Lots of Coming and Going Next Door

Updated on September 29, 2010
C.S. asks from Waterbury, CT
21 answers

A young couple moved into the house next to mine. They drive nice cars, a Mercedes and a Beamer. She is gone 9-5, he stays home all day. There are people coming and going ALL DAY LONG. Nobody ever stays for more than a few minutes. And there are always different cars. 90% of the "visitors" are dressed well, drive nice cars, and are mostly men. The other 10% are college aged, more sporty looking types.
I wondering what could possibly be going on over there. Of course, I keep thinking its drugs. What else could it be?
Does it really bother me personally? Eh, not really. The comings and goings dont directly affect me. But at the same time, if its something illegal going on in my neighborhood, I dont like that at all. I have kids here, and I dont want shady characters around.

I have been hemming and hawing about calling Crime Stoppers. And letting them investigate it for themselves. I dont have any real proof, just the constant foot traffic. Its all very suspicious to me.

What do you think???

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for your responses. They have lived here for about 2 years. They arent new neighbors, but I can see by the way I worded it, you would all think that.
I'm going to talk to my husband about what we should do next.

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M.E.

answers from Chicago on

Drugs. Call Crime Stoppers - you can report anonymously. Who knows - the wife might not even know what's going on in her own house. Addicts and criminals are great liars.

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M.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Oh-I would bet it is drugs. If it were just me living there I wouldn't care but if I had kids I would absolutely get to the bottom of it.

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T.F.

answers from Dallas on

I can't believe all the judgemental responses you got. This new family is already tried and sentenced and you don't even know them.

What happened to going to meet your neighbors and say "Hello", introduce yourself.

I personally don't have to time watch all my neighbors to see what types of cars come and go, what times of days they come and go, and how long they stay, and how they dress. WHEW, that is a job in itself!!

We run our business from from home. We drive 2 nice luxury Mercedes. We have some clients come to our home. We run a multi million dollar raw material business and we are as legit as they come and in no way "shady".

HOWEVER, we have lived here since we built our home. We know our neighbors in our upscale neighborhood, MANY of our neighbors work from their homes with IT, telecommuting, self employed, etc. It is nothing to be out around the yard at any time of day around here and have neighbors outside, communicating with each other, taking a break from the office work, etc.

Maybe they are druggies..... Maybe they are good law abiding citizens contributing to the success of your community.

Just my 2 cents.... In no way do I intend to come across disrespectful... everything is not black and white.

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M.C.

answers from Tampa on

I work for a major IT company and a LOT of us work from home since our company discovered it is a lot cheaper for them to reimburse us for a phone line instead of paying for office space. I have had more than one coworker tell me jokingly that the random neighbor assumed they were a drug dealer since they seemed to have money but did not "go to work." Based on what you said above, the only reason I think you could be accurate is constant stream of visitations. However, many of the visitors sound like professionals and it could be something legitimate. The first legitimate example I thought of was that he is an accountant. I know a few accountants who work from home but I can't imagine a constant stream of visitations outside of tax season. It is also possible that he is a small business owner etc and the persons stopping by work for him (picking up project plans, for example). Doubtful but possible. I understand that you don't want something illegal or shady going on around you....but I did not hear you say there were shady persons dropping by. You described 90% of them as well dressed driving nice cars. You did not say that any of them seemed shady. That said, I typically go with my gut...but I would want to be sure what my gut was telling me before calling the cops on my neighbors.

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N.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

When I lived in an apartment before having kids, I encountered the same situation with the some new tenants below me. People always coming and going at all hours of the night and day! I lived in an affluent area but I knew that this stuff happened no matter where you lived!

They were probably there a few months and one day when I got home from work there were cops everywhere! The tenants were handcuffed inside the cop cars (separated) and there were a bunch of cops in thier apartment. It was a total raid.

I'm not sure what happened and everyone was speculating but it was definitely drug related. All I cared about is that they were finally gone. I totally had my suspicions!

Basically if I were you, yes I would suspect they were up to no good!

Not sure what advice to give…

Good luck!

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

From what you've said... I'm inclined to think high end drugs as well, or gambling. HOWEVER, yeah, there could be several completely legitimate options.

If they were staying for at least 10 minutes.. there would be TONS of options (from accounting, to politics -my SIL is a DEM organizer, she works from home and has about 20 people check in with her in person a day, and about 50 via the phone... but has about 600 people "under" her, to church related stuff, to sales reps -legal sales-, to photography, to other forms of art, etc.).

It's the "couple" minute thing that also makes me tilt my head.

Personally, I would strike up a conversation with either. Introduce yourself, start talking about work... etc.

3 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Even if it's a legitimate business, you can bet your neighborhood is not zoned for it. If you have a HOA, most likely they have rules against it, too. If it's crime related (drugs, bookie joint, etc), it's just trouble waiting to happen. There have been posh neighborhoods where lot's of men were seen coming and going all day and when the police eventually bust it up it turns out to be a prostitution ring. Just call Crime Stoppers and let them check it out.

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S.H.

answers from Dallas on

I would just introduce yourself to the new neighbors. Maybe the people who are stopping by are friends that are comming over to see your neighbors new house. If it is a home based bussiness and the people are not blocking your drive way or being rude then I would just let it go. Lots of people are trying to get back on their feet and running a bussiness from their home. Once you introduce yourself, invite them over. After talking to then you will get a feeling that lets you know if they are dealing drugs or not. Dont call HOA or cops until you atleast speak to your new neighbors. What will you tell them, that you watch your new neighbors so close that you notice how many visitors they have and it bothers you.

