How many of you live relativity close to "trashy people"?

Interesting, more interesting and then again. When we first moved to the country we bought an old campground to set up our little horse farm on. I moved out of the city because they were trying to make me into a 2 dog household. I was not breaking the law. 2 dogs per unit. My house was licensed for 3 units and we had 5 dogs among us. So they set about changing the law. We kept our dogs quiet except for an occasional bark when outside and were quieted immediately. Privacy fence around our little tiny yard and cleaned up and disposed of waste immediately. The smell was coming from the new neighbor next door so we taught him how to keep his yard clean. Every time we moved our camper/bus from the parking slab to the street, the neighbor called the cops and said it had been sitting there for days and they would come out and ticket us. We certainly should have stayed in the city.

Neither my husband or myself were working outside of the home when we got our new farm. We set about improving, cutting down diseased trees, repairing buildings, etc. So we are working in one area and the neighbor comes and tells us we are trespassing on his pond area. We go to cut down trees in the upper pasture and that neighbor tell us his fence is behind the trees but we can't cut down his diseased 30 year old poplars. Then when we prove to him he is encroaching on 10 feet of our pasture where his fence actually is he tells us he is going to move to the next county where people are not so awful. The county passes an ordinance that one can only have 2 dogs unless they apply for a kennel license which will not be granted. The cemetery some somehow has deeded to them our small strip of land out to the highway leaving the only other access through the swamp where the crazy man lives, claiming our pond. So he pays to have a survey done to prove our pond is his and when the surveyor lays out the proper line he comes over threatening us if we don't pay up for that survey he had done for us. The neighbor in between says slyly between sips from his bottle how he has heard all about us and turns his back and walks away. THEN!!!! The gravel pit comes in to our north and wants the property to the west. I am violently allergic to diesel fuel fumes and dust so we were forced off our pretty little farm. So I called that "other county" and asked a bunch of questions. Do you have a dog ordinance? Can one target practice without the police coming out to stop you? How about horse ----? The man apparently had been on the other end of complainers because he was almost nasty as he told me. If you think you can move out to the country and start complaining about dogs barking, the smell of manure from farm animals or any other thing I should just stay in the city. I thanked him profusely and every time I drive by the old neighbors I holler out the window, "guess who's living in that other county."

The people who sold me this 120 acre farm signed a statement that there were no dumps here. If the poor old lady who was being represented by her lying daughter had been capable I would have sued. We have found five dumps well hidden in different areas of the woods on this farm. Well over 100 tires with a disposal fee between $3 to $15 depending on the size and more if still on the rim. Appliances, asphalt shingles, cement, you name it and it is on this farm somewhere. We had a junk man come out and remove what he could or would take and got paid $300. We could still fill 5 semi's. But they religiously adhered to the rule. Hide it. I'm still looking. I'm sure there is more out there somewhere. Every year we take a trailer load to amnesty day but would have to live to be 200 years old to get it all out that way. We don't bother our neighbors and our neighbors don't bother us. But they sure are all there in an instant if we need them. I think I will continue living in this county.

I do too but decided to quit working on it because the clutter keeps nester females out of my comfort zone and it was easier to buy an RV with slideout and rent a campground slip for entertaining purposes when required.

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"I didn't have time to slay the dragon. It's on my To Do list!"

"Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same."

That song is almost 50 years old and it recognized a problem of monotony and sameness expected by certain segments of society. If any here feel that they belong on that hillside, there's nothing to prevent you from becoming part of that element. Just don't expect me and a lot of others here to join you. My house is clad in white aluminum siding, built in 1928 with used barn lumber, and thus already old before the first nail was set. Changed insurance companies this year and agent says that it's almost unique in that aspect. Sort of fits the occupants!

A very true "junk" story is one which happened last November. In 1983, during the industrial recession, I was laid off and doing home repairs. One woman wanted to replace her porcelain kitchen sink with a stainless one. Piece of cake! Nothing really wrong with the old one so I brought it home and leaned it against one of the pigeon lofts. There it sat for 27 years! Sink drain developed a leak and process of replacing required parts eventually included the sink. My collection of "junk" not only included the kitchen sink but it was better than the one which had been originally installed!

