How well do you know your neighbors?

Question

I have always lived in small Texas towns and I have always got to know my neighbors fairly quickly. I know everybody on my street within 4 blocks and I even know most of the people on streets over from me. We help each other, everybody gets invitations to BBQ's, graduations etc. We greet new neighbors with a pie or plate of cookies to welcome them to the neighborhood and if a dog escapes its yard someone will keep it secure and let the owner know.

I have recently learned that not all neighborhoods are like this. My boyfreind is from Grand Forks North Dakota. He moved here in 1982 and has lived in the same house all that time and he only knows one of his neighbors and doesn't care to meet them. I've met 4 of them so far.

When my son returned from church camp he told me about a girl from Colorado Springs who doesn't know any of her neighbors either and they don't even wave at each other unless its with the middle finger.

What is your relationship like with your neighbors?

Answer 1

good fences make good neighbors...lol...at least where I currently live anyways....I do try to 'get to know' my neighbors a little bit...I don't want to know their business and I don't want them to know mine...but I do enjoy being 'neighborly' . The neighborhood I currently reside isn't too bad...I made the mistake of befriending my next door neighbor though..seemed nice enough at first...geesh was I wrong...lol..lying, cheating,theiving.always fighting and extremely loud,unruly rude children, and they don't have a car so they are always begging me for a ride to the liquor store no less......yes, I truly wish I had a privacy fence so my son could enjoy playing outside and not be harassed by my neibors kids or have his toys stolen by them!

Answer 2

I like the people across the street, and the couple on one side.. the people on the other side, I cannot stand, she is a cross between "Hyacinth Bucket" and "Gladys Kravitz", she's a nosy busy body, and a vicious gossip.  What she actually does not know, she makes up.  Everyone on the street avoids her.  He takes advantage of everyone and everything, if it's not nailed down he will take it.  He's even encroached on the undeveloped land in back of his property.  He's built a shed and erected a fence, a good 20 feet into the abutting lot..

Answer 3

A nightmare. Everyone around here has different values and interest. We like cats. Everyone else hates them, so they killed them with poison. The people next to us love basketball, and have huge wild games, which we are fighting. The woman across the street is a busy body, who starts gossip and  blares her music from the porch. There are kids running the street and disrespecting traffic and the peace. Who would want to get raveled up with these maniacs? We're moving to the country where we can be hermits, and couldn't get out of here fast enough!

Answer 4

very good.  i go to school with my next door neighbor and we're friends.  on the other side of us, we know them ok, but she just died and her brother lives there but he has some mental problems (sees people running around at night when no one is outside??) but our other neighbors aren't very nice.  in front of our house they're always drunk and hitting on us.  it's weird.  but if i went over a few blocks to "talk" to my neighbors, the only thing they would think i wanted was to buy some drugs.

Answer 5

We've got 3 sets of neighbours directly by us and we know one family pretty well, been to parties of theirs and them to ours, another we know to say Hi and have a chat to, but they're not close and the others, I'd walk past in the street because I wouldn't recognise them - they keep themselves to themselves.  

But we live in a high rise, these are the immediate neighbours, the others all live on different floors, so if I saw the anonymous family from our floor anywhere but in our corridor, I wouldn't know who they were as in 6 years, I've only bumped into each of them only once I think......I don't even know for sure who lives there, I think there are 3 but there could be 10 for all I know  (it seems quite amazing, but they really do keep themselves to themselves).

There are over 1000 apartments in the condo I live in though so very hard to know everyone, it's a big city, popular with expats so people are always moving in and moving out.

Answer 6

I know the person next to me...and the person in front of me...but that's only because we happen to walk our dogs at the same time and leave for work at the same time. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't care to meet them. I mean, if I met them, then great, but if not, I wouldn't call it a loss.

That's good that your neighborhood gets along like that. I'm from Texas too...What neighborhood do you live in?

Answer 7

not at all

Answer 8

It really depends on your area.

