Get a gardener or do it myself?

Tweet

I was just standing on my veranda (we all have them, it's where we hang our clothes to dry) trying to cut some tree branches while they are still young. For one thing, I need to cut them because they have started banging against the railing when it's windy and making noise that wakes me up. For another, there are mice in the area and sometimes they climb the trees and get into my attic. For the third, and probably most important, my neighbor does not like my trees dripping into his gutters. Our houses are about six feet apart so when my trees grow too enthusiastically he grumbles about it (politely of course) and points out that no other houses on the street have trees that reach above the first floor! (Poor them, I say.) I probably should pay someone who has the knowhow to cut branches so they won't grow too high. I think it's a bit out of my reach. But I hate to admit defeat... and pay money to someone for something I used to do myself when the trees were smaller. Would you hire someone to trim your trees or do it yourself?