I had a shirttail relation who lived his entire life as a farmer without electricity. Much of that time was before Social Security and his valley was open for any retiree to set up a shack near one of the springs. Each little side valley might have an old guy in his 80s back in the '50s and '60s. Each also had the usual 2 or 3 cars rusting away in the brush. But still will never forget the night when probably 4 generations were gathered around a huge stove in a log house in November 1964. Someone mentioned that if a certain part for a Model T Ford were needed, it was probably somewhere on the farm. There was a complete one buried under the hay in the barn mow!

Martin

I have junk next to my neighboro. They thought it was funny to sit out side and laugh at the kids mule that got tangled in a teather and flipped her self. They thought that it was ok to shoot my jack russel snake dog (We have alot of Rattle snakes.) I fenced between us and use that area for my long term storage for vehicles on the mill. Then I let them know though the grape vine that one more problem and the land above them that I own (Were on a Hill) was gonig to be Hogs. They have seemered down nad this year I will move the storage and clean up.

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We don't have any trashy neighbors but we are in the process of cleaning up after one.
The guy that owned our place for the last 30+ years before us managed to create quite a mess which we are stuck with. The only good thing is that we were warmly received by our neighbor when we started cleaning the place up
In addition to old buildings full of junk and various dead farm implements we have our very own junk car. When I read Salmonslayer's line about the old cars that are kept in case "things turn around" I had to chuckle. We have a mid 1950's Renault sitting upside down in the woods on our place! How did a French car ever make it all the way to Ozark County.
I can't imagine a Renault was ever some body's dream ride!

Here's an idea my friend has about his home and 5 acres.
He has a 1200 sqft home that sets off about 200ft from the the county road. The area around the home has some landscaping and is kept mowed.

The area next to the road is never mowed...just brush hogged once a year.
No junked cars just some tarped off construction material next to an old block foundation.

His reasoning to not "spruce up" the front is this: he beleives that if the place appears to be less than tidy then people will think he's poor and dosen't have much to steal.
It's an interesting theory.

I think, for the most part, that people who don't trash their place won't decide to move next to someone who does. If they do, it's their own fault and they have no right dictating that the resident neighbor clean up.

I see what you see - a ton of people on this site saying what someone does on their own property is none of anyone's business - NO MATTER WHAT. If what is collected doesn't blow around, AND if neighbors are protected from a trashy view (by being secluded enough by woods, privacy fences or whatever), then truly what these people do in the TRUE privacy of their own homes is their business. It's not so private when you move to where others do NOT trash their property but you do, in full view. IMO that is NOT neighborly.

Some people's morals seem limited to what the LAW does or does not allow. Sheesh people, just because one may have a legal right to slob up your place doesn't mean you should, when you move into an area where your neighbors do not share this mindset! In fact it is unbelievably inconsiderate. If you were there first and "neat and clean" neighbors move next door, then I agree, that is THEIR fault they chose to live next to you. But if you are the "trashy" one moving into an area where no one shares your mindset - and it's usually pretty obvious if they don't, by how they keep their own property - it is incredibly thoughtless to just go about your business AS IF you are just minding your business, when it is not kept PRIVATELY from others.

For the record I have my own "stockpile" that is hidden behind a shed in front of a fence. I do not mind my neighbor having a workpile, or working on a car, etc, - but they do not have junk just strewn about everywhere, and they do not live in filth. I daresay that people who live in filth are often in denial that what they hoard is truly valuable or useful!

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Wise enough to know I'll never be wise enough to know it all

This has been an interesting thread with lots of viewpoints and I can see both sides actually. I must admit, our place was in pretty sad shape when we bought it and even without piles of junk it was an eye sore just from being so run down. We have spent a year doing major construction, cleaning it up, and restoring the once grand gardens into something very presentable and we enjoy looking at what was and what now is. But we bought this place to get away from the city and suburban restrictions we had mostly lived under for the past 35 years and we purposely bought a place where we have enough land to not have to see our neighbors...we are grateful for that so we dont have to "worry" about how they are keeping up their property.

