Because my husband was a good neighbour despite having excellent reason not to be, we now have a great friend and we can look out for each other.

It's not always possible to win over a nasty neighbour. But it's always worth it to try!

Oh, the stories I could tell regarding a neighbor at a previous home. She went above and beyond, but much more in what some might say was a "Gladys Kravitz" kind of way with her trusty binoculars (to those who remember "Bewitched"). We moved and it's been s o nice to know she's not watching us.

Okay...to her credit, she would show up with gorgeous peaches and navel oranges from their trees.

Lindsey, thank you for sharing your story nice to hear how your husband turned the other cheek. Would love to be your neighbor.

That touches my heart Diane, thank you.

My husband is a really incredible person...

My neighbor’s hobby is mixology and he makes THE best martinis!

We live in a tiny town with incredible people. We moved here from out of state about six years ago and were welcomed with open arms! We have keys to our next door neighbors house and they have keys to ours and we watch each others homes when one of us is out of town.

When we bought our house it had an unattached garage and we wanted it attached to the house. One of our neighbors has a business here in town and my husband asked if we could rent his bobcat and driver. Our neighbors' reply "The keys are in the bobcat, use it whenever you want." The same neighbor also used his company low bed with hydraulic lift to lift our garage and move it exactly where we wanted it. No charge, just being neighborly. Love my little town!!

SueBee, Your story was great and it sounds like you live in a very nice town! If you don't mind me asking, where is it located?

Sounds like Sue Bee lives in the Twilight Zone. Lol. That wouldn't happen around here. We have nice neighbors, but not that nice.

I feel like I live in Mayberry! This town is only about 200 people and is rural so we all help each other. We moved here from California and felt like we stepped back in time about 50 years. Certainly not the life for many people, but perfect for us. It gets VERY cold in the winter, but that's a small price to pay for the friendship and peace of mind we have here.

I would love to live in a place like that. How cold is very cold. What state.

Sounds like Alaska or North Dakota or Wyoming (lowest pop. in the US). Alaska is expensive. Wyoming can be a bit rough to live there except for Jackson Hole (expensive). So my wild guess is North Dakota with low crime rate, low cost of living and good health services especially if the town is near Fargo.

celestina89 You are right, we live in a small farming community in North Dakota. We retired from our jobs in California and moved here after visiting a friend who moved here. The winters can be harsh, but since we don't have to work, we can stay inside and just put another log on the fire! If we were still working we would probably have to live closer to a bigger town but everything seemed to fall into place for us to end up here.

My four month old son was sick and in the hospital and our grass was overgrown (we were going to mow it on the weekend but he went in on a Friday. After a week of being at the hospital and only coming home to shower and let the dogs out, I noticed that someone had cut it and left it nicer than we had done in a long time. When Patrick was released and we all went home, I talked to my neighbor and he said he'd done it and it was no big deal. They were our neighbors for 10 years and they were one of the reasons I was sad when we moved.

I’ve had great neighbors in all three neighborhoods that I’ve lived in. We’re still friends with most of them even though some have moved out of state. One story that stands out the most: we had very large freestanding cabinetry/ bookshelves custom built for our home since the family room was huge and the ceiling was at least 20’ high ( I hated them btw ). After a few years of living there we realized that we need a much larger television in the room but the space in the upper portion of the cabinets couldn’t accommodate anything larger. Our neighbor, who actually was an engineer, told us that “I’ll just rebuild the upper unit completely from scratch “ , he did a beautiful job, even matched the stain perfectly! This was a huge job since the upper portion of the cabinets was probably 12’ wide by 6 or 8’ high. He didn’t even want $ , said he just enjoyed the challenge. We insisted he take money anyway, I can’t remember how much....

@SueBee I use to hang between Wyoming, SD & ND for a number of years - great cattle and horse country and of course, the Badlands, but everywhere I went, people were like extended families. Had a good friend near Sioux Falls and another one in Hayti SD. We use to camp out in ND with friends of my friends. Also have dear friends in CO but not in the big cities and several in ID around Moscow. I rode the Nez Perce Trails of ID & WY & MT a few times with friends. What fun that was. Have you gone to Calgary yet? The Stampede brings back many fond memories. I even got a chance to show one of my horses there. What fun that was. Do stay warm and I'm sure you will.

celestine89 How fun for you to get to ride the Nez Perce Trails! We had horses in California and used to go camping with them in the Sequoia National Park. We also took them to the coast. Such good memories, loved those horses!

