Are you "that guy" in your neighborhood?

friedgreencorrado wrote:

poopshovel wrote: In my neighborhood, "That guy" is the guy who doesn't cut his own grass, change his own oil, etc.

Ditto. That's half the reason we moved out here. Moral of the story, if ya don't want to be hassled by the neigbors, get away from rich people. These folks think we're a little odd, since mine are sportscars instead of pickups or muscle cars, but nobody cares about the noise/parking because they all have their own.

My wife always says. "The punishment for being rich, is that you must live among them"

I guess I'm that guy, sorta. A year or two ago I was standing in the front yard when a guy slowed to a stop in front of our house. Hey, what's with all the cars you cycle through, he asked? So I told him what I do. Oh, he replied. I'm on the homeowners board and was just wondering. I'm more of a bike guy, but you have some neat stuff. Oh, and I'm also the local Snap-On rep. Here's my card.

We made sure we live in "that neighborhood". My property only borders one other. His garage is bigger than my house and about 100 yards away seperated by swamp. Across the main road is a guy with to tent car ports on his front lawn. One has a T-bucket type hot rod with a plywood body and a back seat and the other has a new Challenger. A women down the block has chickens that roam the neighborhood (Mmmm, fresh eggs) and the guy next too her is retired and raises racing pigeons. Behind them is a guy whose lawn has about five lawn tractors in a corner and a nice 63 Chevy. I was looked at suspiciuosly at first as city folk but now blend right in except I try to keep everything mowed and painted, and I do use the $10 dollar car wash instead of turning my dirt driveway into mud.

David S. Wallens wrote: I guess I'm that guy, sorta. A year or two ago I was standing in the front yard when a guy slowed to a stop in front of our house. Hey, what's with all the cars you cycle through, he asked? So I told him what I do. Oh, he replied. I'm on the homeowners board and was just wondering. I'm more of a bike guy, but you have some neat stuff. Oh, and I'm also the local Snap-On rep. Here's my card.

Dammit, David! Many of us already consider you one of the luckiest SOB's (and I mean that in the Southern appreciative "damn good sum'bitch" way, not in any other) on the face of the planet. You're part of the staff, you own a couple of seriously cool cars, and now you're telling us the local Snap-On guy is one of your neighbors?

Next, you'll be telling us that you can actually afford Snap-On, and the real jealousy can begin..

No, sorry, no Snap-On tools here. Speaking of homeowners associations, we used to live around the corner in a townhouse. That house was under two associations--the big one for the neighborhood plus a local one just for that group of townhouses. At the time, our BMW 318ti race car lived with me. So what did I do? Got on the board. Everyone else thought the race car was cool, and we never had any complaints.

I live in an apartment complex that's mostly full of college kids, many of whom it would surprise me if they had ever worked a day in their lives. Chores, cleaning up after themselves, laundry, and the like, let alone a job. More than a few times I've had the motorcycle reduced to a frame and engine on a stand and an assortment of parts around a grease and oil covered me while most of them are heading out to do... whatever the hell these grown children do with their time.

I got really weird looks when I was doing some minor maintenance and farkle installs (heated grips and new bars plus a few minor odds and ends) between the blizzards this winter with 3 feet of snow on the ground around the bike. Changing tires is always good for a gawker or three too.

Don't fit in, don't really care.

yes ladies and gents, i live in "that Neighborhood" and im loving every minute of it... but youd never know it unless you sat quietly for a few minutes and just listen...

If i dont hear the lovely music of an air impact, the buzz of a welder, the high pitch of a turbo spooling up, or a big block being revved up at least a few times a week in my neighbor hood, either there's a storm coming or someones burying a code inspector and i cant hear the shovel hitting dirt...

I'm 'That Guy'; weird furrin cars, refuse to make car payments, shop behind the house etc. The good things: there's no HOA (and I will never live in a 'hood with one), the neighbors around me know I'm always ready with tools and help and the few who are jerks live too far away to be a problem.

I'm also "that guy" and I build up karma by occasionally helping one neighbor with his painting business trucks, another by hauling junk to the scrap yard, well, you get the idea. Fifteen years and no grief from any motherberkeleyer about the occasional project/race car or repair.

Answering the occasional car question for the city councilperson doesn't hurt either.

I don't have a neighborhood. My nearest neighbor is about an eighth of a mile away through the woods. I blow up aerosol cans, rev engines, blare music. Nobody can hear.