We literally looked at 40 or 50 properties before we bought this place and many of the places were stricken from our possibles list because of neighbor issues. We are lucky, we like our neighbors, everyone keeps to themselves for the most part, the smallest place around here is about 8 acres and frankly...we are glad there are no kids living within about 5 miles. Some dont like that isolation and quiet but we do which is why we chose this place.

Something tells me those who are worried about their property values when they arent moving or selling couldnt be counted on for much if it interfered with their neat and orderly world while my trashy neighbor would (and has) been their when I needed help.

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www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

I have to disagree with his teory. It's like the broken window on a building, if they break one and you don't fix it they'll break them all. If you fix the one right away it prevents more from being broken.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Some folks just can't tell the difference between High Quality, Pre-Owned Merchandise; and junk.

heck Im a trashy neighbor (im sure some already thought that anyway)
we have a collection of used tires for the retaining wall that is very slowly being built ( takes a ten and seven year old a while to haul dirt and fill a tire a tonka truck at a time )
Oh and like radio that 66 ford short bed with the 390 , dual exaust and disc breaks isnt for sell its the wifes first truck she bought it when she was fifteen and its still going .
those 200 and some steel doors are building material, the telephone poles have a use as well and that old farm junk by the trees well those get used every year .
the pile of scrap iron is part of our winter fuel budget as is the barrels of copper and tanks of aluminum cans.
You have to brave our half mile drive way with pot holes that can hid a small car to see what down here. when ya get to the first curve your welcome to give the wheel of misfortune a spin. ya might get "mauled by dogs"," Shot by crazy owner"," Squeal like a pig", "Hear the banjos", "boy ya gotta purdy mouth" or the "Welcome". Then ya can drive another 1/4 mile and pull up to the house . On the way you'll pass an old school bus , a horse stable , and a old single wide thats being torn down .
If it offends your delicate nature dont come down the drive and if ya have to peak you can get a good look on google earth take note of the trees that are trimmed nicely into the shape of a hand giving a one finger salute in the middle of the field to the west of the house with a American flag in the shingles on the roof .

I agree. I am new to all this, and after reading people proudly calling themselves trashy, I realize why our country is going downhill. I cannot imagine people in any other country calling themselves trashy, and "wrapping themselves" in their flag. I won't be checking back to this thread either.
Nancyh

nancy, so having a mc mansion and pretending to be something one is not is good for the country? I dont get it. We are in a global recession because people wanted to show off and out-do each other.

I think your not tracking very well Nancy...or you dont understand sarcasm very well. The people calling everyone trashy are those like you and the other poster you quoted. Most of us are just farmers or homesteaders who actually work our land and therefore dont always have the tidy lawns or HOA approved neatness you apparently crave.

Nothing wrong with that, just dont look down your nose at people who have little money or who choose to live and work as they see fit on the land they purchased.

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www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

They are fairly close together. Most of the houses are on 1 and 2 acre lots. The house I was refering to is just 100 feet from the next, utterly spotless home.

I promise you that the new folks who used creative financing to buy their dream home in the country are no longer welcome there in that little area. I'd hate to be them in a time of need.

As for the trash...there is no need to bust my chops over that one. They just opt not to pay for the services they used, which is theft where I come from. I just want to know why on earth it is considered healthy to stack your trash bags outside in pile that resembles a mountain, when they already know that they have rats living in the barn?

They already admitted to everyone that they have rats living there, but have done nothing to stop the problem...not even one rat trap. Their barn is just a hundred feet from a neighbor's barn, and 500 feet from another barn, BTW.

Oh, and instead of fixing the failed septic system, they are now allowing it to run out on the ground. Yes, raw septic waste running out the back lawn. Who pays the price when the heavy spring rains come, and that raw sewage contaminates the neighbor's well, or even their own? All those houses share the same aquifer.