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P.O.

answers from Harrisburg on

Why don't you stop by the neighbors house and bring some goodies if you are so anxious to find out, start small talk - that's one legitimate way to ease your concerns by getting to know them.

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V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

Just curious... but when they moved in, did anyone in the neighborhood go over and introduce themselves? Usually, during an initial "welcome to the neighborhood" greeting, the occupations of the new neighbors comes up in conversation. Does anyone know what his line of work is?

We had a contractor move in directly across the street from us at our old neighborhood. There were constantly trucks, cars, trailers, etc coming and going all day long. It was a real nuisance, because they would park in the street in front of our yard, and sometimes the long trailers blocked egress from our driveway (like trash day when the trash cans were out in the edge of the street). Plus, it made me nervous to let our kids out in the yard to play, since I didn't know any of those subcontractor people nor their criminal backgrounds, and I don't know of the neighbor (contractor) did either! He was running a "home based business" that was legit, but our covenants and restrictions didn't allow any home based businesses that had foot traffic. In other words, you could have a fax line, computer, etc... but not clients coming and going or "employees" coming to your home. When the letter came from the city asking the residences immediate neighbors if we objected to a variance to allow it, we all said YES we object. And he had to stop.

If you cannot find out what he does for a living, then perhaps check into your local zoning laws and ordinances to see if he can do what he is doing (even if it is legal).

Or call the police and report unusual activity, and see what they say.

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A.G.

answers from Houston on

I had drug dealing neighbors once, i sent an anonymous letter to them and they actually moved a month later., the letter explained that i knew what was going on and that i wouldnt tolerate it in the neighborhood.

I was sure they were dealing because they would make it pretty obvious, exchanging baggies of green leafy substances for wads of cash. I couldnt have that around my children, even if it was "just" weed

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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

I had the exact same thing, and I talked to the people directly.

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K.B.

answers from Tulsa on

I checked your location to see if you were my old neighbors, but wrong state. My working neighbors with kids had people pulling up to the house from 4-9 daily and all day on weekends. sometimes they went to the door.

They sure LOOKED like they were dealing drugs. We had two policeman on the block who said they watched them and could not see any illegal activity. Still, after the policeman parked the vehicle on the street for one day, all activity ceased.(he was undercover and brought home a work vehicle for this purpose).

crime stoppers is anonymous, but I am paranoid enough to call from a payphone

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T.V.

answers from San Francisco on

Crystal,

Yes it does bother you and I believe you have answered your own question.

Take a few license plates down including those of your new neighbors. (their names if you know) Make an anonymous complaint on the non-emergency police line or go in person with the information and your concerns and talk to the officer on duty.

You and your family deserve peace of mind in your own neighborhood.
Keep us posted.

Blessings.....

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

If it were me, I'd call Crime Stoppers. Before I did, though, I'd make a note of how many cars come per day on average, what times of day they usually come, and anything else I might think would interest them. If the police think it's worth their while, they will probably ask you some questions, so be prepared. Or they might tell you that you don't need to worry. That would be nice to know, wouldn't it?

I don't think you'll be the first person to talk to them about what you're not even sure is criminal activity. So don't be embarrassed to give them a call.

(Have you met your neighbors? Do you have any social contact?)

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

If it is drugs, it IS affecting you and your neighborhood. By turning a blind eye, you are allowing it to continue. An anonymous tip isn't out of line, I don't think.

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A.P.

answers from Boston on

I have a similar neighbor, there is constant cars coming and going and staying only a few minutes at all hours of the day and night. Unfortunately even though all of us neighbors know whats going on, law enforcement is not able to much without proof and they've been watching this house for a while. Unless your neighbor is a big time dealer (which may be with all the fancy stuff) they don't put too much time into investigating it. But it probably can't hurt to report what you see although I'm not sure exactly how you go about doing that. I get worried too having that in my neighborhood with kids and everything. One of my other neighbors worries about gunfire breaking out since her sons bedroom faces this persons house (which may be a bit extreme). Its probably what you think it is, and not much you can do about it. Its not illegal to have a lot of company coming and going.

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S.R.

answers from McAllen on

Well, I ran a home based business for a long time, and I had a lot of "foot traffic" like you call it. Fortunately no one called the cops on us, but I guess that's because all our neighbors knew what we do, and saw my husband's work vehicle and things like that.
I think you should call, if it is nothing then cool, it isn't, but if it is...
It's not about being nosey, its about caring for your community.
Another example, my son in under the spectrum, he can cry for hours, my neighbors called CPS on us, I was super offended, because she was aware of the situation, but after my husband told me, well its good that she cared enough about him to make sure he was not being mistreated.
So having been on the other side of the coin. I definitely think you should call.
Hope its nothing though,
Good Luck!!!

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E.H.

answers from San Francisco on

I would call just casue i'm nosey..have you thought of getting some binacoulrs and trying to spy yourself?

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M.R.

answers from Columbus on

In out community, I think that the police would want to know that you are seeing something suspicous. Crime stoppers would probably let you keep your identity quiet, but might need you to know about a specific crime. I would just call, or email you local police, check your city website, you might find an email address that you can use for this, our city has one.

Good luck!
M.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Keep your kids away.

Ya never know.
Yes, call Crime Stoppers.
That is weird comings and goings.

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