Do you know your neighbors????
By bellaofchaos
@bellaofchaos (11538)
United States
January 30, 2009 9:00am CST
In todays age I have noticed when you move into the neighborhood there is no welcoming committee to say hey and welcome to the neighborhood. I remember when I moved with my gram out of the apartment into a house in a country area. We were welcomed and introduced to neighbors and we all watched out for eachother, well as best you could with acres in between ya. But it was a nice welcoming sort of thing. The next move we made was to where my gram lives now (there were other moves with my mom but I refuse to talk about those LOL). When we moved there everyone kept to themselves unless you played with their kids. So becuase I was a highly social butterfly my gram got to know our neighbors. But let me tell you she knows them to say hi and how are you if need be but otherwise the neighborhood is very quiet and they keep to themselves. Also most of the kids have grown up I think that on my grams street there is only 2 kids left and that is only becuase their grandmother and grandfather is raising them.
But I will say when I moved into the house I live in right now I have a couple to the right and a family to the left and they welcomed us and told us if we ever need anything feel free to comeover. I have to say that I was shocked compared to the other places I have lived where I am now is the most friendly I have to say. Yes we all have kids and they play through the three joining yards but the neighbors are truly nice and truly care. Just the other day we needed to get the van jumped because the battery went dead god only knows why but I went over to ask(names not really the neibors name protection of identity will be used)Mark and Sue if they would be able to give me a jump to get the van running and they were like sure no problem. Now you have to understand Mark has been off for a little bit because he hurt his leg and was in an immobilizer and hobbling around and still he said sure .. I love my neighbors. So Sue starts their vehicle and mark does the rest and jumps us and we chit chat while this is going on.
Before Mark goes back into his house me and ryan tell him that I'll be delivering a Blueberry Cake. ( I love this simple and delicious cake) This so far seems to be Marks favorite of my baked goods that I make periodically and send over to the neighbors. We have this food exchange thing going everyonce in a while. Mark likes speghetti salad and I make a heck of a lot and send some over and vice versa. So I make the cake yesterday and take it over and he hollers come in and I do and he goes " I'll get up just for the cake. " LOL !! I swear I'm going to make him gain weight. But then we chat and I head home.
Now I'm going to ask you in this day in age how many of use can say we know our neighbors, Like them and are friends with them?
I find myself truly lucky to have been blessed with wonderful neighbors and they are one of the main reasons I stay in this house when I need a Bigger one. LOL!!
So do you know your neighbors? If so how well do you know them? Do you bake for them occasionally just out of the kindness of your heart? ( i know I do)
3 people like this
15 responses
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
30 Jan 09
Are you saying you like your neighbours better than your online friends?*sob*LOL
Yep. I know all 75 of my neighbours pretty well. I've put them to work, put them to play, nursed and buried them, baked and cooked for them and generally basked in their individuality and quirkiness. They have been in my home, blessed it, looked in closets and behind the shower curtain, and pronounced it the prettiest house in town. I wouldn't trade my neighbours for all the hip and happening people anywhere else.
2 people like this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
LOL you know sparks my dear I wished you lived closer. That way I could keep more of an eye on you!! Plus you know I love insanity...
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
3 Feb 09
Really, you want me to commit you? Man then you must be sane.. LOL!!!
1 person likes this
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
30 Jan 09
Insanity is no longer a dirty word. Commit me! Commit me! I dare you! ROFL
1 person likes this
@tessah (6617)
• United States
30 Jan 09
hmm lessee... neighbors.
weve got the "Cravits`s" to the left. (if youve ever seen bewitched, yer familiar with the name and what it means) who are always so very busy peeking through their bushes at our home and yard to see what we are doing, calling the police and animal protections at every chance they get for every little thing because their lives are so very boring.. theyve got nothing better to do than to cause troubles.
weve got the "Drunks" on the right side.. who i have attempted to be friendly with.. even had a playdate with their beagle and my own at one point to use the dogs as something in common to be neighborly. one of them staggered over one day while i was cutting up a tree, tripped over the log and i got scared id lop one of his limbs off with the chainsaw as he tumbled with his coffee mug full of whiskey.
and then there is the "Mini Van Clan" right across the street. no one is really sure just how many chldren they have in total.. but they do congregate on the front lawn on a regular basis to sing the entire score of Annie. i attempted when they first moved in to say hello.. be friendly.. feel free to come over, use the pool, our kids can play together etc. but other than the musicals enacted out by the street.. they stay within the walls and quite franky remind me a little bit of some branch davidians that cut off from the pack in waco.
id love to have the sort of neighbors that you do.. yer very lucky.
