Disputes with neighbors have been part of communal living since the dawn of time. And while that surely doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to make friends with people you live next to, it may also happen that some neighbors make it a living hell for you.
Recently, a person who goes by HedgehogSmoothie on Reddit shared a picture of a letter they received from neighbors in the Mildly Infuriating community. The caption said “This poorly written letter from my passive-aggressive neighbor telling me to remove my 'legally owned' plants from my property.”
It turned out the author’s neighbors were so upset with the fake plants they thought they were devaluing their property. So apparently, HedgehogSmoothie has two days to remove their plants from their porch or else… well, there’s a threat of legal action.
Image credits: HedgehogSmoothie
Image credits: Polina Zimmerman (not the actual photo)
To find out more about this whole situation Bored Panda reached out to HedgehogSmoothie, the woman from Gainseville, Florida who received this letter. “I was initially really worried at first receiving the letter. Even though I knew that I had done nothing wrong, I was still worried that the neighbor might have taken things further, or remove the plants themselves if I didn't remove them. I came home one day to find it stuck on our porch window with tape,” she recounted.
“I (39F) live in Gainseville, Florida with my husband (and 2 cats!) and sometimes there are a lot of disputes in the neighborhood I live in, but they're usually not too serious so we were a little conflicted, but also amused by the letter,” the author added.
Image credits: Francesca Tosolini (not the actual photo)
When asked whether the woman who received this weird letter has ever had problems with her neighbors, she said that she is on good terms with most of our neighbors and so is my husband.
“But I know a friend in the neighborhood who got a handwritten letter about 'disruptive' halloween decorations last year. The letter said that his Halloween props were disruptive because they 'lit up' and caused too much noise to other neighbors. But the houses are spaced out enough to the point where it wouldn't bother anyone, unless they were on his property.”
The woman also said that she has “spoken to him since and even though his letter was handwritten and not printed, we still think it was from the same person due to the way it was written.”
Image credits: HedgehogSmoothie
Later HedgehogSmoothie said she spoke to her partner and they talked about getting a camera set-up installed near their porch (“a suggestion from Reddit!,” she said). “Though I was afraid at first, we think it's just an empty threat from someone who feels like they have a lot of authority.”
It turns out, HedgehogSmoothie received a second letter a couple of days after receiving the first, not having removed the plants. “The second letter basically is less threatening, and is just them saying I was being given a 'warning', and I should have my plants removed by December... which isn't going to happen!”
“A lot of people were speculating our house is part of an HOA, which actually isn't true at all, otherwise I wouldn't have posted a picture holding the letter,” HedgehogSmoothie said.
“Lastly because a lot of people were asking! The artificial plants in question are two potted artificial fern plants, that are sitting opposite to each other in our porch beside our door, and we also have a string of pearls, and a potted begonia plant, that are also fake. They don't look artificial, so I think they must have at least touched it to discover it,” the woman concluded.
And this is what people thought about this whole situation
