Other human relationships

How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor

Alice T Breeze
By Alice T Breeze. Updated: January 16, 2017
How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor

There are two types of people we don't choose in life: family and neighbors. Handling the ins and outs of neighbors if you live next to somebody can be tricky, as each person has their own lifestyle and character when it comes to dealing with cohabitation.

Conflict can happen easily, whether you live in an apartment, a detached house or if you even only share bushes, sometimes problems arise even without us intending to bother anyone. Before getting angry or taking drastic measures, it's important to try and reach peace with your neighbors, as you know you will still have to deal with them on a daily basis and they're not just going to magically disappear. If you want calm to reign in your house once again, read this OneHowTo article to learn how to make peace with your neighbor.

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Steps to follow:

1

The first step to make peace with your neighbor should be to actually get to know the person instead of just having the image of someone that is annoying you without relating it to a face.

Make sure you introduce yourself, greet them if you meet them when they get home and maybe even bake them some cookies from time to time if you like. Why? Because it's more difficult to purposely annoy your kind and lovable neighbor.

2

When your neighbor is bothering you, don't go crazy in the face of conflict. There's no point in shouting, knocking on walls or starting a row. It's normal to be angry, so this is why you should be cold headed and should not take immediate revenge, it's pointless to start a war if what you really want is to live in peace.

If you want to make peace with a neighbor who continuously annoys you with the same nuisance, you should let the person know with kind words, making sure he or she understands your point of view and carefully explaining what it is that bothers you. You can also do this by phone or a letter, just make sure it's never anonymous, this will only aggravate the situation.

How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor - Step 2
3

If the conflict has gone one step too far and you cannot reach a conclusion by talking to your neighbor, find a neutral place, such as a nearby cafè, and invite a neutral person (it could be another neighbor) to act as an objective observer. The third party will act as a moderator, making sure each person gives their point of view and you don't step on each other's statements. The neutral person will judge and try to find a solution that goes halfway to make sure both parties are satisfied.

4

Remember that saying sorry is as important as meaningfully accepting an apology. If you want to put your conflicts with your neighbor behind, it's important you actually mean what you're saying whether you need to apologize or forgive someone. Only when you leave past old feuds will you be able to build a healthier relationship, based on mutual respect and understanding.

Make sure you seal the deal with a kind gesture to your neighbor such as inviting them over for dinner or baking a cake for them to show them all is forgotten.

How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor - Step 4
5

If your neighbor has got into the habit of complaining about everything you may have to try and find the underlying reason why your neighbor is moody all the time. Your neighbor may feel lonely because he or she has no family or simply needs to find a hobby. Try to be kind with them, show your good-willingness and make a difference to make this person's life better by suggesting an activity, finding friends for that person ...

How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor - Step 5
6

But how much should you stand? Taking legal action or calling the police should only be a last resort. If you have tried everything or if you think that either you or one of your neighbor's family members may be in serious danger or trouble, this is the time to act.

How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor - Step 6

If you want to read similar articles to How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor, we recommend you visit our Friendship category.

Tips

  • You should understand that some nuisances are unavoidable and are part of living close to another person. For example, remember that if you can hear your neighbors through the wall, they may also be hearing you too.
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How to Make Peace with Your Neighbor