I live in a neighborhood of "that guys". It's nice here. Plus, the driveway-side neighbors are deaf so I don't feel too bad when I come home from racing the loud car at 2am.

I'm that guy.....but so in my neighbor across the street. Lots of those folks up here in vermont. However, I do live in a resort town, so many folks have "people" to take care of stuff for them. Truth be told, if I had more financial freedom, I'd probably pay someone to mow my lawn. It's not big enough for a riding mower, yet it's not the easiest for a push mower. Fortunately my wife and I had a son last year, so as soon as he's old enough he'll be cutting the grass.

I would be 'that guy" if the Apt would let me. Right in the lease. no working on your car, period! I can't even change the air filter. really sucks.

Kia_racer wrote: I would be 'that guy" if the Apt would let me. Right in the lease. no working on your car, period! I can't even change the air filter. really sucks.

I had that problem at my apartment complex when I was in school. What did I do?? I started doing maintenance work on the complex employees' vehicles for free+parts and the complaints just started being ignored

Being "that guy" today...

Luckily, we live in a good neighborhood. By good, I mean that the neighbors help each other cut down trees, haul brush away, lend a hand if they see someone needs help, etc. Having a portable garage seems to be a prerequisite for living in my neighborhood, I'm trying to think of a house that doesn't have one!

I try to be considerate (i.e. no chainsaws/lawmowers/leaf blowers before a certain hour, etc.), and everyone seems to do the same. The biggest problem is trying to get something done on a nice day when all the neighbors are out working on projects, as well. Too much conversation, not enough work done

Volksroddin wrote: I live in a apt. you get real weird looks for changing you oil there. Not to mention when people notice you have real trees in your apt.

Yea, except in my apartment complex it was nasty, condescending, down-their-nose looks. So I moved

Just replaced an A/C compressor today and the new neighbors just walked by and said hello. I don't see what's so repulsive about people working on their own damn cars...

When I lived in the ghetto part of town no one gave two hoots if I worked on the cars. Heck the red car was completely torn apart as I rebuilt the suspension in the apartment lot. But, I moved because well the ghetto part of town was crime prone and noisy. Now I live around old geezers and can't work on the cars. I was detailing the MR-S yesterday and didn't get any dirty looks.

I live in neighborhood of random hillbillies and rednecks. Were all our own "that guys."

been there donwe that...and have the police vists to prove it..... someone at least once a year bitchs to the police about some cars or something in the driveway.. The funny thing is i dont annoy anyone, blast the stero, leave the yard looking like crap, or anything and say hi the most of the block....i dont work on mycars much myself, i ened up getting lots of help since i kinda suck that way, but io have some type of project hanging around at times though.....but its my grandmother that gets to deal with the boys in blue when they show up since it is her place though..sigh list of things complained about. the brite ornge demo car. the duster on jack stands the olds parked in the yard for less then 24 hours the rambler park in the yard for a month.... a set of tires hidden behind the house mostly out of site and you had to look from the side road to see them lots of bitching from everyone about the loud exhust on the olds that i drove every day...i just didnt care unitl the 2 nd stop from the cops about it..then i fixed it cause i was getting annyed with how loud it was so far no complained about the race car under the tarp.... 2 of 3 cars have the extra pedal and everyone also has to listen to met alk about cars all the time...sigh...meybe i should get date....

P71 wrote: Being "that guy" today...

Stop the brake checks on the straights, and you could find a second or two around that place...

My neighborhood is almost enirely made up of "that guy".

Different folks serve certain functions;One guy has an enclosed shop that's pretty nice , but he doesn't have many tools. That's where I come in to loan specialized tools, I also leave an air line turned on in the back yard, where kids stop to pump up there tires;adults, too. I also do sandblasting for area neighbor in the antique business, and others. Overall, it's a pretty great. We even have a guy who mows most of the lawns for free!

Luckily the people that think they're better then everyone else live around the corner. My neighbor just started parking his enclosed trailer in the front of his yard. Doesn't bother me one bit, but I bet it pisses the fancies off.

I am not that guy in the neighbour hood. I'm the only one who doesn't cut my own lawn. I pay some kid $15 to do it so I can spend more time in the garage. I do have a lot of cars around, but they change frequently, and I'm not the worst. I have one neighbour who has had some old pickup rusting away (just a skeleton now) and another who has a really loud bike that come and go at really late hours. I assume my neighbours don't mind since my racecar is relatively quiet and I try to keep things covered up and neat looking.