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I'm afraid if I go outside I'll run into a bunch of sniveling neo-luddites
LOL!
I don't want to get to know my neighbors any more than I already do, not really. I like that they're acquaintances. I do get out to socialize with people... but, not my neighbors.
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I was just outside with my son while he played and our closest neighbors came over to say hi and find out what date we are moving. The husband said his wife is really upset because we are renting and they really liked having us for neighbors. Th owner of the house is a real jerk and they worry about the renters that will move in after us. My husband has played golf with him and his daughter a few times. I guess when you live in FL you are outside more, in the pool or playing in the yard and you see your neighbors. We have found it a real positive thing, just sad when you move and have to say goodbye. My son has not realized that his friends in the neighborhood are no longer going to be around to play with once we move. I dont know how ppl that have young children dont know any of their neighbors. My son is an outside active boy, he wont sit inside if the weather is nice. He just met a new friend a few doors down, playing with him outside right now.
My opinion is that if you are friendly and WANT to meet your neighbors, you will.
I used to hang out with the neighbors when our kids were younger and we all met for WHINE/WINE before dinner! Kids played on the driveway and the moms hung out too!
Yes, there was drama and gossip! Yes, sometimes it was a bit too much and I'd take a break from it. Sometimes it was just nice to have another adult to talk to!
Now, my kids are grown and I don't see the neighbors much. I did hang out a bit last summer when my 3.5 year old grandson was visiting. He enjoyed playing on the driveway with the other kids. I did NOT enjoy the familiar drama and gossip!
Like Meh, I like knowing who my neighbors are but don't feel the need to socialize with them. I've changed.
In my last neighborhood, my neighbor and I were best friends and it was great.
I've had great neighbors. I've had good neighbors and I've have horrible neighbors!
Maybe it all comes down to what stage of life you are in and what you want out of your neighborhood!
This gossip stuff — really? I am not super social in my neighborhood, but I am friendly with several families. I don't really know the renters across the street (grad students) or next door (middle aged couple w/o kids or pets), but I wave and chat with most of my other neighbors. I've never heard any gossip in my neighborhood. Maybe it's there and I'm oblivious to it, but my neighborhood is very much NOT a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses kind of neighborhood. We trade off dog care with several families. My kids and I are doing a neighbor's dogs this weekend.
I don't want to get to know my neighbors any more than I already do, not really. I like that they're acquaintances. I do get out to socialize with people... but, not my neighbors.
Exactly, it's too close to home. I've known co-workers I wanted to date so bad that I ended up having to change jobs just so I could date them. I just know better than to attempt to establish ties to folks that could be hard to get away from later if the tie-establishment-plan doesn't go as planned.
Yes, you should make it a point to know who is around you. Introduce yourself and your family. Learn their names and the cars of their guests. After that, you don't have to be a social butterfly, but it's important to know who belongs in the area and who does not. Who might need to be looked in on if there is a big storm or other problem? What resources do they have?
If they don't want to be friendly, that's fine. Don't take it personally. Some people have moved because of neighbor problems and don't want it to ever happen again. Just know who they are and offer to help if there is an emergency.
If a tornado goes through, your neighbors are going to be the first on the scene.
If a tornado goes through, your neighbors are going to be the first on the scene.
Not if it picks them up and puts them down a few miles away as tornados tend to do
Honestly though I agree about knowing who is around you, its a good practice for home security and I certainly could talk a lot about that subject. More than one person on my street has video surveillance that gets a snapshot and uploads it to shared cloud storage of every license plate that rolls down the street, with some equally impressive motion sensor technology (although I can't tell you how I know that) ... and it is indeed good to know who is normally around and who is a stranger.
However, and I may be alone on this but I thought this thread was more about whether neighbors all get together and really need know each other. It was different in the 50's in the town of Mayberry when a neighbor that kept to themselves was either something really exciting yet mysterious to gossip about or something to be concerned about, thus an important topic. But back in those days, families didn't have to homeschool their kids for fear of future gang involvement or simply losing their child to an automatic assault rifle shootout in the school. That's a kind of extreme example of the societal changes that have taken place over the last fifty years or so, but its something that's in parents mind every time they turn on the TV.
I recently watched a show where a very nice (but drunk) six foot tall kid was shot and killed as he walked up the stairs of a home he did not belong in. The owner stood at the top of the stairs and fired a warning shot -- drunk kid mocked him, and kept coming up, neighbor didn't recognize him in the dark and kept firing. The tragedy was that kid was so drunk in the first place he did not realize it was not his own home, he lived two houses down in a cookie cutter neighborhood where all the houses looked alike. Knowing their neighbors didn't help, it was dark and the kid was drunk and a little taller than the last time they'd really seen or met him.