We haven't gone to Calgary yet, but it's on the list! Lucky you to get to show your horse there! I'm sure that was a great experience!

@Functionthenlook... well, how about you just put a cute little sign on your lawn that reads: "Mind Your Own Business, Neighbors!" That way, no one will waste a nice wave on you.

Don't have to. The neighbor all feel the same way. That is why we all live on a private road with only 4 houses. We wave and say hi and are all perfectly happy with it.

Nothing wrong with just waving Hi - at least you get to know what your neighbors look like and their vehicles. This really helps if you are on a private road - you know who are the strangers. I live on a private road with one other family. One morning I saw a trailer sitting out on the side of the road. At first I thought it was my neighbor's since he does heavy construction work. It sat there for 2 days - I contacted his wife. Nope - it wasn't theirs. They thought it was mine. We laughed. I said "I'm calling the County Cops." I did - gave them the plate number and description/serial # of trailer and what was on it. Turned out like we suspected - it was stolen. The truck that hauled the trailer was also stolen and found in another county in a parking lot. Probably used for a crime. The company that owned the truck and trailer was located in Dallas. They were on a job in the area just off the freeway. That's where it got stolen.

So keep waving Hi..... :)

Yes celetina89, anything or anybody strange really sticks out when you live on a private road.

I’d go crazy living on a private road with just four houses, but everyone has a different idea of their ideal home. I moved from a very beautiful house in a secluded neighborhood & it was the best decision we’ve ever made. We live in a popular tourist town , the lots are very tiny ( property is outrageously expensive ) but we enjoy the interaction with our neighbors, many have become good friends, they’re interesting, creative, fun people and the older ones seem much younger than their years. I think it’s due, in large part, to our active & social lifestyle.

Private roads aren't isolation unless you don't want to socialize. All private roads are attached to public roads. My actual property begins at the public road and goes back more than 1/4 mile. Behind me on the same private road is another family. They have the other acreage. I know just about every household on the public road which is a 1 mile long dead end road. All the properties along the road are at minimum 5 acres on up to 20 except mine and my neighbor's. So socialization is there if you want. Or if you need assistance with something.

functionthenlook... how do you know they feel the same way, if you don't know them? lol... well, all jokes aside, I hope you'd all 'mind your neighbors' business' if they needed help, at least. I lost a daughter-in-law and unborn passed due-date grandson who's apartment door was wide open on a hot summer day because her neighbor, whose door was also wide open, minded his own business and didn't react to her screams for help as she died just feet away from him. She was alone, couldn't breathe, and when asked if he'd heard anything he literally said, "Yeah, but it wasn't my business."

So sorry about your daughter-in-law and grandson. Her neighbor was just a ass. Wish I could say something stronger,but I probably get the boot. There is a difference between minding your own business and helping your neighbor. Yes we have all (except one home) come together if needed for the common good. Example, tree down across the road, repair of pot holes, or exceptionally heavy snow on the road. We helped our neighbor cut up a downed old tree in her yard this summer. She was trying to do it all by herself with an hand saw. But what we don't do is tell each other what and what not to do with their homes and property, how to raise our kid, what to do with our animals. socialize with each other, call the police for minor petty things. keep tabs on their each others every move and gossip about each other. We respect each others privacy, property and way of life. We all mind our own business.

Ahh, now that's the good kind of 'mind your own business.' This is just the way we live in our neighborhood, too, minus one couple because we work in the same field and have known each other for years. Glad to hear it, functionthenlook. Thanks for your kind words on my daughter-in-law and grandbaby. The crazy thing is, the neighbor (45-55) was the 'smile and wave' type neighbor... so see why your first comment raised a red flag to me? I just don't want anyone to have to go through what that dear girl went through... so heart-breaking. Oh, and the neighbor did, at least, feel badly that they died. I'm guessing he wouldn't ignore screams in the future. ;-/

The best neighbours are those who don't have barking dogs !

we have a wonderful family that is always helping an elderly couple shoveling snow and mowing the lawn. they are the sweetest family I know in our block. They are the friendliest and the nicest and they always mind their own business.

