Erin had a post about their neighborhood, so I thought I would chime in!
We love our neighborhood! We have lived here for 5+ years and it is nice to have a "street" to call home. We are blessed to live right next to (share a wall with!) a wonderful family who loves our children and puts up with our noise! Another family across the street told us they love to hear our children laughing and playing outside. Although, I do occasionally have to remind the kids that our neighbors do not like to hear kids whining and crying, that keeps them in check usually. It is amazing what people living in close quarters (city living) have to endure!
It definitely helps to have common interests with others, i.e. kids, vehicles, gardens, etc. we tend to gravitate to those types of people first, which isn't always bad. We didn't talk to some of our neighbors until they had their first baby! Now, we are outside playing together and talking about parenting and life. Thankfully we had some other neighbors host some gatherings to allow people to meet and greet one another. It may be a little awkward at first, but even if you just pick up someone's name during that mingling time, your street will be that much better off. You know when you see someone walking or driving down the street every.single.day. it is just nice to be able to have a name to go with that face. I'm not so great about reaching out to the more difficult-to-know type of neighbor, but it is possible to break the ice with kindness and just being available!
We spend A LOT of time in front of our house, especially on the weekends. I also spend a lot of time in our kitchen, which faces our front street. I usually know who is home, who is at work, and when people are there or shouldn't be there! We have called the police a few times, just because there were suspicious things happening! Did you know that the more times the police get called to an area, the more they start patrolling that area? We learned that at a neighborhood meeting to address certain crime items and just to get to know the officer who is on this beat (or whatever it is called). That night also helped create an email list that our neighborhood has. It is super helpful to find out about neighborhood events, concerns, and other community items to be aware of. It also helped to piece together some bits of info the police needed as they were "watching" a certain unsavory neighbor we had. You get a clearer picture of a situation when you piece together different perspectives from the neighborhood! There are certainly times when people have called the police instead of just going over to talk to their neighbor about a problem, that usually doesn't end up with the greatest of outcomes. Problems or not, a neighborhood is almost like a family in that you have to see these people almost every single day!
Our kids are getting old enough to play with the other kids on the street. While it is fun being able to see them grow and branch out, it will be interesting to see how things unfold as there are already certain kids they are going to have to steer clear of or play with when Matt or I are around and can keep a close eye/ear on. The good and the bad of living near people, I guess!
