Are you friends with your neighbors? Do you even know them?

[BellaRisa]

We were talking about this on my other forum...many of us born before 1980 0r so can remember our parents being friendly with the neighbors, having block parties and neighborhood BBQs...it doesn't seem to be that way anymore. I say hello to my neighbors and know a few first names, but we don't socialize or do anything as a neighborhood and no one even says goodbye if they move. My girls play with the other kids a little, but most of them are in afterschool care until pretty late and spend all summer inside playing video games, which is a shame...

Are you friends with your neighbors? Do you hang out with them, do your kids play together...?

 

[desdemona]

Well, it depends which ones. The ones across from us we've known for 20+ years. The ones on the left are new...like the last 5 years. Their dogs annoy ours. The kids are cute. To the right, the new neighbors have like 5 kids (plus she baby sits) and they drew all over the blacktop over the weekend. Sooooooooo cute 😛

 

[storm7400]

Know of them, but frankly don't really care. I'm tired of living where I do and frankly am finally working on getting out of this vicious circle that is my life. Here's to the future and good things!

 

[Marquis De Sade]

Mine's a hot blonde who gets into screaming/shrieking/crying matches with her seemingly abusive boyfriend who busted her Macbook a few weeks ago when she came home at four in the morning for no reason. I've called the cops a few times.

 

[maniactickler]

I get along good with my neighbors. i would like to get friendlier with my 22 year old hot neighbor whos super ticklish!

 

[Deleted member 66627]

Before I moved back in with my parents, we were really close with the neighbors next door. They had a daughter that was the same age as Daniel and her mother and I used to hang out every morning and the kids would play 'till nap time.

We'd switch back and forth and have dinner nights at each other houses. We lived in a duplex, so they were a wall away. 🙂 It was awesome because we would walk in and out of each other's houses all the time. If she needed a Diet Coke, she'd come and grab one. If I wanted coffee powder, then I'd go to her place. The same with various diapers and kid's toys.

For awhile, after the kids went to bed, She and I would hang out on her side, and the boys would hang out on the other side of the house.

 

[Capnmad]

Depends on the generation. Across the street, I have a, 87+ year-old WWII veteran neighbor -- one of the coolest guys you could meet, and he'll talk your ear off... Part of a ski-mounted division operating in the Italian Alps, a huge scar from a bullet that pierced his lung, confining him to an iron lung for a coupla' months, I think... That's where he met his wife who was a nurse... Worked for Sunoco and makes a comfortable living from the stock options he acquired over the years.

Downstairs, in the same building as me, I don't even know their names, despite the fact that I control the heat for the whole building. But not all hope is lost -- the ten-year old daughter introduced herself to me the other day, so the kids still have the social spark...

But I think we have lost some of that community thing geographically as communities on the internet, where you can find folks based on similar interest, come to trump geography.

 

[Korastus]

I'm on pretty decent terms with the other people living in my apartment building, though we're not especially good friends.

 

[BellaRisa]

Before I moved back in with my parents, we were really close with the neighbors next door. They had a daughter that was the same age as Daniel and her mother and I used to hang out every morning and the kids would play 'till nap time.

We'd switch back and forth and have dinner nights at each other houses. We lived in a duplex, so they were a wall away. 🙂 It was awesome because we would walk in and out of each other's houses all the time. If she needed a Diet Coke, she'd come and grab one. If I wanted coffee powder, then I'd go to her place. The same with various diapers and kid's toys.

For awhile, after the kids went to bed, She and I would hang out on her side, and the boys would hang out on the other side of the house.

Um...coffee powder?

 

[Ticklerguy4u]

I live in a house with two apartments. I moved in and two months later neighbors moved in. When they first moved in I introduced myself and tried to be friendly but after a few times of being the only one that says hello first..even to their girlfriends when they visit. I only say hello occasionally now.

I think because I am 38 and single and they are in their early twenties..they think of me as the creepy older guy next store..*lol

So now I just say hello when I feel like it...

now it gives them a reason to think I'm creepy.


But your right..when I was ten..all the neighbors were either friends or enemies..but everyone knew each other. Its been a year or so..and my next door neighbors and I aren't even on a first name basis.

 

[xSamanthax]

We live in a town with a population of 407, lol. Everyone knows everyone - super friendly - but not in a "let's hang out" kind of way. Most of our neighbors are much older than us - our grandparents' age. Then there are my inlaws, a few houses down. I wouldn't complain if they were less friendly, lol.

 

[Gothika]

we are just getting to know our neibors they seem like very cool people sae was asked if she would come over like tomorrow and play gutar hero tis cool we making friends so quickly

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

I grew up in and out of the neighbor's houses almost as much as in my own. We all hung out at one anothers houses, called one another's folks mom & dad, knew most of the extended families and friends, knew much of the family gossip, etc. When we moved to my grandparents old house before 8th grade, the same was true with our fiends in the new neighborhood. We were also immediately friendly with my grandparents old friends.

When I first moved out on my own, I was shocked that none of my neighbors knew one another. I made a point of getting to knew them. Since then, when looking for a place, I've always tried to find one where the neighbors seem to know one another at least a bit.

In our current home, we're friendly with the neighbors on either side of us, behind us and across the street. We know the majority of the neighbors by site and will all at least acknowledge one another in passing. We all watch out for one another, share any info. necessary to the security of the neighborhood, help one another out when someone is in need, etc.

