Getting on with the neighbours?

TastyReuben said:
Let's see...my neighborhood, starting at the first house, is:

White
White
White

...and it goes on like that 19 more times.
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Same because we've bought a house just before the biggest housing crisis ever started in our country, and white people are the richest demographic. Ourselves included. Where I live now is also know as a very conservative district, which I underestimated a little before I went to live here because we're close to two of the biggest cities of the Netherlands with a lot of multicultural influence. But you can't even find an Indo Chinese restaurant here, which is the oldest culinary foreign restaurant type in the country! And used to be just about everywhere.
If I want anything not Dutch or European, I have to go to one of those two cities. Ironically, I used to live in one of them before and I really miss the multicultural aspect. If I had known what I know now, I might've reconsidered moving here. But it's the way it is now.

As for interactions with our neighbours, we don't have that many. Most are hard working entrepeneurs so not at home much, and those who are home are usually the wives because we're in a pretty conservative Christian place. But we're not Christian, and that makes them a bit weary of us. We were prepared for this, we have friends in other places in the country. But during lockdown we have felt our isolation from the neighborhood more clearly. We greet each other, and nobody bothers each other much. But that's it. We would need to join the church to connect to the rest of the neighbourhood, which we will not do.
 
My neighbours to the south...........

80110

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About 120 metres away.
 
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Yorky said:
Next door neighbours to the north (moved out about 10 years ago)......

....and took with them the electric fittings, doors and frames, windows and frames and roof.
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A bit extreme, when my mother moved into a new house she found that the previous owner had taken ALL the light bulbs with him, and I thought that was bad.
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
A bit extreme, when my mother moved into a new house she found that the previous owner had taken ALL the light bulbs with him, and I thought that was bad.
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The previous owner of my house on the Wirral also did that.

Bitch.

I think it was because I wouldn't pay the £100.00 extra for the fitted carpet in the lounge. It was vomit green!

She took that also.

Saved me taking it to the tip.
 
We had new neighbors move right next door to us about 2 years ago. Lovely people. They brought home baked cookies and cupcakes to all the people on my block while introducing themselves. They bring over food to us all the time whenever one of their celebrated holidays come around. They are Muslim so I had difficulties thinking of food and sweets. One of his daughters dashes outside with a blanket on all the time. This past holiday, I gifted them with throws. That was a hit.

Neighbor #2 is an older couple who keep to themselves. They have lived here all their lives. If I were to see them in the street, store, Rail Road, etc. I would not know who they were.

Neighbor #3 is a lovely family with 3 kids, only 1 who is living at home. Aside from throwing LOUD parties almost every weekend during the summer months, they are the best. Helpful, nice, friendly. Just yesterday, he plowed the entire block (sidewalks) with his super, duper snow thrower. He tends to borrow our BBQ propane tank frequently but always returns one full. Before we got a generator, he ran a line into our kitchen so we would not lose our food.

Neighbor #4 moved in 1.5 years ago. I do not like them. They do not say hello and are not friendly. In the beginning, it was a couple who had 2 kids and the wife's parents. They walk their two dogs on everyone's lawn and think no one sees. Kids crashed their car into the tree in front of our house last summer at 6AM. My husband ran out and asked if they were OK. They would not look at him and walked away. No apologies, response, NOTHING. Cops came, the car was towed away. Last summer as well, they crashed another car through their unattached garage. The girl has a car that has a loud, revving engine. Aren't those illegal? My other neighbors were out partying and there was a lot of screaming and kids crying. My other neighbors tell me they have a zillion people living there. Basement and their unattached garage was turned into living space. They also burn their garbage out in the backyard. WTH? Code enforcement was called on them several times.

Neighbor #5 is a widowed, empty nester. Very nice. She invited us over one holiday many years ago. Dumb DH was the one who was asked. He came home and said he didn't want to go. So I thought he said "No." Well, I see her on NY's Eve day and she said "See you tonight?" I had to tell her we would not be coming. I want to beat him again just thinking about this. This AM, she was out shoveling he walk. DH went out and helped her out. She gave him some home made Spanikopita

Neighbor #6 was a lovely retired couple. He developed Alzheimer's. Oh, my goodness, the things DH, I and my DD's did for his wife and he. It was trying at times, but we are empathetic and caring people. Her kids were married and living in other states. He passed and then she was diagnosed with breast cancer after being in remission for many years. We again offered much needed help and assistance. Her son wound up taking leave from work and she passed away. He now lives there and due to COVID, is able to telecommute. He still has his home 4 hours away. Don't know if he sold it, but he is a very nice person as well. We sent over an Apple Pie for TGiving and he sent us Italian cookies for Christmas. If I get Krispy Kreme donuts, he'll get couple too.