2 people like this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Wow I really feel for ya hun .. I'm so very lucky to have the neighbors that I do.. I would probably clash very badly with the Cravits. You see I like my privacy and the nibby people would not like me one bit. LOL!!! How are ya doing today hun?
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Tired and drained and sick I'm coming down with a cold. LOL!!!
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
30 Jan 09
We do know our neighbours, we are lucky in that we have really nice neighbours too. We do not socialise a lot but will pass the time of day when we see each other and both sides love our kids. At christmas the kids made all the neighbours some rice crispie chocolate cakes and took them around to the neighbours just to say thank you for all the kind things they have done for them.
2 people like this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
I love christmas time around here we trade cookies. I'm more of the baker type during the holidays. But trust me I'm a heck of alot better at the cooking cooking.
1 person likes this
@trukkerman (79)
• Netherlands
30 Jan 09
Neighbors i hate mine they make to much noise ,when your a sleep mine like playing with a storts car.it drives me mad 12.00 at night,
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Isn't there a noise ordanance in your area. I would definitely first talk to the neighbors about the noise and if they don't listen then I would call them when they broke the ordinance. Noise ordinance are usually either 9pm or 10pm...
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Your entirely right hun I think you have an idea for a new discussion for you to make Lack of respect.. I swear it is getting worse and worse as the years go on but I have so lucked out to live where I do now. My last place was a duplex and when I moved there my little one was about 3 months and anytime she would cry in the middle of the night the neighbor would pound on the wall and say shut that (dirty word) baby up. Funny thing they told the landlord that they wanted someone who had kids as they wouldn't be apt to partying. Shakes head they got a family in there (us) and they were horried. we had a shared yard and they flipped out if the kids stepped one foot onto their side of the grass. It got to the point where we moved. Thank my lucky stars I found this house and we have awesome neighbors.
1 person likes this
@sandymay48 (2030)
• Canada
30 Jan 09
There does seem to be a huge lack of respect nowadays...Even several years back, people were more respectful or is it just the changing times??? I see people doing things to their neighbours that I would not have done when I was younger, cutting through their property, destroying others property..and not caring how much noise they make...hey this could be a whole new discussion!
2 people like this
@sandymay48 (2030)
• Canada
30 Jan 09
I wonder if maybe people are just too busy to get to know their neighbours..I live in a condo complex now but I only know a couple of mine to see in passing even though they live right next door to me. I do not know their names. I am a friendly outgoing type who will talk to anyone but find when I try to strike a conversation, they are in a hurry to get going or only want to complain about something. We are soon moving back to a house, but I have my doubts it will be any better. I have to say though that small communities often have more spirit than big cities do.
2 people like this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
That is very true the smaller the comminity the more the poeple are willing to get to know eachother. I'm going to say that I don't live in a small community and I'm lucky that I have a back yard actually cause I live in town.
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Yeah but you know what if you have a relationship with your neighbors and get to know them you can come to the realization either they are insane or not and go from there.
1 person likes this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
31 Jan 09
Hi Bella
I do not bake lol I would poison People but I will help where I can at the moment I live in a little Village (hoping to move soon) it is friendly but everyone sticks to themselves so I would say no I do not really know my Neighbors as such
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
4 Feb 09
See sticking to oneself. Meh... I have to say with the recession that I think is going to hit harder as time goes on if something isn't done to help we're going to need to know each other and help each other. Ok I'm an Aquarius and a humanitarian . LOL!! I guess that is why I have been considered mother of the world by some of my friends. I can't see someone in need or pain without having my heart go out and help them. I guess that is why I hate conflict and drama and tend to run in the other direction. I never see the point in drama or conflict. I mean if I have to I can be a very challenging and formidable foe but I hate to have to be like that. So I guess that is why I like getting to know people around me and trying to be friends if possible.
@cpnarnaulia (350)
• India
30 Jan 09
I know my neighbours. As i concerned with village life and currently living in village then definetly knows my neighbours. Everybody should know their neighbours because in emergency they do help. my neighbours are my uncle , aunty. I know most of people in my village. But at least we should know our most nearby peoples.
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
3 Feb 09
yeah at least the ones directly beside us. I have always told my neighbor if they need anything they are more than welcome to comeover and ask..
@MissAmie (717)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I've never been much of an outgoing person, especially with neighbors. I moved into this apartment about 2 years ago and I was so surprised when we were welcomed here like family. Our neighbors were having a pool party the night we signed the lease and invited us. It was so much fun getting to know them. When we moved in it was like we were all family. I loved it. The girl next door was pregnant and so was I, both neighbors had kids already, so my daughter had playmates from the start. It's so wonderful getting to know your neighbors. I had never made any kind of effort before to get to know any of them and probably wouldn't have this time had they not made the effort.