Where I grew up.. I knew everyone on our block. We threw annual block parties. Even after my parents moved away from there 10 years ago.. we are still invited to come!

Where I live currently.. I am starting to get to know some of my neighbors after living in my house after a year!

Honestly... Halloween trick or treating helps.. especially full size candy!

Answer 9

I think I know every person in my town.  We got 1000 persons here.  As for relationships with neighbours.  This is different with each one.  Some are like part of the family, and others are not so close.  And then there are a couple that annoy me.

But yeah.  I think people in smaller towns know their neighbours more.  In Victoria and Vancouver people don't hardly know who lives next to them.

Answer 10

We know our neighbors well, but we don't like them, at all.

Answer 11

I don't want to know my neighbour. He is utterly devoid of any social skills. We have periodical legal tussles, when for example he wants to build along the shared wall between our two properties and block out the afternoon sun. Or when he and his boys spend all Sunday afternoon riding ATVs round and round the garden...

Answer 12

I know the neighbors directly across from me very well.  I know the neighbors to the right of me okay.

I don't know the rest at all.

Answer 13

I barely know them. I have no idea what their names are, who lives on which floor, who the h**l are they... nada. I only know one person's name and that's because his parents constantly yell at him and repeat his name.

and I'm not interested. no one hot.

Answer 14

i know my one neighbor verry well. my mom and i do a lot of things with them. we helped them through hard times like when the husband had a stroke and when the wife found out she had breast cancer. the neighbors on the other side of us we do not talk to at all. they sometimes dont seem like freindly people.

Answer 15

On the day we moved in - one of our neighbors showed up with a banana cream pie - and introduced herself.  That was very nice.

A few months after we moved in - we threw a party and invited  the neighbors on either side of us - and the ones across the street.  They all came - and we got to know them.  I really DON'T want my neighbor stopping by unexpectedly to have coffee.  But - it's nice to know who they are.  We grab each others mail when we are out of town - or take flower deliveries for each other - and we've cared for a dog for a few days - and that sort of thing.  They always bought girlscout cookies from our kid.  We wave - and say hello - and maybe chat a bit about the weather or the garbage pick up or whatever.  But - we're neighbors - not really friends - and that's fine with me.

Answer 16

i know a bit! not as much as i'd like to!

i know the old lady next to us i know her name and her kids are moving in with her. she is from england and very nice lady to talk to when i'm in my garden!

the other side of my house this guy is out of a job and keeps to him self!  Very nice man he says sorry when ever his grass get's too long and my partner and i just laugh at him and say it's no big deal i'm sure you have seen our yard worse!

the people across the street from me the lady is mean to her dogs and she has the same name as me! she is also a nurse  and in her own way can be nice to others but she comes off rude!  took them a while to wave at us! (i'm guessing when a younger couple movies in people think party party party) but we don't party party party we only party! lol  

the people next to her has a child and my coworkers daughter hangs out with her!  

then i know off a few other poeple down the street!

that's sad when others don't want to get to know your neighbors!  i mean what if  something happends do you know them well enought that they will help you out!

not saying give them a key or anything unless you really trust them but at the very least your phone number so if something does happen you can contact them!

a lot is lacking in these times!  and it's sad!

Answer 17

One of my neighbors makes a point of waving to every car that goes by and saying hello to every pedestrian.  She's a great lady!  But many neighbors do not even take the second required to wave back.  I get both sides of this discussion, but it seems to me that people too busy or scared to say hello are a little sad.  

Our neighbors are very friendly, by the way.

Answer 18

real good living in the country.

Answer 19

My family knows all my neighbors so well. We live on a cul-de-sac and I know all but 3 of about 30 people. We've been to tons of barbeques and had our neighbors over tons of times.

Answer 20

i dont really know them.  in  my old neighborhood i used to know all of them.

Answer 21

I live on a farm. I know there names they know mine. Are we very close? No. Do I want a close relationship with my neighbors? ]No.

Answer 22

Mostly just"hi" and "good-bye".