Living in the countryside usually means peace and quiet, but for one man, his serene evenings by the pond have turned into a neighborhood controversy.

With his neighbors’ kids nearby, they’ve asked him to change his routine—now he’s questioning if he’s in the wrong.

Read on to get all of the details on this one.

AITA? Neighbor says I’m making them uncomfortable being around their kids

I (40m) live in a somewhat rural place. Decent land between houses, and a lot of forest.

In between me and my neighbors land there’s a decent sized pond. Technically it’s all on my land but one side of it is surrounded by neighbor land.

There’s a dock on it, I upgraded it about 15 years ago so it’s somewhat nice. It’s right next to the property boundary if that’s important.

I go down there somewhat often, I usually am down there for a few hours in the evening with my dog, my work computer, and sometimes a drink.

Sounds lovely.

My neighbors are in their late 20s/early 30s, moved in a few years ago. They have a pair of young kids, both under ten (I’d guess maybe 5/6 and 8/9).

Their backyard is not far from where I am in the evening, and neither yard is fenced in. Every few days the kids come outside when I am down by the pond.

I ignore them, but about a week ago my neighbors approached me and asked if I would go inside or somewhere else when their kids were outside.

Party poopers.

They said I made them feel uncomfortable letting their kids go in the backyard, and that their kids are also scared of my dog.

I do not pay any attention to their kids, I usually am facing away from them, and never directly facing them.

I do get why they would not want their kids outside alone with me nearby, as much as it stinks (because this seems to have been misunderstood, I am not on any registry nor do I have any criminal history, however I get that they may feel uneasy about their kids being around a man that they do not know very well).

My dog is always tied up when he’s on the dock with me. He never barks when we’re down there usually he naps.

He is a fairly large dog (75-80 pounds), but there is almost no chance he could or would hurt them.

This doesn’t seem like a risk.

They also expressed concern about me drinking. I do not get anywhere near the point of being intoxicated, it’s at most 1 drink when I do have it (and I have it maybe a couple times a month).

I told them that I appreciate them reaching out to me but I’m not going to stop. This week I kept doing it, and I got a somewhat angry letter.

I’m honestly starting to doubt if I should just head inside when they come out.

AITA for not listening to them and WIBTA if I kept doing what I’m doing?

Balancing personal space with neighbors’ concerns can be tricky, especially when kids and pets are involved.

Should he stick to his evening routine, or is it time to make some changes for the sake of neighborhood harmony?

This person gives some sound advice (oh also, definitely NTA).

This person is bringing on the sarcasm (and still NTA).

This person also votes NTA, and has some solid suggestions on what to do next.

Who knew relaxing by the pond could cause such a ripple?

These neighbors are way out of line.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.