Shared Space: How Much Decorating Is Too Much – The Rob’s Radio Show Weighs In

A new neighbor has taken it upon to herself to decorate the communal space outside of their respective apartments and Kat doesn't know what to do!

Kat has never shared communal space before so this is all new to her. She asked for the advice of The Rob & the rest of the Tristate.

The Rob

I was somewhat surprised to find out that most people's initial response was to be very aggressive, destructive, and mean to Kat's neighbor and her attempt to brighten up the patio. Admittedly, it's not HER porch to do what she wants with, and her taste in patio decorations might be a smidge tacky and cheap, but she's not being mean or rude... She's actually probably TRYING to be nice! Personally, I would defer to the landlord on this situation. Ask the landlord if the neighbor has the right to do that. If she is, then cool, just politely relocate the plant the mailbox. If not, let the landlord tell her to remove the stuff.

Kat

Although I have lived in my apartment for over a year now, this has been my first experience living in an apartment, so the use of communal space is something new to me. I really use to enjoy sitting on the step on a nice night but now, I can hardly stand to walk up to my door. The items on and around the porch have been creeping in piece by piece and there seems to be no end in site for when things will stop showing up. The latest being the plant directly underneath my mailbox - the neighbor's is on another wall. In all honesty it feels cluttered, disorganized and a bit trashy. While I agree with Rob that I don't think she is trying to be mean, I do find it rude to commandeer all of the space as though it were not shared with anyone else.

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