Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When I was a teenager in the 1960s in a medium sized town in the Midwest, I knew all my neighbors on our dead end street of a dozen homes. We use to have block parties twice every year and everyone attended. While we were not close friends with anyone on the street we did have a nice social friendly relationship with almost everyone. What a nice time to grow up! Now days I can not even get a wave from most of my neighbors. If I do say hello, I get a dirty look and a feeling like I am bothering them. What is your expectation of your neighbors as far as socialization?
It's definetly not the way it used to be. I remember as a child knowing everyone on my street(24 houses). As a child there were so many kids to play with and all the parents talked to one another. As I grew up while still living at home, it stayed the same. Sure some neighbors moved, but the new one's were always welcomed. The people next door to my parents are only the 2nd family to live in that house. They are friends to this day still. They do have a block party where most people come. There are a few people on the block that are still there 30 years later. Some of the newer people come(this is according to my mom). My husband and I moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa 4 years ago(Wisconsin grown). We bought our first house in a nice neighborhood 3 years ago. Only 1 person, who lives further down the block came and welcomed us. No one else bothered to even say hi or will even wave. It's really sad. No one is ever outside much either unless it's to cut the grass. We're sitting outside all the time in the summer. It's certainly a different time from when I grew up.
It's definetly not the way it used to be. I remember as a child knowing everyone on my street(24 houses). As a child there were so many kids to play with and all the parents talked to one another... It's certainly a different time from when I grew up.
Things are different when we are kids. For one thing, we don't have jobs.
As for expectations of neighbors, it's hard to have expectations. But, the general idea is to know who they are, at least by sight, and to be open to gradually developing a "neighborly" relationship.
I, too, had this type of neighborhood as a child. People waved and chatted, but basically minded their own business. Any childhood infraction, though, was definitely reported to my parents.
The best relationships we had in a neighborhood was when we moved into a new developement when our kids were little. The fact that everyone was new at the same time and everyone was mostly at the same stage of life ( having babies and school age kids) meant everyone tried to make friends. Not too many of the women worked either. That was 35 years ago and we are still in touch with a lot of those people.
When a neighborhood is full of different age groups, people who have family nearby, and people who are gone to work most of the time, it's not conducive to socializing that much.
My expectations are simple. I expect them to mind their own business. I figure if we have anything else in common, or to talk about, I'll meet them somewhere else during the course of my life.
My expectations are simple. I expect them to mind their own business. I figure if we have anything else in common, or to talk about, I'll meet them somewhere else during the course of my life.
About the same here. I do have some expectations, though:
- Hopefully they don't have dogs or if they do, they keep them in check and clean after them.
- They don't litter.
- They don't make much noise.
- They manage to drag their trash cans out ideally at least before 10 p.m.
That's about it.
Of course, if I happen to click with some, it'd be great, but it's not a goal of mine by any means.
I don't encounter my neighbors that often. Everyone has a very different schedule. One woman is divorced and with a son in high school and one in college. Another couple lives across the street and the wife is pregnant. The couple immediately next to me is retired. But at least all my immediate neighbors are homeowners like me. So we are cordial to each other but not that close, however we feel comfortable that everyone is living in this area for the long haul. I am friendliest to my divorced neighbor (her ex was such a jerk!) and one Chinese neighbor on the corner. With him we talk about his annual vegetable gardening efforts and his eternal battle with the groundhogs and rabbits. His yard also doesn't get enough daylight. There are pockets of rental apartments in the area, young professionals and maybe some college students... but we don't bother trying to bond with them. My tenant is a friend of my brother-in-law's and he's been upstairs for about ten years now. We're friendly, but I give him his privacy. Our neighborhood doesn't really get together until wintertime when we are all shoveling and using our snow blowers at once. To be honest, I don't like having people over to my house. It's my sanctuary from the world. I've got my boyfriend, three dogs and two cats for company... plus the internet.
I want a neighborhood like the one I grew up in. Where my kids have friends they can play with. Where you see a neighbor sitting on their front porch and you swing by with a bottle of wine and talk well into the night. That is what we have.
I think a neighborhood is what you make it. We live on a street where there are a lot of young families. During the warmer months there is always something going on, where everyone is welcome, just BYO and a get together is started. It wasn't always like this, many of us encouraged this type of community and it caught on like wildfire. Not everyone participates, and that is okay.
Times have changed from the 60's until now... back in those days.. the forms of entertainment were completely different then what they are now. In order to have fun back in those days you had to have friends to do stuff.. this is no longer the case.. I mean since the computer.. we all (everyone in this forum pretty much included) stay inside and type away on our computers versus going outside and smelling the roses. Now that is not to say that not all people do this all the time 24-7 but there are some of those people who do that day in and day out. As for as myself.. I would rather be on the outside and sometimes hate being on the inside.. but of course I like to read and such and so therefore find myself on here more then I should be LOL!!!
The way the world is now a days, we do not have to leave the security of our homes in order to accomplish anything.. The internet is just a hand away.. so there fore.. no one goes out to get to know the neighbors.. as a matter of fact... how many times have you gone into your computer room.. (it was daylight) came out and figured out it was wayyyy past your bedtime? I bet there are quite a few people who read this post that can probably relate to it...
Bottom line.. the internet.. has destroyed any type of cohabitation that you can have between human beings. That in conjunction with MMORPGS and other games... why live in the real world when you have the other world you can live in? In that world .. there are no people that can hurt you like they can in the real world.. and even if they do.. you can do something about it and not worry about what that person can do back to you.. its not real anyways...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