Is it still no one's business, Rick, when rats come to live in everyone's houses and barns, and they contaminate the aquifer with raw sewage????? What about the mosquito problem? The mosquitos have always been heavy there, but got much worse when the tires got stored outside, as well as all the other trash sitting around. Still no one's business???????????

How healthy is all of that????

I'd feel a ton different if they did this to a house that was isolated in the middle of a woods, or a cornfield....but right smack dab in the middle of a tiny community where the pride of ownership is first rate?

hmmmm.... think I might have to get me one of them wheel of misfortune signs... maybe with a leg bone as a 'spinner'...:happy0035:

I try and disguise myself from the great google in the sky... my old stuff is completely hidden from th' great google... a new barn unfortunately just jumps right out at ya!

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

evil person that I am Id love to go into one of those fancy housing developements and till there pretty manicured lawn under and replant the yards in lettuce, turnips and useful crops . I feel the same about golf courses .
think what some of us are saying is what might appear to be trash to you may not be trash to us. Some see a stack of old pallets as a rat nesting place, some of us see free fencing or a chicken house .
For myself I really dont care if ya think my shed made out of doors looks trashy , it keeps tools dry, the other one gives the chickens a safe house and the little one that looks like an out house is the perfect sized mobile stable for our mini horse .
the old single wide trailer out back is a great storage building and when needed a spare room for some homeless family complete with a bathroom .
The trailer thats in the process of being torn down will end up being a nice 6x10 dump trailer . Like others the rolls of fencing and posts are a future calf lot. the old david bradley four bar rake thats the color of rust well it sees service a couple times a year as does that ugly old plow , the disc with a flat tire and the spring tooth leaning against the tree . those old sliding glass doors leaning against the front of the house will be a nice sun room /green house once the foundation is poured . the old steel cabinet and sink are there so veggies and kids can be washed off before going in the house . and yes theres an old drier that no longer heats plugged in on the back porch that is used to tumble the line dried clothes ( we have very hard water ) .
theres also a pair of canoes sitting beside the drive ( never know when the creek will rise ) and right now theres a fridge in the car port (havent found a needy family yet that needs it but we will) The old warm morning stoves left last winter providing heat for three houses that couldnt afford a new furnace when it was below zero.
Picky people see trash and junk , well one mans trash is anothers treasure .
Im more concerned with functional than pretty . Of course when a fancy pants needs a hand getting snow off their drive or dragging off a storm felled tree they dont seem to mind that eye sore tractor .
Many of us grew up making due with what ever we had or could get , I pulled a plow and disc with an old 1949 ford one ton no doors beat up old cab and half a rick of wood stacked on the back for traction. I was in tall cotton when we got an old AC WD back when I was a kid . Know what Im still in tall cotton cause I managed to get a new to me WD back in jan.
Now I'll admit theres a difference between junk and garbage . Ive got a two yard dumpster not because we produce that much garbage but we sure find it .
I am guilty of putting aluminum cans in the driveway to flatten them which Im sure looks pretty trashy but allows us to get 400 pounds in one tank instead of 60 pounds .
heck I thought everyone plowed there front yard for a veggie garden .

made it out of an old round steel yard table with a hole in the middle for an umbrella . Like the idea of the leg bone for the pointer may have to change the arrow out this week Im sure the dogs have a bone somewhere .
the mail man gets a kick out of it .
we havent had near as many lookers since it went up

There was another thread on this site last year? about how to make a place look uninviting for passersby.

Sounds like the complainers moved from the city and brought their baggage with them.

The raw sewage running loose is terrible, but would ALL of the neighbors be okay with me using sawdust, 100 percent composting toilets? How about a nice big 5 foot by 5 foot compost bin? Something tells me my dandelions and compost bins would be hated.

I didn't bust your chops about the trash issue. I stated I don't want to be forced to contract with a trash hauling company, and that the family you cite should maintain a rodent free bin, and take it to a landfill at regular intervals.

Mosquitoes don't breed in solid trash - water in a puddle is enough for a healthy batch.

I would never again want to live in an enclave where 3 barns are within 6 hundred feet with 12 houses close by. All of this is why we move from an area where such conditions would be normal.