How Private Are You?

minnikin1 · #1 12/08/06, 04:49 PM

On a recent trespassing thread, a comment about privacy got me wondering about how folks feel about their homes and their personal privacy. It seems people vary a lot.

For instance, when dh and I are driving around town and the sun starts to go down, he becomes fascinated when we drive past what he calls a “fishbowl” – meaning a home with all the lights on and curtains wide open, sometimes on a really busy highway.

It’s odd to us that people can do that, because we are so private, and the thought of it gives me creeps! I mentioned it to a friend and she snapped back that we must have something to hide.

I don’t agree that we have anything in particular to hide, but my comfort level just would never allow me to go about my business feeling “on stage”…

We enjoy the country because we prefer the isolation. One of our first priorities when we bought our land was to start landscaping for more privacy.

What's your tolerance level?

NCGirl · #2 12/08/06, 04:56 PM

Me and my sister are completely opposites yet grew up in the same home....

I have a chain-link fence around my whole house yard, front and back so no one can pull up into my drive and all my blinds pulled down once darkness starts to set in. No way you could ever see into my house.

My sister keeps all here blinds open day and night and you can look in her house at night and see what they are doing plain as can be! I could not stand for people to see in my house!

TNHermit · #3 12/08/06, 04:59 PM

When I'm home I talk to three people very occasionally. I dont go to town unless I have too. i don't go out to the mail box but once every three days. And I post on here. If I get it done my place will be in side a row of leyland cypress and poplar trees.

grannygardner · #4 12/08/06, 05:05 PM

I keep the blinds on the north side of our mobile closed all the time. The blinds on the east side are opened as soon as the sun comes up and they stay open as long as the sun is shining in. Once the sun is off the window they're closed. The same with the blinds on the south side. I could never live in one of the newer homes that have a whole wall of windows with no window coverings.

vancom · #5 12/08/06, 05:15 PM

We live down in a hollow, and are fairly isolated. We have only sheers in the summer as no one could possibly see us unless they are 1) coming down the driveway and the dogs would alert us to that or 2)trespassing, and I've not had that happen in 2 years of living out here. Our 6 acres are heavily treed, and we can't see our neighbors. Winter we are draped up against the cold.

Having said that, we are not particularly "private people." Solitary perhaps, but not private.

Vanessa
near Nashville

MtnGranny · #6 12/08/06, 05:19 PM

We moved here to the mountains 2 years ago. In the city, I always kept the windows covered. Here, we don't have curtains on most of the windows. Our road is not very busy, only people who live here (except for hunting season). Our house is up the mountain alittle and you can't see in from the road. I like to see out my windows - thats why we moved here.

midwsthomestead · #7 12/08/06, 05:26 PM

The windows here are all uncovered as we want the views all the time. The more windows the better for us.
We're set back pretty well from the road, and even that road is a gravel-lesser-traveled-road so no worries about folks seeing right in.

We're not really 'private' but we don't have to be, either, out here.

~~

Boleyz · #8 12/08/06, 05:38 PM

After 4:30, the state garage which borders my property shuts down and locks up...

From then on, we can run nekkid all around our 2 acre yard or on the deck and never be spotted.

Now ladies, don't come peeping, because I RARELY, if ever, emerge without at least having my drawers on...

Curtains are for decoration and remain open most of the time...except in the bedroom...a large pine-covered hillside is out back, and I suppose a pervert could get a seat there and be on eye-level with our 2nd floor...so we keep one window out of the 4 pretty well covered....still, to get there, he'd have to tear through some pretty mean briar patches and a barbwire fence...

Txsteader · #9 12/08/06, 06:01 PM

We leave our shades open during the day but closed @ night, not because we have anything to hide, but because you never know who might be looking at you. In these days of crackheads and home invasions, you can't be too careful.

tamsam · #10 12/08/06, 06:11 PM

We only close our curtains when it is really cold and windy to help keep the heat in. The only way to our house without a heck of a climb up a covered bank or hike of 5 miles from the back is the drive way and then you have to be on our porch to see in. Shucks our radio ant is 1/4 mile up the hill in back on top of the mountain. We aren't private but we do enjoy our privatcy. Sam

holleegee · #11 12/08/06, 06:31 PM

We keep our blinds and curtain wide open...I guess we have a "fishbowl" but we only have one neighbor that can see our house and they are probably 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile away (or more I'm not good with distances.) When we lived in a neighborhood we had the blinds down with the curtains shut. I always felt like we were being watched. That was one of the (many) reasons we moved out to the country.

