Problems with neighbors

I've always disliked nosy people who snoop and gossip and spread malicious stories about me & this is the problem I'm having at the moment. The neighbors don't seem to think it's a big deal & can't understand why I'm not like them or act the way they do. They gossip about me constantly and make a point of knowing what i'm doing in my own house & make nasty remarks. One neighbor even followed me up the street demanding to know where i was going and what i was doing. Because I'm different they accuse me of being a troublemaker and have ganged up to give me the silent treatment because I got upset by this. So if they think their behavior is normal why should i have to feel the same way? Aren't i entitled to my own opinion that nasty gossip and encouraging others to ostracize someone just because they don't agree with that opinion amounts to bullying?

I used to have this same problem. As I got older I learned not to care what people thought. If a neighbor followed me up the street demanding to know where I was going and what I was doing? I would tell them its none of ur business and get lost! Alot of it has to do with attitude. If you let people run over you, they will! Tell the people talking to mind their own business (i am sure their isnt a one of them without a skelton in thier closet)