Why are neighbors so nosy?

Question

I find it amazing how nosy neighbors are. I know very little about my neighbors, and I have no interest in knowing more. But when I speak to my neighbors once in a while, they know everything about every other neighbor. It's amazing. How do they find out these things, and why do they even bother? It's an invasion of other people's privacy and it's incredibly stupid.

Does this kind of stuff happen in rural areas, where there is lots of land and space between homes?

Answer 1

Some people are bored and have no lives so they have to stick their noses in everyone else's business. I've never had any interest in any of my neighbor's lives. As long as what they do does not have a substantial negative impact on me and they're not hurting others then I don't care.

Answer 2

these people do need to get a life and stop trying to figure out what's happening with other people in their life and instead spend time developing a life of their own. I'm so busy and occupied with my own life that I do not have time to figure other people out and I don't really care either. I'd only care if someone needed some help and they asked for it then I'd care. Otherwise their business is not my business. I wish my nosy neighbors felt the same.

Answer 3

I live in Bump Huck Mississippi, 45 miles north west of east Jesus Christ. I lived in Cincinnati, New Orleans, Nashville, and Los Angeles. My closest neighbor is 1/2 a mile away.
Everybody here knows everyone else's business, and of all the places i lived, Nashville was the least intrusive when it came to nosy neighbors.

I must add, when my kids were young, I also knew every body's business, but it was motivated by insuring my kids were safe playing in their yard/street.

Answer 4

I think it happens everywhere. The people in my subdivision keep to themselves, yet my next door neighbor seems to know everybodys business. Rural people know just as much if not more. I grew up in the inner city of Chicago, and most people stuck to themselves. Its funny, the more people there are, like in major cities, the less people know are care about. Generally speaking that is.

Answer 5

I had a neighbor once who was the neighborhood "gossip" even tried to meddle in my divorce. I had no interest in knowing this person. Some people are meddlers who need to Get a life!

Answer 6

My neighbors are also very nosy, & they look for people to do wrong, but they have problems of their own, & quick to tell us that their problems is none of our business. How cheeky!

Answer 7

never had this problem, except maybe when my parents moved. But my childhood home, well we all knew each other so.