We had the best next door neighbours at our previous house. We shared many garden tools and kitchen tools and appliances. We even shared a car and driveway sometimes. We used to joke that they had hooks in their garage for our tools. If ever either of us was short a key ingredient for dinner, or a spice or some milk, you knew you could run next door for whatever was needed. And we were always available to each other for help or in an emergency. We both moved to another neighbourhood, but we aren't next door to one another any more. Doesn't matter we still share things. My kitchenaid mixer lives at her house and I "borrow" it once a year to make cookies at Christmas. We still borrow tools back and forth. How lucky were we to find good neighbours who became wonderful friends.

My husband and I are now the elderly couple but we try to remain very independent. Last winter our pipes froze in our rural home and plumbers refused the job because we have a low crawl space. We had no water and no toilet for a couple of weeks until a thaw. When our neighbour heard about it he installed heat lines for us so that it would never happen again. We had to force him to accept a gift card. Now he checks up on us on a regular basis to make sure everything is ok with us.

Three families of new neighbors became almost instantly and forever our best neighbors when we'd bought a neglected and dirty house in the neighborhood and they all showed up with mops, buckets and brooms the second evening we were there. Fifty years later it's still a precious memory.

The house next door to me sold last fall and they basically demoed the whole thing. It's a Philly row house, and they kept our common walls but took out everything else. That meant a lot of construction and dust and mess and a bit of intrusion (with my whole-hearted approval) into my yard and even on to my roof with scaffolding, masons, etc.

The painters are about to come and do the front trim, including the ornate cornice 3 stories up. I told the new owner long ago that as long as they're here, I'd hire them to do my cornice too (the only part of the front I can't reach).

Last night I got an e-mail from the owner offering to have them do it free since I was so accommodating during his construction.

So it seems like we're both pretty swell neighbors.

While my husband was in the hospital getting chemo, our neighbors made sure our drive way was shoveled every time there was a snow, so I could get to the hospital with no problems!! We all look out for each other!

We haven't had any neighbors 'save' us from anything yet, but that's a good thing because it means we haven't needed any saving -knock on wood {knocks on head}. We did save our next door neighbor from potentially being robbed though. They are pro wedding photographers, and often leave there house from early morning until late at night. They keep all of of their very expensive photography equipment in their garage, whatever they don't bring with them for shooting a wedding.

We live in a busy suburban neighbor hood with cars passing by and also people on foot. One sunny Saturday we were pulling out of our driveway and noticed that our neighbors garage door was standing wide open with everything visible inside, but no one was home. We were about to go to a park for the day, but instead went on a mission to find our neighbors & tell them about the open door. Long story short we couldn't find our neighbors, but went to the local police and they were able to find the neighbors and close the garage door so nothing was stolen.

Our neighbors later thanked us. We didn't close the door at the time ourselves, because just incase someone was watching they might have thought that we were trying to steal something and we didn't want to look like potential criminals, so didn't want to take the chance of closing the door without permission. We now have gotten permission from our neighbors to reach in and close their automatic garage door if the same thing happens again. They told us they would also look out for us if anything looks suspicious & it is a good feeling to have a neighbor keeping their eye on things.

We have wonderful neighbors; and I have a ton of 'good neighbor' stories over the 15 years we've lived here. I suppose one of my favorites is the ladies of the neighborhood regularly meet for lunch (about once a season at locally owned restaurants) to stay connected in real life. Someone started that tradition over 40 years ago when the homes were first built. We also have a group email (separate from HOA) for continuous updates on life celebrations, health, or help-needed, etc. Grateful for neighbors I can also call friends.

what a great Idea!

I had one of the best neighbors ever. After Hurricane Sandy in October 0f 2012, for a couple of days we had no electricity but for some reason my neighbor house on the corner, had electricity. She lived two houses down from us. She offered to run an extension cord from her house to our house, it had to run through another neighbor's yard, so she offered to give an extension cord for them as well. She never asked for any type of payment. She is also a great Gardner and if there is anything she can do to help anyone, she does. That is a great neighbor. Thank you Carol for all you do for everyone around you.

This is off topic, but I love the house in the picture at the top of the page. Are there any more pictures of this place on Houzz? Or any other source for the image?

What about mean, unthoughtful and couldn't care less if you died on the sidewalk just make sure it's not in front of their house?

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@Elizabeth Macdixon: those people aren't worth discussing. Besides, if you do know "mean, unthoughtful (sic) and couldn't care less..." type people. Say hello, smile and show them love - it's a different path to take. Just don't do what they do - be mean and discuss them.

What is that gorgeous house color?

