[CEllenP]

My husband and I would like to become Villagers and recently made our fifth visit to a friend's home so that we could look at homes for purchase. We looked at a lovely home several times but the dogs next door barked every time we were there. The home was a golf course front and we could hear the dogs both times that we golfed the course. Is there anything that can be civilly done about this issue? We are pet lovers but this seems extreme to have to deal with.
Thanks for any insights you can give me!

[graciegirl]

Not an easy fix. There are many pets in TV and dogs will bark. I think that you should abandon the home you have fallen in love with and find another one to fall in love with. There are so many available and SOON to be available homes and the prices are dropping every day. I don't think it is too much to ask the neighbors next door if they have dogs, IF there are neighbors next door. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of annoyance.

Dogs barking don't usually bother me. Some can be quite yippy....they can't help it. If they were cows they would moo. That's just the way things are.

[Barefoot]

Good luck with your purchase. You are being careful and doing your homework. And that's a good thing. It's really hard to get a guarantee of a quiet neighbourhood.

You can purchase a house doing a lot of homework and with the best of intentions. But neighbourhoods are constantly changing, with people buying and selling. Many of us who moved to TV from larger properties were concerned about the close proximity to other homes.

There are many noise problems in TV in addition to barking dogs. Lots of people have TVs on their lanai's and turn them up loud. You can also move next door to a "party hearty" couple, the night people who party into the wee hours. Or the person who gets up at 6 AM and plays loud exercise music on the lanai. You can back on a golf course and have the maintenance equipment occasionally wake you in the morning. I've even heard people living near the town centers complain about the music and the traffic in and out of the town centers.

And in Chatham some people complain about the noise from trains and some find the sound quite pleasant. You can buy a "bark free" home and next month, have a dog move in next door.

Bottom line, in TV you are probably living in close proximity to a lot of neighbours. Of course if there is a problem, most neighbours will try their darndest to co-operate. We're a great bunch of people here.

[swrinfla]

CEllenP:



Being a cat person, I'd encourage you to be sure your new neighbors have pets of the feline persuasion!

They only bother their people, and are known to disturb sleep at pre-dawn hours, because it is obviously time to eat! But, if they're your neighbor's then you don't have to worry!

Come on down! We have lots of fun here (even when it's coooooooold!

SWR