Where to Find the UK’s Worst (And Best) Neighbours?

Most of us have an opinion of our neighbours, whether they’re a great addition to daily life or a bit of a nuisance. But have you ever wondered how everyone else feels, and whether your frustrations are echoed across the country?

To determine where the worst (and best) neighbours are found, we surveyed 1,000 UK adults and recorded how often they engage with people they live close to, what they consider to be the biggest annoyances, and how often they’ve had to take action as a result of bad neighbour behaviour.

How well do Brits get on with their neighbours?

According to our research, less than one-in-five (17%) Brits choose to engage and socialise with the people they live closest to on a regular basis. Instead, more commonly, three quarters (72%) claim to enjoy polite conversation with their neighbour only when bumping into one another. Meanwhile, one-in-ten (9%) Brits don’t speak or communicate to their neighbours at all, not even in passing, and 2% don’t even know who they share their street or building with.

 

 

What makes someone a bad neighbour?

Taking a look at what makes for a difficult neighbour, extreme loudness is ranked the number one reason for fallout, with 64% of Brits voting this their biggest gripe. Similarly, 41% consider loud children, 36% consider loud pets, and 25% consider loud sex to be the worst behaviours. Contrastingly, one-in-ten Brits (8%) feel an overly quiet neighbour who doesn’t speak at all is the biggest red flag.

Among the other top ranked neighbour frustrations, we have nosiness (53%), poor parking (52%), having a questionable lifestyle and engaging in illegal activity (49%), and having lots of parties (41%).

Meanwhile, a quarter of Brits (26%) are most irked when their neighbour decides to make unapproved changes to shared space or boundaries, a third (34%) find frustration in poor home and garden maintenance, and a further 33% grow weariest by their neighbours continually complaining about nothing.

Where are the UK’s worst-behaved neighbours?

Analysing survey data, we can reveal that the UK’s worst behaved neighbours are found in the northwest city of Manchester; staggeringly, over three quarters of Mancunians (78%) have been forced to respond to negative neighbour behaviour on at least one occasion.

Heading to the Capital, London is also among the worst places for nightmare neighbours. In fact, 75% of residents from the city have had to address trouble, difficulty, or frustration at some point. That said, despite the outlined issues, Londoners do enjoy a greater sense of community than anywhere else in the UK; the Capital is where people are most likely to spend time socialising with and speaking closely to their neighbours (26%), beating other, more famously-friendly cities, such as Newcastle (16%).

Looking at the rest of the UK, the story’s much the same for people in Cardiff (75%), Leeds (71%), Nottingham (67%), and Sheffield (67%), who have all experienced similarly bleak encounters with their neighbours. Meanwhile, two-in-three people living in the cities of Liverpool (63%), Southampton (63%), and Edinburgh (61%) have suffered from nightmare neighbours.

 

 

Where will you find the best-behaved neighbours in the UK?

At the positive end of the spectrum, according to our research, less than half of Bristolians (46%) have experienced negative neighbour from their neighbours to the point of being required to address the issue.

Closely behind Bristol and among the best places to move to for a positive neighbourly experience, we have Glasgow and Birmingham, with just 50% and 59% of residents, respectively, forced to take action against negative behaviour.

Rounding off the top places to relocate to for low-maintenance neighbours, less than two thirds of adults in Newcastle (60%) and Norwich (60%) have suffered unsociable or unfriendly behaviour during their time in the city.

If you’re experiencing nightmare neighbours, it might be worth selling up fast and moving somewhere a little friendlier! For even more interesting insight, check out the latest from us over on our blog.