We have the BEST neighbors. They help us keep the lawn mowed and clean up the driveway after the plow guy is finished. I keep them supplied with homemade chocolate sauce. We feel so fortunate and hope we can live here a long time.

I live in a little cluster of fantastic neighbors. We all pitch in to help eachother whenever we're needed. From looking after each others homes and pets while on vacation to helping with yard work and home repairs. We watch over eachother like family and socialize on occasion too. I wouldn't want it any other way.

We live on a nice street with very nice neighbors. There was an elderly couple that lived next door. After every snow fall, my sons would shovel their walk along with ours. The boys never asked for or accepted payment. It was the way I was brought up and I instilled the practice in them as well. Now, many years later, my wife and I are the elderly couple. The young family that moved next-door have two sons that shovel our walk after every snow. They too will never ask or except payment. After we are gone, wouldn't it nice if the gesture was returned to the couple next door.

My neighbor Richard! In my 60 years I have never had a neighbor so wonderful. I live in Florida and as a result of a hurricane I had a very large tree go down in my backyard. I was out assessing the damage and he said when he returned from church he was going to come over and cut the branches back off of the fence and garden. Of course I was like, no... that's okay I will just hire someone to take care of it (in retrospect it probably would have been two months to find someone able to work it in with all of the other fallen trees). He came over and he just kept cutting and cutting. I may only be 5'3" but I am pretty scrapy (he calls me the Yard Ninja). It took most of the day in the humid heat. We both hauled it out! He and his wife always check on me when there has been a suspicious person in our little neighborhood. More recently he rented a lift and went down our private oak lined street and cut back and de-mossed the trees! I was happy to help to pile all of the cuttings. They watch my home when I travel and I watch theirs when they travel. Richard has his own business and works long hours however, he is always helping out a neighbor... No words can express how grateful and lucky I am to have these wonderful neighbors. I am always humbled with such extreme kindness it makes me want to pay it forward wherever and whenever I can.

@granky I'm so terribly sorry for your loss! There's no reason not to call 911!

I saved my neighbor's life! About 15 years ago the day after a quadruple bypass he went out to smoke on his back porch, fell down and couldn't get up. It was around 30 degrees that day.

For some reason, I went out my back door, I usually use the front. I heard a very faint "help, please help." I have exceptional hearing and I could barely hear him, so it was no surprise he had been out there in his pajamas for 45 minutes.

He was about 70 at the time. I ran over, jumped the fence and picked him up and carried him inside. When I put him all he said was, "Jeez, Willy, you could have walked around" (that makes me laugh to this day). His family was profuse in their gratitude.

He made it to 80 something -- RIP John. Every time I saw any of the family in the years that followed, they would thank me again, usually in front of groups of people, which would always prompt the retelling of the story of the day I saved his life.

I'm a single lady, live alone, and am staring down my 60th birthday. A couple weeks ago we had a nasty snowstorm that lasted a whole weekend. On Saturday I found my next door neighbour shovelling my driveway, unprompted. On Sunday my other next door neighbour on the other side snow blowed my driveway which was again full of snow. I can't say how touched I was by this. Such kindness! And I'll never forget it!

I had the best neighbors and even though I moved I still consider them my neighbors. After my husband died, they mowed my lawn every week the entire summer. In addition, they made sure I had wood to burn in my fireplace in the winter and raked leaves in our huge yard in the fall. I have remained friends with them and babysit their children. It is difficult to repay someone that helps like that. In my new neighborhood, I find that the neighbors are too private and it is difficult to help them.

The best neighbours are those that are not loud - and no barking dogs, please!!!

I recently bought a house in Cheyenne, Wyoming and within a few days all three of my surrounding neighbors introduced themselves and offered to help with anything I needed. As I started to move in I realized my furnace was broken, and we were expecting a huge blizzard with temperatures below zero. I was staying with a friend in Colorado and when the wind is bad the state closes a gate across Interstate 25 at the border of Wyoming and Colorado so I was blocked from my new house. Luckily, I had all of my pets with me, but I ordered new items for my house that were supposed to be delivered. They were all delivered--my porch was full--and there was a man stopping by my house claiming to be from the census bureau. My neighbors picked up all of my packages and carried them into their homes, asked for identification and a business card from the census employee, and called me to tell me my house was safe until I made it back into Wyoming. I even had antelope following ahead of my truck on the road as I came back into town, leading the way!

It was a great start to a new home!