Who is at fault? The homeowners for being scared and protecting their property or the parents for letting their kids drink? Back in the 1950's we didn't have cookie cutter homes that all looked alike -- this is a new problem with new considerations.
The new neighbor social scene is the same way. Folks need to be ready to change with changing times.
Not if it picks them up and puts them down a few miles away as tornados tend to do
Honestly though I agree about knowing who is around you, its a good practice for home security and I certainly could talk a lot about that subject. More than one person on my street has video surveillance that gets a snapshot and uploads it to shared cloud storage of every license plate that rolls down the street, with some equally impressive motion sensor technology (although I can't tell you how I know that) ... and it is indeed good to know who is normally around and who is a stranger.
Well, that's gotta be illegal, taking photos of everyones license plate the rolls down a public street for personal possession. The street is public property, not that homeowners... What street do you live on? I'd like to avoid the invasion of personal rights.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcstef
However, and I may be alone on this but I thought this thread was more about whether neighbors all get together and really need know each other. It was different in the 50's in the town of Mayberry when a neighbor that kept to themselves was either something really exciting yet mysterious to gossip about or something to be concerned about, thus an important topic. But back in those days, families didn't have to homeschool their kids for fear of future gang involvement or simply losing their child to an automatic assault rifle shootout in the school. That's a kind of extreme example of the societal changes that have taken place over the last fifty years or so, but its something that's in parents mind every time they turn on the TV.
I recently watched a show where a very nice (but drunk) six foot tall kid was shot and killed as he walked up the stairs of a home he did not belong in. The owner stood at the top of the stairs and fired a warning shot -- drunk kid mocked him, and kept coming up, neighbor didn't recognize him in the dark and kept firing. The tragedy was that kid was so drunk in the first place he did not realize it was not his own home, he lived two houses down in a cookie cutter neighborhood where all the houses looked alike. Knowing their neighbors didn't help, it was dark and the kid was drunk and a little taller than the last time they'd really seen or met him.
Who is at fault? The homeowners for being scared and protecting their property or the parents for letting their kids drink? Back in the 1950's we didn't have cookie cutter homes that all looked alike -- this is a new problem with new considerations.
The new neighbor social scene is the same way. Folks need to be ready to change with changing times.
I gotta blame the kid and his parents. Drunk or not, don't mock a man that's firing a gun at you.
Not if it picks them up and puts them down a few miles away as tornados tend to do
Honestly though I agree about knowing who is around you, its a good practice for home security and I certainly could talk a lot about that subject. More than one person on my street has video surveillance that gets a snapshot and uploads it to shared cloud storage of every license plate that rolls down the street, with some equally impressive motion sensor technology (although I can't tell you how I know that) ... and it is indeed good to know who is normally around and who is a stranger.
However, and I may be alone on this but I thought this thread was more about whether neighbors all get together and really need know each other. It was different in the 50's in the town of Mayberry when a neighbor that kept to themselves was either something really exciting yet mysterious to gossip about or something to be concerned about, thus an important topic. But back in those days, families didn't have to homeschool their kids for fear of future gang involvement or simply losing their child to an automatic assault rifle shootout in the school. That's a kind of extreme example of the societal changes that have taken place over the last fifty years or so, but its something that's in parents mind every time they turn on the TV.
I recently watched a show where a very nice (but drunk) six foot tall kid was shot and killed as he walked up the stairs of a home he did not belong in. The owner stood at the top of the stairs and fired a warning shot -- drunk kid mocked him, and kept coming up, neighbor didn't recognize him in the dark and kept firing. The tragedy was that kid was so drunk in the first place he did not realize it was not his own home, he lived two houses down in a cookie cutter neighborhood where all the houses looked alike. Knowing their neighbors didn't help, it was dark and the kid was drunk and a little taller than the last time they'd really seen or met him.
Who is at fault? The homeowners for being scared and protecting their property or the parents for letting their kids drink? Back in the 1950's we didn't have cookie cutter homes that all looked alike -- this is a new problem with new considerations.
The new neighbor social scene is the same way. Folks need to be ready to change with changing times.
Yes it is tough when you want to be friendly and teach your children to love your neighbor and community yet you have to explain to them that if you step on someones property they might shoot you. Which is quite frustrating. The further away we get from feeling like a community and helping one another, the further this society will self destruct. Just my 2 cents.
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