How to Ignore Jealous Neighbors? 4 Ways to Finally Deal With Them

Envy and jealousy go hand in hand, and someone will always be jealous of you.

The truth is that these are normal feelings, and we are sure you’ve felt that way at times.

However, some people cannot overcome these emotions, which is why they create problems with the person they are jealous of.

In this case, that jealous person who doesn’t give you peace is your neighbor.

You may wonder why your neighbor is so jealous of you. The first thing that comes to your mind is undoubtedly your financial and social status, family, lifestyle, education, as well as all the successes that you have achieved.

Your neighbor can be jealous of everything about you, which is a reflection of people who have an inferiority complex and lack self-confidence.

It is somehow logical that neighbors like to compare their lives.

These people live close to us, so it’s easy to see which car is parked in front and how the yard is arranged.

Since these people live next to us and we see them every day, friendships are created there, and where there are friendships, jealousy can also exist.

So let’s get to know your jealous neighbor better and offer you some tips on how to deal with him.

Is Your Neighbor Jealous of You? 5 Clear Signs

We know you’ve already thought many times about how much you hate your neighbor and how you want to move away.

But maybe someone close, a family member, or a friend also told you that you exaggerate.

That’s why we’ll list obvious reasons that your neighbor is jealous of you.

1. Your Neighbor is Too Interested in Your Life

And not only yours, but he is also interested in the life of all the people in the neighborhood.

Your neighbor is the guy who is always on the neighborhood watch even though no one asks him to.

He probably knows everything about everyone in the neighborhood and doesn’t hesitate to draw conclusions about others that don’t concern him.

There is no other people’s job for him. 

He dares to guess who earns how much, who has marital problems, and similar.

Gossiping is his favorite hobby, so when he catches you leaving the house, he’ll probably tell you all the neighborhood gossip, even though you’re not interested in it.

Probably, like any two-faced person, he presents himself as a good guy in front of everyone, and behind their backs, he talks the worst about them.

You try to avoid him, but he is extremely persistent in his annoyance.

Sometimes it feels like he has cameras around the house watching when you go out so he can catch you.

Boundaries do not exist for this kind of neighbor. 

He probably thought you were best friends and you were just being nice.

2. Your Neighbor Copies Everything You Do

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”

— Oscar Wilde

However, you don’t feel flattered; you think that’s creepy.

You thought copying others, and their style stopped in high school, but you were wrong.

Your neighbor has taken copying to a whole new level.

This may be because he lacks his style or considers you more successful, so if he does everything like you, he will present himself better.

Whatever you do, he has to copy it.

For example, he copied your entire garden, precisely the same arrangement of trees and flowers.

He probably bought the same car as you.

And what really upset you was when you noticed that he started to dress similarly to you and even had a similar hairstyle.

Such people always want something they cannot have, so they copy others.

3. Your Neighbor is Highly Competitive

We had a previous case of him being a copycat, but now he doesn’t want to copy you but to be better than you.

Everything you do, he has to do it much better than you.

If you buy a new car, he has to buy a better, more expensive one.

You go on vacation to some beautiful destination, and he has to go to the most exclusive location and then tell you all about it.

People like your neighbor pay too much attention to material things.

It’s just that expensive things don’t necessarily mean good taste, and one thing is for sure it won’t cure their inner vanity.

4. Your Neighbor Undervalues Your Achievements

The main characteristic of jealous people is that they need to diminish other people’s successes.

That’s how your neighbor, when he hears about your success, immediately changes the color of his face, quickly changes the topic of discussion, or even downplays your achievement.

For example, when you have achieved something, he says how easy it is and how it is not a big deal.

He usually likes to add that he did it much better than you, and what you did was nothing special.

Your neighbor loves to talk about himself and attaches great importance to his successes, but he is highly insecure.

If he congratulates you on something, it is completely sarcastic and said through some backhand comment.

But your neighbor is the first to criticize you and give you advice you didn’t ask for.

Your neighbor probably turns into the biggest contrarian just to “defend” himself from your successes.

He thinks that you think you’re better than him, and that’s why he needs to criticize you.

5. Your Neighbor is Constantly Arguing With You

This may be a characteristic of a typical lousy neighbor. However, jealousy may be lurking there.

Is your neighbor constantly looking for a reason to argue with you over the most trivial things?

Let’s say you live on the floor above; for the slightest sound of footsteps, he reports you to the landlord.

Or if, by chance, your thrash falls out of the trash can on his lawn, he makes a whole drama about it, and you would definitely pick that up anyway.

He probably also likes to counter you by turning up the music too loud, taking up two spaces in the parking lot, or cutting wood with a chainsaw in the early morning on the weekend.

Your neighbor is miserable, and his jealousy of you makes him mistreat you.

He thinks that if he is already miserable, why shouldn’t you be too.

How to Effectively Deal With a Jealous Neighbor? 4 Tips

You feel that you don’t have to put up with anyone and want to finally get rid of your jealous neighbor from hell. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Maintain a Cool Head

Getting angry won’t get you anywhere. Anger is a negative emotion.

You can only damage your health and well-being.

Also, if you get too mad, you may be unable to control your actions.

Jealous people want to see that they have provoked a reaction in you, and if you get angry, it means that they have succeeded in their intention.

Arguing and insulting your neighbor will achieve nothing; it’s just fueling the fire.

2. Give Peace a Chance

It is always better to be on good terms with your neighbors than on the bad side.

If you ask us, the only thing that matters is mutual respect; you don’t have to be best friends.

Is your relationship repairable, or has it reached the point of no return?

Ask him what the problem is? Did you do something wrong? And why does he mistreat you?

We don’t guarantee that everything will be great after that but know that at least you tried.

3. Become an Expert at Avoiding Your Neighbor

We’re not saying you need to become a ninja to avoid your neighbor, but that would be cool too.

I know that sometimes even though you want to cut off all contact with someone, it’s not possible.

For example, you hang out with the same group of people, or your children go to school together.

But you can still avoid it as much as possible.

Do not start conversations. 

Respond to his attempts at conversation coldly and disinterestedly.

And most importantly, don’t talk too much about your private life.

Because maybe you bragged about how well you’re doing at work, and that’s why he’s jealous now.

Before you say how you plan to buy a new car or go on a trip, close your mouth! It’s better that way.

If he tries to invade your intimacy too much, make it clear to him that he can’t do that.

Also, explain to him that you don’t want to listen to gossip about other people.

The safest topic for small talk is the weather.

4. Cut off Contact Entirely With The Jealous Neighbor

This is the solution in the most extreme cases.

Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.

Too often, he gossiped about you, poked his nose into your privacy, embarrassed you in front of others, or did not respect your peace and property.

We always favor solving problems and maintaining good relationships, but ceasing all contact with the neighbor like this is necessary.

Put an invisible barrier between the two of you, and you can literally put a wall between your yards.

Don’t let yourself hate where you live just because some neighbor is jealous of you; he doesn’t deserve it. 

Actually, he doesn’t deserve your attention at all.

All Thing Considered, Continue to Live Your Best Life

“Never hate people who are jealous of you, but respect their jealousy. These people think you are better than them”

— Rebecca Ann Totten

You know how they usually say that the haters are usually the biggest fans.

Jealous people compare, copy, and compete; happy people don’t care.

The greatest revenge on a jealous neighbor is to be happy and live well, so do it.