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Neighborhoods cycle. We've been in the same one for forty-some years.
When we moved in we were the youngest family but in what seemed like the blink of an eye the oldsters were moving to assisted living and we got a lot of college rentals. Later came young buyers. And now we are the oldsters in the neighborhood.
Unless you plan to move frequently there is very little you can do to control who your neighbor are.
The up side is that there are good and bad of all generations and you get practice dealing with the problems of different life style neighbors.
You can't expect to change your environment to suit your needs other than on the property you own. All you can to is ask and make the effort to create it with others.
A friend just told me that her son and his husband are selling their home after living in it for just one month because the great majority of their neighbors are about twice their age and the neighborhood "vibe" is much too quiet for their liking!
So if the kind of neighbors you have is important to you, you might want to investigate this before you sign the lease or a purchase contract. (This might seem obvious, but maybe not.)
NOTE: I am not sure if this actually belongs in the real estate forum, but I would think caution applies to apartments, also.
Wherever I have looked for a home in recent years, after location, the very first thing I have done is to check the neighborhood. Drive through it, walk the streets, check out their yards, spend TIME there to really know what you are getting into. Do some basic background checks of your immediate neighbors, easy to find out who they are with the local auditor's web site.
Another useful resource is nextdoor.com that covers the area you are considering. Read all the chatter and the gossip to get some idea of what you might be getting into.
I always did this before even asking for a tour of the property. Because if a home fails the neighbor/neighborhood test, it does not matter what the house looks like. And if it looks like a real steal deal, sometimes that neighborhood check reveals why.
..Caught this topic by chance in "active threads around the forum". Well...the 4th is almost upon us..here in rural upstate NY. The "pilgrims" to our area over the last 10 years or so(from L.I, NYC, NJ, Philly) have..for the most part , been okay neighbors. But...holidays..esp the 4th..bring in their MANY family and friends. All I can figure out..is that many of their holiday visitors must consider this area like "no man's land"..or the "open range". You name it..unending fireworks, 4 wheelers racing up and down the roads, the chance to shoot firearms....for hours( and I am a firearms guy..but it gets rediculous)....unrealistic requests(can we ride your horses.. or they just walk out into the pasture to take close up pics of our cows.etc...Yes..things are a bit more lax "out here"...but these visitors and their hosts forget that others live and work ..."in no man's land".
A friend just told me that her son and his husband are selling their home after living in it for just one month because the great majority of their neighbors are about twice their age and the neighborhood "vibe" is much too quiet for their liking!
So if the kind of neighbors you have is important to you, you might want to investigate this before you sign the lease or a purchase contract. (This might seem obvious, but maybe not.)
NOTE: I am not sure if this actually belongs in the real estate forum, but I would think caution applies to apartments, also.
Excellent suggestion. Outside of talking to the present homeowner. Any suggestions to find out more about neighbors? I guess saying hello to anybody you meet on the block might be a good idea to get a guestimate of friendliness. However, it depends on the culture of a place. I grew up saying hello when you pass another human being. It was thought to be polite. You did not have to strike up conversation but it was not like nowadays when people avoid eye contact like you are going to get coronavirus lasered into your immune system.
Also never move to an area without visiting the area on the weekends and at night. Daytime activity or lack thereof is not a comprehensive indication.
It's one thing to want to live in an area or a town where there's nearby nightlife or things to do... It's another to sit in your house and wish your neighbor was making more noise.
No one moves because their neighbors are quiet. There's something else!
LOL. Sounds like you're right. One complaint I've never heard of!
This sounds more like "There's nothing to DO" than the neighbors are too quiet.
Nothing going on....I can see how that might not be exactly what a younger couple might want. A deserted quiet town. Maybe they only visited during tourist time so weren't aware.
I lived near a town like that. Dead City in the off-season. Stores and activities mostly closed but wow, in season! Whole 'nother story.
It's VERY quiet where we are too. I sometimes wish there was somewhere to walk TO, for example.
A walk in nature is pleasant, but it's also fun to walk TO somewhere, sit and have a drink or whatever.
We couldn't anticipate who our neighbors would be since the condo was brand-new, but knew they'd be gringo retirees so that was fine. As it turned out, most are gone the majority of the year, so we have no one above, below or next to us. Very quiet. We've had some expats move away, due to it being "so quiet", lol. (i.e. "nothing to do")
A friend just told me that her son and his husband are selling their home after living in it for just one month because the great majority of their neighbors are about twice their age and the neighborhood "vibe" is much too quiet for their liking!
So if the kind of neighbors you have is important to you, you might want to investigate this before you sign the lease or a purchase contract. (This might seem obvious, but maybe not.)
NOTE: I am not sure if this actually belongs in the real estate forum, but I would think caution applies to apartments, also.
Excellent suggestion. Outside of talking to the present homeowner, do you have any suggestions to find out more about neighbors? I guess saying hello to anybody you meet on the block might be a good idea to get a guestimate of friendliness. However, it depends on the culture of a place. I grew up saying hello when you pass another human being. It was thought to be polite. You did not have to strike up conversation but it was not like nowadays when people avoid eye contact like you are going to get coronavirus lasered into your immune system.
Also never move to an area without visiting the area on the weekends and at night. Daytime activity or lack thereof is not a comprehensive indication.
What suggestions would realtors have for people relocating out of state or even far out of town? Yes, you should visit before making an offer, but if it involves taking time off work (for two, if you're a couple), leaving behind children or pets, flying or making a long road trip to do so, you're not going to tour every place you consider.
It’s funny, because when we lived in the country, it was the only time that we had neighbors from hell on both sides. Not only the original ones, but also the second set. When the original neighbors moved out, DH and I went out of our way to reach out to them, but despite our best efforts the relationships went sour because of their weirdness.
Otherwise, we’ve lived in suburban neighborhoods in close proximity, and the neighbors have been a pleasure.
Well, my last home was in a National Forest and my closest neighbor was just under half mile away. I was on acreage surrounded by hundreds of more acreage. That's the type of rural I'll probably return to.
I don't know them -- just met them VERY briefly one time, but as I would guess that they are in their early 30's and they are gay, I would not really expect them to necessarily fit in with a bunch of retirees, lol!
My first house was in an older neighborhood, I bought it from the original owner/she lived there for 33 years. My neighbor across the street was 89, I was 24 and the youngest person on the street by about 10-12 years.
Didn't matter, block was friendly. Ironically my two side neighbors were younger and ghosts. One couple would literally drive into the garage and put the door down before they got out of the car! The other guy was kind of a loner, we could go a month without seeing him but he was really passive aggressive about everything so we just ignored him.
My guess is your friends moved to an older conservative neighborhood and the retirees are simply keeping to themselves. Personally I think gay couples moving into an older neighborhood is a great sign for the neighborhood that increased property values are on the way!
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