Skip to My Lou.

Sharona asks:

Do I have to formally break up with an acquaintence or can I just skip away and just not reply to her emails thinking she'll get the hint? She's nice enough, but after speaking to her a couple of times I just don't care to persue a friendship. I feel badly because she's nice enough, I just do not want to pretend to like her when I don't. Or should I suck it up and try harder?


An acquaintance? Skip away. If you've only spoken a few times you have no obligation to tell her anything. In fact, saying something will probably just hurt her feelings. There's no need to add insult to injury. I don't even formally break up with friends unless I've known them for over 10 years or know I'm going to need to continue interacting with them on the regular.

Neighbor Troubles

Nico writes:

We have some pretty trashy neighbors across the street.  They have mini pile ups in the front yard b/c the dad throws rip roaring drunky parties on the daily, and the house is full of enablers.  We will be looking to sell our house in the next few months, and my husband thinks these neighbors will harm our chances.  He wants to say something to the drunk dad about it, but I told him its pointless.  The guy is drunk 24/7.

So, what do you think?  Say something or keep quiet?  For the record, these same shenanigans were going on when we purchased the house and we never noticed, and according to our normal neighbors, these antics have been happening since the dawn of time.

Dear Nico,

Tell your husband nice try, but you win this time. Talking to these neighbors isn't going to accomplish anything. Assuming that whoever opens the door is even sober enough to understand what you're asking of them, people who take such little care of their own property aren't going to give much of a damn about your property value. At best, they'll slam the door in your face and ignore you. At worst they'll throw rippier, roarier, drunkier parties just to spite you.

As far as this house causing problems for the sale of your house, I think your own home buying experience is typical to most people. Every neighborhood has "that house," and the typical buyer is not going to scrutinize the neighbors' yards before choosing to buy. The type of buyer who does is also the type of buyer who will fault you for not having all of your belongings moved out of the closets before the house has even sold. In other words, they're the type of buyer you don't want to deal with.

Ignore the neighbors, and good luck selling your home.