The neighbors can see you shirtless inside your home

Edit: Didn't see they've been there a few years.

They live in a cul de sac that butts my back property. The people on that side put up an eight foot tall fence to hide our neighborhood, but, once the fence reaches those folks' property, on both sides, it drops to six feet. I am not so much intimidated as unwilling to engage them.

I honestly don't want to engage the people on that side. Already, some of them have hinted that I should take over management of the fence, that hides my neighborhood. I can see why they would try to do that. The fence is at least twenty years old and leaning precariously. But it was built by them and it's not on my property. I have a wire fence around my home, for the dog.

I can see why you don't know them. One usually does not know the neighbors whose property runs along the backyard, unless you happen to strike up a conversation when you are both out there by coincidence.

It's up to you to engage or not engage, but they seem like weirdos. If spending a few minutes to put up a barrier so you don't have to deal with nutballs works for you, so be it. It's a little like crossing the street so you don't have to encounter someone you don't like.

They live in a whole nother world. I just want them to be gone from view. I will say, those people have been less of a problem than the previous residents. They had two boys that played on both sides of the fences and were almost daily damaging my wire fence. I told the man over there what they were doing and requested they stay away from the fences and off my property. Next day I come home from work and the two boys, plus the man, are in my back yard, retrieving a ball. I bought a keep out sign and posted it on a tree, aimed at them. The man was major unfriendly after that, but they soon moved.

You have the added benefit of the barrier you put up so people can't see in will be interpreted by them as a sign saying, "Don't look into my window, jerk".

In my own mind I have called them much worse than 'jerk,' but they see a whole different story than I do. Oh, well.

Bamboo. That grows fast.

Maybe. Still a-ponder. It rains every day here. That would benefit bamboo.

Yeah, and the roots can go under their foundation and mess it all up!

That's too far from their house.

Oh, now I understand a lot better. Ugh.

I like, as hedging or trees, Leylandi Cypress - fast growing and pretty handsome to me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyland_cypress

This isn't a clear recommendation as maintaining it as a hedge takes a bit of effort over time, though I didn't find it too hard - lop some of it off every so often. But, we are all getting older, and with crabby neighbors, hmm. Also, while I know it grows well in lots of places, I'm not so sure about areas in Texas, nor how much space you have to grow it in.
Best to check your local best garden center, whether or not you end up buying there. They tend to be more knowledgeable than big box store people (though maybe not always), and the plants tend to be grown better, depending on their sources. They may have better ideas than the Leylandi cypress for your situation.

I plan to check out a few nurseries and ask questions. Hopefully we will get a rain free day next week.

Funny, a couple years ago we were dying for rain.

Thanks El Nino

Problem is, we get too much of each extreme. Never a nice in between

Oh God! I don't know if other countries have laws about these things, but here in Britain there has been a lot of trouble over Leylandii, neighbours suing each other, all kinds of trouble. They grow quickly and before long overshadow property and cut off daylight. It got so bad that the government included a clause in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act (2003). This allows councils (local government, town, county authority etc) to take action where the hedge has grown to a height where “the hedge is adversely affecting the complainant’s reasonable enjoyment of their property”. The punishment for failing to comply with an order to cut or trim can include a fine of up to 1,000 pounds (1,422 dollars). The one in the picture below nearly resulted in a jail sentence for the owner, who had previously erected without permission (and been forced to demolish) a 12 foot cinder block wall. The neighbours called it the "Berlin Wall". The Guardian says he "it is safe to assume he likes his privacy".

Good! I won't butt in anymore re plants that might work, unless I can't help myself, but I'm very interested in how it goes. I can still learn from planting suggestions, most especially in areas I don't know. I've specified a zillion plants but not any at all in Texas.

I'm sorry you have those particular neighbors living there.

One more thing - I started to mention my garden plant bible in response here and then my easily tired computer futzed out. I'll try mentioning it again as it was always very useful, and I think recent editions have it online (doubting in book form). Sunset Western Garden book. Thing is, I think the books in book form stops in New Mexico, but they have the US states online with what works in their differently numbered zones than the ones in the
What is good about it is that they cover plants that work in your zone, both for cold, as does USDA, but also re how they take heat.

I looked up Houston and you are in their zone 29 - if you are ever bored and want to try and read the online stuff.

I've used Dave's Garden too, but not all that much, just messing around.

Sure, but they make super hedges in the right place. Good shears once in a while are important. I did that myself for years. Also that one in the photo was ill maintained while being the wrong plant for the placement from the beginning.

I worked as a landscape architect for many years - decades - and know re bad choices by cities, by homeowners, by inexperienced designers, by squads of people who were well meaning but turned out to be wrong about certain plants. Even do gooders, trying to tree up a neighborhood planting free trees in too small spaces.

I'm sure I'm not perfect on all that, but I researched like hell. My firms were never sued, whether I was a beginning starter on staff who consulted with others at first, or an owner of the firm.

Absolutely. That building is what we call in Britain two semi-detached houses. I believe in North America they are sometimes called "duplexes" or "twins". I know a duplex is more commnly a type of apartment. The poor occupant of the one on the left in the picture practically has branches touching his windows.