Personally, I think it's better for all involved to know and be friendly with our neighbors. It makes for more pleasant times and greater safety in the neighborhood.

 

[Rupert]

i grew up in the suburbs of detroit. The city was the sterotypical white picket fence city until 10 years ago or so. (white fences, white people, crazy little racist, insert ist here thing, etc)

when i was a kid all of our neighbors would get together and have block parties. (you close down the two intersections for your block and just hang out in the street all day having parties with games and lots of food)

When my dad was a kid (same city) they had elms on every street (damn dutch elm disease) so it was perfect shady roads with tree canopies over the entire road. Back than the whole neighborhood would sit out on their porches and wave to eachother as the kids would play till the street lights came on

When my grandma was a kid (same city, creepy right) it was pretty much the same just less pollution and more folks heading downtown to work instead of running away in fear of "the gangs" (thats what said grandma calls a group of 2 or more colored...yes any color but white, kids walking down the street. even if they are just walking home from school, got to love racism *face palm*)


These days they have murder suicides as Artoo pointed out in the city next door. Not to mention actual gangs (last time i heard Latin kings were doing the biggest push although the pretend-a-hard white kids have tried to fight guns with paintballs *face palm*)

So for three generations we knew our neighbors, but my best friend who decided to stick around and buy house has no clue who they are besides that they leave for work before he does and cut their lawn at strange hours.
Weird how the world changes......
Gotta love Metro Detroit 😀 *face palm*

O i wanted to clarify that my families opinion of folks is not even close to mine so do not attack me with "how can you be such a rasict...bla bla bla", ive fought, sweat, and bled with men of every color and am honored to have friends who judge on actions not color and gladly do the same.

 

[Snail Shell]

My roomies and I chat whenever we see each other, but we don't get into any deep chats or anything. Considering some of the noises that come out of my room during play, I'm kinda grateful that they don't ask questions.

Snail Shell

 

[cloudgazer2k]

i'm surrounded by old people or rich white kids. i'm on pretty solid terms with the ex-USAF colonel on one side of the house and the elderly Puerto Rican family on the other. but, most of the people around my adopted neighborhood keep to themselves. frankly, that's fine with me.

 

[RavenMoon]

I come from a very small community. I had lived there since I was ten and up until a year and a half ago. Every one knew everyone else. City folk would move up and they would try to keep to themselves, but everyone would still find out all sorts of things about them. You know how it goes... small town gossip. I loved that. I miss that.

Currently, my Love and I live in an apartment complex in the city, which is hard enough as it is for me because this country girl is used to her wide spaces. We know and talk to the lady who is bellow us. We used to be on friendly terms with the older lady who lived across the walk from us as well,but she recently moved. In the year and half that I have lived here with him, the other four apartments around us have changed tenants many times.

It was a nice quiet corner in the complex. Now two of those apartments have kids whose parents don't know how to tell them to stop screaming at the top of their lungs outside. I know kids can get noisy, but these ones scream at each other, run up and down the stairs bang on the wall (our living room wall!) and banging on doors all while their noisy parents sit there drinking and smoking herbacious cigs...

So you may see why I am not likely to strike up a conversation with my newer neighbors...

 

[Skipadeedoodah]

When I was a kid we were really close with everyone on our street, and around the block. The kids all played together, the parents weren't super close, but they got along.

Now, I just moved into my new place last month, and I've exchanged friendly hellos with a neighbor or two, and met my *cute* neighbor Zach But we haven't gotten close or anything...yet 😉

 

[tklee88]

I know a few of them, but hardly ever talk to them because I'm not home much...

 

[sasaxrah]

I live in an apartment building, and am friendly enough with the other 3 units on my floor. However, given how loudly I tend to play, I feel funny doing much more than small talk.

 

[Scouse]

I've lived in the same place since I was a kid, so I'm on nodding terms with most people, not really close to anyone. It'll be interesting to see what happens when I eventually move away.

 

[Tiger.Lily]

The most I know about my apartment neighbor is that he loves to play "Eye of the Tiger" when I'm trying to sleep, and his girlfriend and/or buddies come around at all hours of the day/night banging on his door. Bastard.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I think it depends on whether you buy a house or rent it. I rent mine and I haven't been living here for a long time and if something better comes along I move there. The only neighbour I've come to know was 4 years ago when I lived next to an afro barber shop in the multicultural section of town; those guys had the tendancy to be standing in front of their shop smoking weed and the supermarket was just 100 yards in their direction so every time I went to get a case of beer we usually drank one or two and had some friendly chitchat.

 

[slap'n'ticklee]

I chat more to my parents neighbours. They have three houses/families up their street and they all get along. They even take it in turns who will feed the cats/dogs when away on holiday rather than have to pay the appalling boarding fees.

With my neighbours, I say hello to the older woman who lives in the house on my left and another family just up the street, other than that I keep to myself. If someone goes out of their way to say hi or such like then of course I'll be friendly back.

I know its stupid but I feel a bit embarrassed and shy when I have to cut my grass, how friggin ridiculous tut tut *groan*.

 

[xionking]

I've lived next to the same Chinese neighbours my whole life, and they still barely speak a word of English. And these neighbours have an intervention order against a blokeliving next door on our other side because of a racially motivated incident that took place a number of years ago.

-Xionking