Nosy neighbors are the worst neighbors, new survey shows

Mister Rogers’s beloved TV show used to include the song “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” But based on a new survey by Porch, a site that connects homeowners and professional contractors, not everyone gets along with their neighbors.

Porch’s survey of more than 1,000 people found that the worst neighbors are nosy neighbors — those who cross the line of a friendly wave into peeping into other’s yards, getting too personal when meeting at the mailbox or just a general invasion of privacy.

The other top four annoying activities of neighbors include those who are too loud, who don’t pick up after their pets, who park in someone else’s designated spot or who leave their children unsupervised.

Rounding out the list of the top 10 most annoying things neighbors do:

• Call the police on another neighbor.

• Leave notes on a neighbor’s door instead of speaking face-to-face.

• Have loud sex.

• Visibly walk around in various states of undress.

• Have landscaping or other items that obstruct a neighbor’s view.

Porch’s survey found that baby boomers are more likely to get into fights with their neighbors than young people. Thirtythree percent of baby boomers admitted to getting into aggressive verbal or even physical confrontations with a neighbor, compared with 23 percent of millennials and 28 percent of Gen Xers.

While the people Porch surveyed called out their neighbors for bad behavior, they were also willing to admit their own faults. One in 10 admitted to playing music too loudly or talking loudly enough that it might annoy their neighbors. And 22 percent said they don’t know the names of any of their neighbors, while 61 percent said they know the names of only some of their neighbors.