You usually have high hopes when you move into a new neighborhood. It’s a brand new life, a new experience, and you want it to go well. While you can choose the best house in the world, an excellent location, and a beautiful neighborhood, you can’t choose your neighbors. What do you do if you get your dream home, only to find that your neighbors are the stuff of nightmares? Here are the best ways to handle the top three types of problem neighbors and still enjoy your new home.

1) Gossips

It’s not uncommon to encounter a neighbor who loves to gossip. This can be extremely annoying, especially when you’re the subject of the gossip. Gossips love to find out every detail about what you’re doing and spread it all around the neighborhood. It’s irritating if you otherwise like the person, and downright upsetting if you don’t like the person at all!

You can deal with a neighborhood gossip by doing nothing to encourage them. Don’t give them too much information about yourself. If they ask you personal questions, either try to change the subject to something about THEM, or just tell them you can’t imagine they’d be interested in such a trivial detail about yourself. You could even outright lie to them (also known as propagating dis-information) if you’re comfortable with that. Just come up with a response you like and that deflects the personal questions in a kind and polite way.

2) People Who Make Too Much Noise

Yes, a fact of neighborhood life is that sometimes people make noise. Sometimes you can understand it and ignore it, such as holiday parties, once a year birthday parties, or the kids trying out new toys outside. But neighbors who are consistently noisy can be a problem. These are the people who play their stereos too loudly outside all the time, the people who mow their lawns at insane hours, those who keep their televisions on high volume with the windows open, etc.

The first thing you should do is let your neighbors know that their noise is bothersome. If kids are the problem, talk to their parents. Try to come up with an equitable solution for everyone. If no solutions can be arrived at, talk to other neighbors to see what can be done, or call the police, if necessary.

3) Creepy Stalkers

Once in a while, you come across a neighbor who just won’t leave you alone. He (or she) invites himself over all the time, makes a point to be outside just as you’re getting home or leaving, and seems to be watching your every move. If you’re unfortunate enough to have this kind of neighbor, you’ve got to tell him that you’re not interested. Don’t give him any reason to think you may actually be a little interested. Keep any communication with this neighbor perfunctory and speak only when necessary. If it continues to be a problem, you may have to go to the police and get a restraining order. However, remember, protecting yourself is your first priority.