All in all, it's good. One last thing, I too detest when people show up unannounced. DH will always let them again much to my chagrin. It hasn't happened later but now I am reminded to drill it into his head, to not do that.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Don't get me wrong. If my neighbors weren't such a-holes it might be different. We've always given our extra produce to our neighbors, but only the Mexican people across the street were truly thankful for it (and our friends who moved away of course). I like your mindset for sure. I do nice things for people all the time, just not the buttheads who live in my neighborhood.

Ok so one woman who lives in my neighborhood pops pills and her then 3 year old kid used to wander around in our backyard unsupervised because the mom was passed out. This same neighbor cussed out my two youngest girls once when they were 8 and 10 years old. They came home bawling. They used to play with her 8 year old daughter and I don't remember why she unleashed foul language on them, it was almost 20 years ago, but that was it for me. I confronted her and she proudly and unapologetically admitted it, then insulted them and me further.

And then there's the creepy guy who lives down the hill who had the gall to tell my husband a few years back that he used to watch our girls jumping on the trampoline with his binoculars when they were teenagers and commented that the girls were stunningly beautiful. I thought my husband was going to kill him. And the guy is married with a boy and a girl. We don't talk to them anymore.

And there's more...
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That is DISGUSTING and soooooo CREEPY. We have a pool in our yard and I am always yelling at my ladies to cover up. I keep telling them the hormonal guys across the way are probably at the window with binoculars. One of them works at our local pizza place. Every time one of my daughters is in there, he will be sure to come out from the back to flirt. He must see them on camera. We do have a privacy fence but all the homes around us are two stories!
 
KitKat said:
That is DISGUSTING and soooooo CREEPY. We have a pool in our yard and I am always yelling at my ladies to cover up. I keep telling them the hormonal guys across the way are probably at the window with binoculars. One of them works at our local pizza place. Every time one of my daughters is in there, he will be sure to come out from the back to flirt. He must see them on camera. We do have a privacy fence but all the homes around us are two stories!
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Yeah, and he is in his early 50s now, at the time in his 40s. And right before the neighbors who moved away left the neighborhood, their 17-year-old daughter was dressed for prom and the creep and his wife were over there. He looked at the girl and said, "Wow, where did you get those bodacious tatas? You surely didn't get them from your mother!" She texted me later and asked me what I thought about it, and I told her he was a creepy pervert and how he used to watch our girls jumping on the trampoline when they were teenagers. She said she had told her husband that it bothered her, and her husband said, "Oh, Jeff is harmless, he was just kidding around."

So maybe the hormonal guys are in their 20s? Still pretty creepy, but not as bad as a guy who is well over middle-aged.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Yeah, and he is in his early 50s now, at the time in his 40s. And right before the neighbors who moved away left the neighborhood, their 17-year-old daughter was dressed for prom and the creep and his wife were over there. He looked at the girl and said, "Wow, where did you get those bodacious tatas? You surely didn't get them from your mother!" She texted me later and asked me what I thought about it, and I told her he was a creepy pervert and how he used to watch our girls jumping on the trampoline when they were teenagers. She said she had told her husband that it bothered her, and her husband said, "Oh, Jeff is harmless, he was just kidding around."

So maybe the hormonal guys are in their 20s? Still pretty creepy, but not as bad as a guy who is well over middle-aged.
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They are in their 20's. My hair is standing on end. Disgusting perv! Eeewwwwwww
 
So I've picked up on something from a few of you that confirm my own suspicions: Showing up unannounced is a modern social faux pas.
I have always wanted to be closer to my neighbors but, even before the current atmosphere of social distancing, I think I instinctively stopped myself from being "that neighbor" that shows up unannounced and knocking on doors.

So I smile and wave, and sometimes try to make small talk with neighbors walking their dogs if I'm washing my car or doing yard work. I never thought of myself as an "extrovert" but I guess I am. If the neighbors talk about me behind my back and say "He's a nice guy but he talks too much" hah, I can live with that! :laugh:
 
FowlersFreeTime said:
So I've picked up on something from a few of you that confirm my own suspicions: Showing up unannounced is a modern social faux pas.
I have always wanted to be closer to my neighbors but, even before the current atmosphere of social distancing, I think I instinctively stopped myself from being "that neighbor" that shows up unannounced and knocking on doors.

