The words "off grid" generally conjure up images of peaceful, rural lifestyles, undisturbed by the sights and sounds of larger cities. But for one unlucky off-grid Coloradan, that was far from the case, thanks to their neighbor.
"We have the misfortune of living across from a piece of s*** that lives in a camper with no power, water or septic. He has been running a generator for 7 months straight, literally," they wrote on Reddit. "They never turn it off, they just pour more gas in while it's running."
"I can hear this thing on every part of my property and inside of my house, windows closed, through the walls," they continued. "I can't sleep. I feel like I am literally losing my mind. Planning and zoning does nothing, cops do nothing, and I feel like we are in literal hell."
While some Redditors wondered whether all off-grid living includes elements of this situation, OP argued that wasn't the case, while also saying their criticism isn't classist because they consider themselves poor and it isn't about money.Â
"This is how I wanted to live, I chose to live here with full understanding of what life here was like," they said. "This dude was a wild card. We are all off grid here, I was fully prepared and expecting some generator noise, we run ours AS NEEDED like any normal human would do. I should have in no way expected to hear this s*** every minute of every day."
One Redditor empathized, having been in a similar situation.
"I thought I'd pull my eyeballs out," they wrote.
Given the inaction of local authorities, others suggested escalating the complaints.
"If there are laws in place that the neighbor is violating, and your local government won't enforce it, take it up the chain of command until you can't go any further," one person said.
Another took a similar approach, advising, "Keep increasing your calls till they resolve the issue. Get them as irritated as you are by calling them and asking for them to do the job they were hired to do."
Unfortunately for OP, the downsides of the 24/7 generator go beyond the annoying into the threatening.
Noise pollution often leads to hearing loss, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, heart disease, and even memory loss, per National Geographic. It's why people in similar situations — from those dealing with neighboring leaf blowers to crypto warehouses — have filed lawsuits and even moved altogether.
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