Mummy in the foothills

It really doesn't surprise me.
We have encountered neighbors who wouldn't answer the door here too. Especially when we lived in the city.
Our new neighbors are that way and not long after they moved in I went to drop off their mail which was delivered to me by mistake, didn't want to leave it in the box on the street, it was a holiday and they wouldn't check for a few days and there have been mail box thefts. So knocked. Ended up dropping it on the mat. Weird thing is if the guy sees me or Dh come out he'll practically run away We cornered him one time, he was talking to Dd over the fence she was looking at his horses and he told her the name and was letting her stroke the horse. You could see he wanted to walk away and not talk to us, at least they are very quiet, and so are all their animals.
I'm the dope who anwsers the door, not long after moving here a heavily pregnant woman knocked in the rain, her car broke down, she used the phone, was almost in tears and I let her wait for a ride to arrive. When I told some US new friends they were horrified, said I could have been attacked and killed and robbed. This is probably why no one answers the door if they are convinced a nine month pregnant woman who waddles up the driveway is likely to kill them.

rallybug

Ah, the Scream 5 movie plot has been announced then!

Yorkieabroad

I agree - quite clearly the proper procedure in this instance would have been to Taser and/or pepper spray her first, plasticuff her while debilitated, then when she came round, ask her what the hell she thought she was doing knocking on your door, and if plausible, you could then have allowed her to use the phone, under the watchful barrel of your AK47 or other assault rifle of choice, of course....

Or you could just have retreated to your panic room and hope she'd go away before your years supply of emergency rations ran out...

kimilseung

My wife's (she is a US citizen) rule is not to answer the door to unexpected callers, she assumes they will be after money for some charity or other, or proselytize for some church. She finds it hard to close the door. I answer, but I have no problem in telling the god squad and questionable charities 'no'.

Brat1

I'm sorry too that your wife experience this. I hope she has calmed herself down, and is trying to recover from any muscular injuries. Not fun when your OH is away on business

With regards to your neighbors attitude, I kind of get what some of the other posters have said, although, I also have to say, we have been truly blessed with wonderful neighbors, in both places we've lived in, since we moved over here 3 years ago. But I can understand how upsetting and frustrating it must have been for your wife.

I'm just wondering if there's other underlying reasons for her wanting to go home...... sometimes, when you get hit with one thing after another, it's very difficult to remain positive, and sometimes our judgement can be clouded. I suppose what I'm trying to say is, does she genuinly, really want to return to the UK, or is it just the way she's feeling at this point in time. It's a shame she hasn't managed to make many friends here, and even worse that she has been unable to find work. I know how long the days can be when you're not working, and I totally, 100% understand, how it could make you have a breakdown like she had on the phone the other day.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll do what's right for both of you, now and in the future. Don't make any rash decisions, and hopefully when you get home, maybe she'll feel slightly better and you can talk things through. I wish I stayed closer, I'm going to a meet up with ex-pats on Sunday in NYC, I've found it so important to try and get in touch and stay in touch with people who kind of know what you're going through. Maybe she could come on here and see if any of our support would make her feel better while you're away, just a thought.....

Anyway, chin up. Hope you have a safe journey home and can enjoy your Thanksgiving. Whoever out there, thinks that immigration is easy, is way off. It's an emotional rollercoaster, and a journey, which sometimes pays off and sometimes doesn't, but none of us really know whether we'll make here home or not, it just takes time to find out.....

Bink

I'm really surprised by this thread so far. I'll give some experience as one on the 'other' side and say that we are exceptionally fortunate in that our neighbours are all fantastic and help each out. My wife locked herself out of the house with our son and our neighbour invited her in, let her call me, gave her lunch and a drink until I could get back to the house to let her in (she'd walked out back and accidently turned the latch by instint, without taking her keys, phone or anything with her).

Really sorry to hear about Mrs HTS's experience. You'd have thought it wasn't too much to help out for 5 mins.
I understand it must be really tough on her when you're out of town. My wife struggles if I'm out of town and she's a local with family and friends in the area, so I can only imagine that it's many times worse if that's not the case. Hope it improves for her soon

JRG67

A NY friend of mine NEVER answers the door unless it is a delivery, as he fears being subpoenaed!
I hope your wife is OK btw

Trixie_b

Sorry for the wife. Hope she feels better soon.

I will say that we have code locks on our front door and garage to house door. we can walk the dog without taking keys, we can set up codes for the dog sitter / cleaner and/or any house guests that we can delete when no longer needed.

They're about 150 bucks but worth every penny to us!

tinaflorida

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's experience, Harry. And I'm sure it's rough on you too, being so far away.

And I'm sorry to read about so many other folks in this thread that have experienced something similar.

I haven't had enough experience here in NOLA to comment - I only know a couple of neighbours to wave to, and one person that lives up the street will stop and chat if we see him out with his dog. I don't know how people would react if I had an emergency while my husband was away. Probably not very well.

I agree with ALBRUZ - it's very different in Florida. We had nice neighbours (although my favourites moved to Kentucky a couple of years ago) and we also had plenty of close friends near us who could help out in a pinch. Florida seems to be a much friendlier place in general than most other parts of the US.

I never really pined that much for the UK, probably because I had visited the US so many times before actually moving here and I've generally been happier here than I ever was in the UK. But boy, do I miss Florida!!!

Bootle

Ha - yours only is not to answer the door. My ex and MIL would not even answer the phone or open mail unless she knew the caller ID or the return address.

Bink

There certainly is a higher sense of paranoia, especially regarding things like opening the door. My wife FLIPS out at me if I honk my horn, petrified that we're going to get shot.

RICH

I was home last Tuesday working in the back, fixing a hole in my house. The next door neighbor came and asked for a ride. "Only 15 mins, I need to see someone to get some money" .
I really was busy, and said no. (A week before I helped her try get her car started without success, so I am not all bad).

Anyway that was that. I found out she was arrested the next day in a drug sting.

http://www.pcsoweb.com/news-release/...ts-12-arrests/

JRG67

[QUOTE=RICH;10393375]I was home last Tuesday working in the back, fixing a hole in my house. The next door neighbor came and asked for a ride. "Only 15 mins, I need to see someone to get some money" .
I really was busy, and said no. (A week before I helped her try get her car started without success, so I am not all bad).

Anyway that was that. I found out she was arrested the next day in a drug sting.

[URL="http://www.pcsoweb.com/news-release/12-263-round-up-operation-blue-crush-in-lealman-nets-12-arrests/"]http://www.pcsoweb.com/news-release/12-263-round-up-operation-blue-crush-in-lealman-nets-12-arrests/[
/URL][/QUOte

Don't answer your door , incase you get supoenaed to appear in court as a material witness

fakey

Sorry about that. I was having a very bad day

Pulaski

Yours too, huh!