Yeah sian, there's a lot to be said for nice neighbours. My last place in Belfast was good because a lot of us knew each other on our street and kept an eye out (noseyness being a large factor!) but unfortunately I've only been in England (and thus this flat) for a month, and it's a big detached house with a flat above us and you can't see into the garden from the road. The burglar put all the stuff in a rucsac and hold all, so s/he probably looked like all the other students in the area when walking blatantly out of the gate. Grrrrr.
Of course, nosey neighbours aren't so great when your house gets busted... (but that had NOTHING to do with the tenants in our house and was a case of mistaken identity and general incompetence, and we eventually got an apology for it!). Still, kept the neighbours wondering for a while though, heh heh heh! (Except for the sad fact that my boyfriend's boss lived across the street...)