But now I have an emergency babysitter if I need one, someone that will always let me borrow a few bucks if I need it, or I'll lend some to them if they're having a hard time. The best thing is that I made friends that I'll probably have forever.
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
4 Feb 09
And see this is exactly what I'm talking about.. It's things like this that make me continue to believe in humanity in a way. I'm happy that you found a neighborhood like that!! :)
@RockCollector59 (325)
• United States
31 Jan 09
Hi. sorry i have not been writing mush. i am starting a new job the end of next week and have been running around getting ready. That is great that you have neighbors like that.our neighbors are nice but,they all have there our life's to live. we all wave if we see each other and i am sure if some one was having trouble they would come to help.we live out in the country so, our neighbors are about a 1/4 of a mile away. when the grand kids are over they may go play over one of the neighbors houses and we don't have to worry mush about them.
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
4 Feb 09
I miss the good old days when life was simpler and everyone knew everyone and was willing to lend a hand. I'm not even that old. LOL but I do remember this when I was a kid.. I loved living on acres of land. It was nice...
@wallfranklin (148)
• United States
30 Jan 09
I know most of my neighbors on a hi, bye basis. I do know a few, whether I want to or not. I don't really like getting to know neighbors, at least in an apartment, until I know if they'll be decent. Not loud, obnoxious, that type of thing, because then it's akward when you have to complain about them to a landlord!
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
4 Feb 09
Here is the think if you get a re pore with a neighbor then before it even goes to the Landlord you go to them and if you became friends or even just respect each other then you can settle it before then and usually the offending party feels bad.But if you don't get to know each other and this happens and you go straight to the landlord if the offending party finds out they get ticked about why you didn't go to them first.. So knowing the neighbors and befriending them can be a good thing.
@wallfranklin (148)
• United States
4 Feb 09
Funny you should say that...I have become "friends" with the neighbors below me, they have two little boys same as me so I wanted my boys to have some kids to play with. They have been extrememly loud and have kept my family up numerous nights and are up before 6 every morning being loud. I have informed them of the noise and the response I got was "the landlord hasn't said anything to me, so oh well." You're theory doesn't always work. Wish it did!
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
3 Feb 09
There are some neighbors I had way back in the day that I wished were like that .. LOL!! But right now I'm happy I have good neighbors that I like.
@city_girl21 (68)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I live in a dorm now and we all know each other, but when I lived in a house my neighbors had a child who attended the same school as I did. We didn't have parties together or bake for each other or anything, but occasionally we would exchange random acts of kindness. After the police showed up at our house once they stopped by later to make sure everything was okay. They also fed the feral cats that eat at our house. And my neighbor across the street, Lily, had the final stage of cancer and my mom went to her nearly every night when she was alive and kept her company, as well as reading her her rights and talking with doctors for her (she spoke mostly Russian). Nowadays you can't be too sure; when my friend was in eighth grade her neighbor was arrested and found guilty of some crime. So as long as you live in a nice neighborhood you should probably be nice to your neighbors, but in more risky areas it's harder to open up.
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
4 Feb 09
Yep I know that.. I lived all over the place.. But I still have the adage that you never know what may come if you give a try. I feel that if I'm going to live somewhere I want to be a good environment for my five kids I want to be nice and friendly to the neighbors and maybe even build a decent friendship with them.. With my next door neighbors we have this easy going friendship and I guess it helps since were I live the houses on my street are like on top of one another .. LOL!! I'll have to take a pic to demonstrate But I think you know what I mean.
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
30 Jan 09
I find it funny that you started such a discussion because I've noticed the same thing about the change in how people greet new comers in the neighborhood. When I was little, we were welcomed to every neighborhood we moved to. It didn't matter where it was, we were welcomed with open arms, great and real conversation and help when we needed it. Now that I've grown, married a military man and moved, we did get a couple of welcomes but after that it was a thing of "to each his own thing" meaning they kept to themselves. I find it sad that the world has come to be this way but on the other hand I understand because most families work these days and don't have time to associate themselves with their neighbors because they're so busy with their own families. It's sad because time goes by so fast as we get older and then we wonder where it went but that's the way society has come to be. Men and women have to work to provide for their families instead of just one of them and thus, not having time to spend with their neighbors and friends.
OR like in my case, have such an assinine neighbor that you don't want to associate yourself with! lol Thank goodness it's just the one. We do have others that are really nice and helpful so thank God for that!
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
3 Feb 09
Well when I was working I didn't see my neighbors as much as I do now.. But I have always stopped to converse with them when I was working becuase I like to know who is around me. I'm social by nature I guess you could say.