So I smile and wave, and sometimes try to make small talk with neighbors walking their dogs if I'm washing my car or doing yard work. I never thought of myself as an "extrovert" but I guess I am. If the neighbors talk about me behind my back and say "He's a nice guy but he talks too much" hah, I can live with that! :laugh:
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The best part of knowing your neighbors is we know each other's dogs. No matter how hard you try, you eventually leave something open that allows your dog to get out. Everyone on my street knows psycho-poodle, and they bring him back or call me if I accidentally leave the driveway gate open and he gets out. Same thing if I find one of their dogs running loose in the neighborhood.

The people in my neighborhood are great about dogs that get loose.

CD
 
Here's something else that I consider generational: before the end of WWII, folks in America (I can't speak for other countries) did not just stay inside there homes, they would hang out if you will, out front. Sit on the stoop, fire escapes, etc. People would stop and greet one another and chat about this or that.
Then "the boys came home" and suburban life began.
People bought single family homes away from the cities and had big back yards, which is where they started to hang out, barbequing, kids running through the sprinkles that were watering the lawn, clotheslines up to dry the laundry.

This home that DH and I are in now was a new build and we made sure that there was not only a beautiful back yard, but an inviting front porch as well.
IMG_1263.JPG

Our two neighbors to the East of us built years after we did and wound up doing the same.
We take turns at each others front porches during cocktail hour, we wave to folks passing by, walking their dogs and offering a glass. Some have excepted the offers and we've been able to meet alot of the rest of the neighbors this way.
 
kaneohegirlinaz said:
Here's something else that I consider generational: before the end of WWII, folks in America (I can't speak for other countries) did not just stay inside there homes, they would hang out if you will, out front. Sit on the stoop, fire escapes, etc. People would stop and greet one another and chat about this or that.
Then "the boys came home" and suburban life began.
People bought single family homes away from the cities and had big back yards, which is where they started to hang out, barbequing, kids running through the sprinkles that were watering the lawn, clotheslines up to dry the laundry.

This home that DH and I are in now was a new build and we made sure that there was not only a beautiful back yard, but an inviting front porch as well.
View attachment 80195
Our two neighbors to the East of us built years after we did and wound up doing the same.
We take turns at each others front porches during cocktail hour, we wave to folks passing by, walking their dogs and offering a glass. Some have excepted the offers and we've been able to meet alot of the rest of the neighbors this way.
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I blame it on air conditioning.

My ex-wife and I had a little seating area in the garden in front of our house. We would sit out there with the dogs in the evening with drinks/beer, and neighbors would sometimes come over and sit with us. Yes, uninvited. I always had plenty of beer around the house to offer. We made some good friends -- some that I am still in touch with.

CD
 
kaneohegirlinaz said:
Here's something else that I consider generational: before the end of WWII, folks in America (I can't speak for other countries) did not just stay inside there homes, they would hang out if you will, out front. Sit on the stoop, fire escapes, etc. People would stop and greet one another and chat about this or that.
Then "the boys came home" and suburban life began.
People bought single family homes away from the cities and had big back yards, which is where they started to hang out, barbequing, kids running through the sprinkles that were watering the lawn, clotheslines up to dry the laundry.

This home that DH and I are in now was a new build and we made sure that there was not only a beautiful back yard, but an inviting front porch as well.
View attachment 80195
Our two neighbors to the East of us built years after we did and wound up doing the same.
We take turns at each others front porches during cocktail hour, we wave to folks passing by, walking their dogs and offering a glass. Some have excepted the offers and we've been able to meet alot of the rest of the neighbors this way.
Click to expand...
It depends on where people live I suppose. There are no sidewalks in front of my house and it's hilly, uneven terrain...it slopes down to the street so the only flat place to walk is on the road, which would be dangerous. No one walks by themselves or with dogs. It's a very busy street and if we were to sit out front and talk the cars and trucks passing by would be annoyingly loud and we'd have to yell at times. I live a few blocks from the Firestone golfcourse and country club, so when they have golf tournaments the lines of cars are endless (they have deputy sheriffs out directing traffic for that). And we live 3/4 mile from a popular boating lake with bars and restaurants, so in the summer loud motorcycles and people playing loud music in their cars...well you get the idea. Out back is definitely quieter.

Edited to add that there are many century homes on my street, none of which have seating/patio areas out front. The house next door was built in 1809 and was actually a general store before they converted it to a residence. Additionally, it was part of the Underground Railroad and there is a tunnel going from the basement underneath the street over to the metro park. That tunnel was blocked off years ago but a fascinating piece of history.
 
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I bought my house 9 years ago, and in my budget most of the houses we viewed were built back in the 90's. None of those houses had a front porch or seating area. This suggests to me that the trend of sitting in front of one's house and being sociable with the neighbors was already out of fashion by the 90's in my part of the state.
 
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