Q: My husband and I retired to a small lakeside community, where we hoped to find peace and quiet, spending our evenings sitting outside on our patio overlooking the lake. A few years ago, our retired next-door neighbor sold her home to a younger couple, who use the house as a weekend retreat. The problem is that our next-door neighbors' teenagers spend most summer weekends and holidays partying with their friends, playing loud rap music, drinking and making noise outside until 2 or 3 a.m. After midnight, several times I have asked them to lower the volume, but that doesn't work. I would like to report them to the sheriff, but my husband advises against becoming “the cranky old neighbor.” Not only is our sitting outside on our patio out of the question, but also their noise keeps me awake. I don't mind putting up with noise from an occasional party, but why should I have to spend another summer holed up inside on weekends and kept awake all night? Any advice?
A: My first adult response would be to have a friendly, neighborly talk with the parents of the teenagers, but I suspect the parents send their kids to their lake house so they won’t keep them up all night.
If the friendly approach is unsuccessful, might I suggest calling the parents at 2 or 3 a.m. to let them know that their teenagers are keeping you up while they are getting a good night's sleep. Oftentimes, however, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It may be that you will have to take more assertive measures to take back your peaceful lake retreat, as disrespectful children are often the product of discourteous parents. Tread lightly though.
It's hard (especially after repeated sleepless nights) to keep your cool. Of course, my instinctual answer would be a vengeful approach involving giant speakers playing loud polka music aimed at their house in the early morning hours after a loud party or perhaps a sudden interest in raising expressive roosters. After all, the best way to battle late-night disruptors is with early morning tactics.
Although satisfying, this technique will probably make the neighbors more uncooperative and possibly lead to pulling toilet paper from treetops or scraping egg off your windows. Teens can be very clever with limited resources and no supervision.
Unfortunately, if you don't have an enforceable neighborhood noise ordinance and won't report excessive noise and underage drinking to the sheriff's office, you should consider wearing earplugs, learning to enjoy the music of Snoop Dogg or moving.
Call me crazy. Maybe such things exist only in utopia, but I don't think it's too much to ask to be able to enjoy a peaceful evening at your home during your retirement years. Good luck!
