How do you cope when you can't move?

going_nowhere_fast

Im wondering why everyone elses houses have proper walls and my house has walls made of tissue paper. Over my tv i can hear next door having a conversation with their visitors. Its soooo annoying and deflating because at the very least ive another two years of this.

moneyistooshorttomention

I don't think everyone else's houses do have proper walls, if that's any consolation to you.

When I bought my starter house I avoided modern terrace houses (mainly because I'd heard they had paper-thin walls) and bought a Victorian terrace instead. That also had paper-thin walls. I could hear the male half in one of the neighbouring houses, as he had a particularly loud voice. I could hear if music or tv were played at particularly loud volume. So the walls might have been two sheets of paper thick, rather than one sheet of paper thick iyswim, but they were definitely too thin still.

Hence my absolute top criteria for "when I move" was a detached house. I've now finally got that detached house and, provided the dogs some people round here think normal to keep outside:cool::(, aren't having a fit of barking (as sometimes happens and no-one seems to stop them:mad:) its quiet inside the house and I've had some visitors commenting on just how quiet it is. I anticipate that the barking dog problem round here won't be a long-term thing, as houses change hands.

going_nowhere_fast

I dream of a detached house even a teeny tiny one but its not a realistic goal for me personally so im aiming for a 1930s semi detached.

That will be a big improvement. I hear next doors fella having his last wee before bed every night! I never hear his wife's toilet habits though so hopefully they cant hear me! Oh my goodness they must hear my little one shouting ive done a poo will you help me wipe my bum haha.

moneyistooshorttomention

Ooh...yuk! to hearing his "last wee of the day". Yuk....yuk...yuk...

I recall having a male lodger one time (years back) who hadn't been "brought up properly" and had a habit of eating with his mouth open and you could hear the chomping:( and then, when he went to the loo one time and didn't even bother to shut the bathroom door, :(. I bet he's still wondering to this day why he wasn't allowed to retract his notice when he was foolish enough to hand it in....:cool:

going_nowhere_fast

Maybe this is strange but because its unintentional and is not loud music or swearing etc it doesnt bother me although i wouldnt want a friend or family member staying over because i dont want them to know my house is that rubbish that i can hear things like this.

Solsol

Wow sounds exactly like my neighbours one of them walked past our front window with a can of lager at 10 this morning - nice!!

Anyway after spending 5 years here counting down the time until we would eventually move (would have been 1-2 yrs ago had I not fallen pregnant so soon after getting married!) we have now sold our house and are in the process of buying another in a nicer road with a lovely big garden etc.

Although I'm excited and can't wait, I'm starting to feel like I will really miss my house :-( we put a lot of hard work into renovating it and we are really proud of it and although the neighbours are noisy, unemployed bums who are completely inconsiderate (lighting bonfires when washing is out etc) they are at least friendly to us and wouldn't do anything nasty deliberately they just don't think before they act! They also have blazing rows all swearing at each other (mum, dad and two adult kids) which always seem to be between the hours of 2 and 4am and there is always one on New Year's Eve - some people shouldn't be allowed to buy alcohol!

So you might even find that when the time comes you will still be a little sad so try and appreciate the good points of your house now. As much as I don't like being next to our neighbours, we might be unlucky enough to get even worse ones when we move eeeek!

going_nowhere_fast

I will miss my little house because like you ive put a lot of love and what money i could afford making it home.

Congratulations on your new house. Did it take long to sell or did you have to sell at a low price because of the neighbours?

going_nowhere_fast

I cant sleep, never can these days. After the noisey nights situation i havent been able to fall asleep. I read till my eyes hurt then just lie here for hours and hours.

I dont feel upset. I am though feeling so ready to move snd determinef to make it a reality one day that its almost like im literally just lay here waiting and i will sleep when we're in our next house.

Dont know how to break this cycle. Think subconciously i cant fall asleep because my body got in to the habit of being woken up so often.

dktreesea

As previous posters have said, earplugs (wax are more comfortable than foam, imho) do offer a solution. Though, with a child in the house, I could understand your reluctance to use them.

Solsol

We actually got an offer at full asking price before it went on the market - the neighbours weren't in when the couple viewed but if they'd asked about them I would have said that they are friendly because they are. They help us out and have even started collecting boxes for us and they water our garden plants when we're away so they're nicer to us than they are to each other! They also have 4 Siberian huskies and no carpets so you can hear them running up and down the stairs at night too!

To be honest I could probably tolerate them for a while longer but I am looking forward to getting away from them. She is also the gossip of the street and really nosey she's been wanting to know the ins and outs of everything since we moved in!

With regards to saving to move, I'd suggest setting yourself a realistic target and deadline it really motivates you. Since we decided we would go for it and move house, we've cut out takeaways, only eat out very occasionally and I've cut out having coffee out (£3+ in some places! once or twice a week really adds up!). I've also really cut down on unnecessary spending like clothes etc, which is difficult when you have children as they always seem to need something but if you don't mind second hand clothes then charity shops and eBay can be a godsend!
So since February we've managed to save £4,500 without even really trying!

I wish you loads of luck and hope you can get a plan in action soon even just knowing you're getting closer to moving will improve your mood no end