Northern Virginians: Do you know your neighbors? (Alexandria, Lynchburg: cul-de-sac, HOA)

[VASpaceMan]

Northern Virginians: Do you know your neighbors? Do you feel that your neighborhood has a sense of community?

[LynchburgLover]

When we were in NoVa, we were on a cul-de-sac. The neighbors would smile and wave as they drove by, the garage door went up, the car drove in and the garage door came down. Most of the neighbors used lawn services so the only time we would talk and visit was when it snowed.

[Abraham Walker]

We moved here 3 months ago and there's a lack of community in my neighborhood.

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[jillybean720]

My neighborhood HOA has a Facebook group where we talk about local and community relevant topics. I'm also on my HOA's activity committee and attend our monthly HOA meetings when I can. So, I know multiple people in my neighborhood, but it's a big HOA, so I don't know that I would consider them all "neighbors." I do know the neighbors in the houses directly on either side of my house; we're not close, but friendly enough to smile and say hi and occasionally have a quick conversation in the driveway. But I'm fine with that, as we are really inside people; I don't expect to be BFFs with my neighbors just because we live nearby.

[Fallout Zone]

We know all of our immediate neighbors pretty well. Our next door neighbors threw a party shortly after we moved in and we met most people right away. One of the neighbor kids walks our dog during the workday, and almost everyone does their own yard work so we see each other and chat during the "outside" months. One of the neighbors does most of the yard work for our 90 year old next door neighbor, and she feels free calling us if there is a problem and she can't get ahold of her local kids.

That said, we don't hang out and have barbeques like some do. Just way too much of an age difference. Multiple original owners of mid-60s houses in the neighborhood, others with grown kids who have left the house, and then the new, younger owners that only got in because of the housing bust.

[michgc]

I knew all of my neighbors in Vienna. We looked out for one another - would mow the lawn if one was away or shovel someone's driveway in the snow, lend the snowblower, etc. It was a real community of households with different family types (singles, divorced with visiting children, married with children, etc.), so we didn't hang out together, but we all got along as neighbors.

[Caladium]

My neighborhood was definitely the type of place where most of us knew each other. This was my first Halloween away from my old street, and 4 neighbors sent me photos so I could see what their kids wore for trick or treating this year.

I see on the Pittsburgh Forum that the OP is complaining that people in Nova don't know their neighbors. Sorry he had that experience, but to be honest I think it's more or less the same in most cities--there are some neighborhoods where everyone knows each other and other places where people don't socialize much at all. i

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by LynchburgLover

When we were in NoVa, we were on a cul-de-sac. The neighbors would smile and wave as they drove by, the garage door went up, the car drove in and the garage door came down. Most of the neighbors used lawn services so the only time we would talk and visit was when it snowed.

That's what happens most of the time on my street. I like to leave the garage door up to give a sense of community - the idea that we're home, part of the neighborhood and not anti-social. My wife, however, views it as a safety issue and prefers it stay closed. We argue about it semi-regularly...

[CleoShahateet]

We live on a cul-de-sac in a new community so we all built our homes and moved in within 5 months of each other. In our case we all have children the same ages and the majority little boys. There are 22 children under 12 on our street now! It is great for us since all the kids play out, we go the bus stop together and do all the same sports and activities so everyone has bonded. It is a great suburban community for this point in our life. That said, we lived in Germantown, MD and Alexandria, VA before and we never met any of our neighbors despite being in the same home in Alexandria for 4 years.

[CaliTerp07]

I wave to the neighbor on one side, and once in a while we'll chat about different contractors (I got her tree guy's name, she asked about my fence experience). I know the neighbor whose yard backs up to mine because my dog used to constantly escape and run through her yard, so I took her cookies once to apologize.

No idea anyone else who lives in the neighborhood. We've been here 2 years.