BasicLiving · #12 12/08/06, 06:37 PM

Interesting question that really made me think. We spend the week in "town", and the weekends on our homestead. In town, we live in a 2 story home with a basement - on a circle. We've been there 20 years, and never had any type of crime, except one time someone stoled my "bobbing head dog" out of my car that was unlocked with the windows down. That's a-whole-nother story.

Anyway, in town, we leave the blinds up and the curtains open. We spend most of our time on the top floor, and no one can see in up there. Out here on the homestead, we are in the middle of 65 acres - but we are on one floor. For some reason, we put the blinds down as soon as it turns dark. Just seems creepy to have them open when we can't see out at all. Maybe that's the difference - in town we have street lights and can clearly see everything outside - but on our homestead we can't see anything but our reflections out the windows.

Penny

celticheart · #13 12/08/06, 06:43 PM

When the sun comes up, so so the blinds. When the sun goes down, or almost, so do the blinds. I am deserted, have a few neighbors but cannot see in, that far away. Have a private road and I am the only one on it. Dog barks whenever anyone comes, very rare.
I can feel very freeto walk around naked anytime inside. Outside I have sunbathed in the hammock almost nude. No one comes here.

It would drive me nuts to leave my windows open to the public anytime I thought anyone could see in.

wildhorse · #14 12/08/06, 07:19 PM

I like my privacy but in an odd way I would rather have the land under lock and key and have big open windows.

largentdepoche · #15 12/08/06, 07:28 PM

We use curtains since we're in suburbia. I made some cute curtains for our front door and window, and we have ugly but functional curtains for our bedroom lol.

I like my privacy alot.

Kat

roadless · #16 12/08/06, 07:44 PM

Our house is up high enough that it would be difficult to see in, plus we have trees on the border of our property so some window treatments are skimpy..I like the view outside. The cabin is a different story, even though it is in the middle of nowhere I don't like the windows bare at night because I feel like we are on display when we have the gas lights on ..irrational I know but I am still going to make some sort of curtain.!!

Lizza · #17 12/08/06, 08:44 PM

Buying a private secluded property was very much towards the top of our "land" list. Wouldn't move or buy a place I had to see neighbors or (shivers!) for them to see me.

big rockpile · #18 12/08/06, 09:06 PM

Well we use Trees and brush for our curtains.Can't see the lane unles you go about 20 yards from the house.But just hardly isn't anyone goes up the lane.

big rockpile

arabian knight · #19 12/08/06, 09:34 PM

I have the blinds open to the road in the daytime, Nothing in front of the patio door and people can see inside while driving. No big deal. People driving by IF THEY WANT to look in that is 99.9999% never will look in your direction in the first place so it is not really bothersome, can't under stand why people feel this way. But they can even see me "Washing Dishes" if they have a mind to but they ARE NOT going around driving on country roads LOOKING in peoples houses, and IF you do well then.............................

donsgal · #20 12/08/06, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnikin1

On a recent trespassing thread, a comment about privacy got me wondering about how folks feel about their homes and their personal privacy. It seems people vary a lot.

For instance, when dh and I are driving around town and the sun starts to go down, he becomes fascinated when we drive past what he calls a “fishbowl” – meaning a home with all the lights on and curtains wide open, sometimes on a really busy highway.

It’s odd to us that people can do that, because we are so private, and the thought of it gives me creeps! I mentioned it to a friend and she snapped back that we must have something to hide.

I don’t agree that we have anything in particular to hide, but my comfort level just would never allow me to go about my business feeling “on stage”…

We enjoy the country because we prefer the isolation. One of our first priorities when we bought our land was to start landscaping for more privacy.

What's your tolerance level?

I was raised that curtains always remained shut unless you were looking out them at something (such as who is at the front door). My dh likes to keep the curtains open during the day which I don't care for, but I don't say anything because he is the head of the house! LOL

Since I spend a lot of time au naturel or almost, I always pull my curtains shut at night. Besides, I hate looking out into the blackness.

At our house the FRONT of the house is facing away from the road and there are LOTS and LOTS of cedar trees surrounding the "front yard" so I have complete and ultimate privacy there. During the day we keep the gate shut and locked unless we are expecting someone.

I have lived in the same town for 18 years and I don't know anybody except one neighbor. And I like it that way.

You could say I am pretty private

Donsgal