Arguments, dogs etc.

More than one in two people are annoyed by neighbors

57 percent of Austrians surveyed feel disturbed by their neighborhood (symbolic image).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/JackF)

57 percent feel disturbed by their neighbors. This is the result of the "Wohnen und Leben" study by immowelt.at. Respondents are most annoyed by noise caused by arguments (19 percent), pets such as barking dogs and cigarette smoke (16 percent each).

This is followed by loud garden tools (14 percent), noisy children or children playing in the garden or courtyard (14 percent), objects left in the stairwell (nine percent) and party noise (nine percent). Decorations and sex noises (four and two percent respectively) bother comparatively fewer people.

14 percent feel disturbed by loud garden tools in their neighborhood (symbolic image).

(Bild: ©maxoidos - stock.adobe.com)

Differences by gender and age
A total of 502 people aged 18 and over were surveyed. Women are slightly more tolerant than men. Around one in two of them (52 percent) feel disturbed by their neighbors, compared to more than six in ten men (62 percent).

There are also different views in the various age groups. Among the over-60s, for example, less than one in two people (47%) are annoyed by their neighbors, with pets playing the biggest role here. In contrast, almost two thirds (63%) of the generation aged 30 to 59 are annoyed by troublemakers.

More harmony in the countryside
Another factor is the size of the town. Compared to the rural population, more people in large cities find their neighborhood annoying. "Less densely built-up blocks of flats and greater distances between houses, together with the proximity to nature, make for a peaceful atmosphere," says the immowelt.at press release. The portal is an online marketplace for rental and purchase properties in Austria.