New neighbor etiquette questions

[Lucas156]

It's sad that things are this way nowadays. Nobody wants to talk to anyone any more. Again, I know boundaries are important and I don't want to bother neighbors but I would like to have an open line of communication with them. Sending me an email or a text is a lot easier than coming to my door for something simple like" hey I noticed a strange car driving around and doing some suspicious things just to give you a heads up."

also, if I give them my email and phone number what's the worse that can happen? Spam mail and spam texts or prank calls? Pretty easy to block those nowadays.

 

[churchmouse]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Oh, this is the best. So true.

We do have some good established neighbors and we help them out when we can. The new ones all seem way to eager to be BFF's and seriously, we have enough friends.

 

[forgop]

One option is to get their digits so you can text them. Then you won't have to talk.

 

[hornadylnl]

Just go to the HOA or neighborhood watch meetings.

 

[Hexlobular]

We do have some good established neighbors and we help them out when we can. The new ones all seem way to eager to be BFF's and seriously, we have enough friends.

I'm in the same boat. There are those that I trust and would do anything for. New folks that are too eager usually wind up on my "avoid" list. Best to just let things happen on their own.

 

[churchmouse]

I'm in the same boat. There are those that I trust and would do anything for. New folks that are too eager usually wind up on my "avoid" list. Best to just let things happen on their own.

Bingo.

 

[mom45]

Well, now that you've brought midgets into the equation, Skulldaddy should be along any minute now...

Nah...he's otherwise occupied this week. Midgets would be excellent to include in any kind of a party though! I'm sure he can hook you up when he returns.

 

[PapaScout]

Get a kegerator. Put it in the garage. Sit out in a lawnchair in front of your garage a few evenings with the garage door open and you will have every man in the neighborhood stop by for a chat and a beer.

+10 - This. Maybe a sign out that says 'New here - Stop for a beer!' or something.

Guys sitting and having a beer have done more for public relations than all of the over-paid politicians who have ever lived.

 

[Crbn79]

Just remember, good fences make good neighbors!

 

[mom45]

If you want to meet them, have a yard sale to sell all the stuff you don't need after moving in. Many will all be there to see what you are getting rid of and introduce themselves. We had a new family move into our neighborhood last year and that's how I met them. I went to their sale and introduced myself, and they shared that several other neighbors had also stopped in. I didn't buy anything, but it was nice to find out who was new in the area and learn a bit about them. They asked me some questions about property boundaries and I made sure they understood that most of their neighbors would likely expect them to respect those and that we certainly would as my husband hunts and would definitely want others wandering on our property, potentially putting themselves in danger if he did not know they were there.

 

[JetGirl]

For years we were the only home out here. When the houses started popping up like popcorn, the street still didn't go all the way through to connect to another street and there was just big field at the end. One of the people that moved in (about the 15th house or so) got all the house numbers and sent a printed up flyer in the mail to each home inviting the whole place to an old fashioned "block party" at the end of the dead end street...complete with a decent little fireworks display. Everybody who showed up brought snacky foods to share and their own cooler/drinks and lawn chairs. There was a bonfire for marshmallows and before it got dark, there were kites, frisbees, and Nerf stuff abounding. It was really kind of neat.

 

[churchmouse]

For years we were the only home out here. When the houses started popping up like popcorn, the street still didn't go all the way through to connect to another street and there was just big field at the end. One of the people that moved in (about the 15th house or so) got all the house numbers and sent a printed up flyer in the mail to each home inviting the whole place to an old fashioned "block party" at the end of the dead end street...complete with a decent little fireworks display. Everybody who showed up brought snacky foods to share and their own cooler/drinks and lawn chairs. There was a bonfire for marshmallows and before it got dark, there were kites, frisbees, and Nerf stuff abounding. It was really kind of neat.

Gotta love country folk.

 

[JetGirl]

Gotta love country folk.

Technically annexed city folk. :-(

 

[GunSlinger]

I'm about to move into a new neighborhood and I'd like to start on the right foot with my new neighbors. I'm thinking about handing out something like a business card with my phone number and email and letting them know I'm new to the neighborhood feel free to keep in touch with me should something arise. My only question is should I go door to door or put something in the mailbox? I don't want to seem like a creep or get too personal if some people don't like that but I would definitely like to have an open line of communication. It seems like a fairly open neighborhood and I've already had smiles and waves just looking at the house so I'm actually looking forward to it.

Just do what I did when we moved into our new neighborhood. The neighbors next door were retired and the Mrs. kept beautiful flower beds to the near side of their home. I had our 11 year old son put on an old invisible fence dog shock collar and walk up to about 10 feet from our mutual property line while she was out tending her flower beds. When he got there he hollered "Hi". When she looked up and said "hi" back she noticed the shock collar and asked him what in the world he had around his neck. He casually replied "Oh, my mom and dad don't like me to leave the yard" and with that he walked a couple steps closer to her and then went into convulsions and fell to the ground shaking making hideous noises. I was watching this from just around the corner of our deck in the back and ran over to him. I was telling her I was so sorry if our son was bothering her and that it just took him a few times to find out where his limits were at our new place and with that I picked him up from the ground saying "see, that's what happens when you try to leave the yard!" We went inside and watched her run into their house. My son said "dad, you think she'll call the cops?"...well crap she just might. So we went to their front door, knocked and her husband answered asking "what in hell is going on?". I introduced our son and myself and explained what we had done. I thought he would bust a gut laughing so hard. She had begun dialing the law but hung up when she heard her husband laughing and came to the front door to find out what was going on. At first she didn't think it was so darn funny but she did begin laughing after a bit.

They turned out to be great neighbors that we became very close with.

 

[Shadow8088]

Hey, as long as you don't have any neighbors named Sneeze, you should be golden!

 

[Gluemanz28]

I had a guy move in down the street and when he handed me a business card with century 21 on it and asked if we ever decided to sell he would like to list it. I thought that was tacky until about a month later when my kids went trick or treating in the neighborhood. They came home and I was checking their candy out to make sure it hadn't been tampered with. Upon my inspections I noticed the same century 21 business card stapled to a snack bag with cheap candy in it. Now that was TACKY.

All neighborhoods are different but mine is great. I would introduce myself and give a handwritten note with my name and number in case of an emergency or if I leave open my garage door after dark. Ask them questions about trash service, lawn care and etc. My neighbor has a key to my house. We have a block party every year at mine or my neighbors house.

 

[Lucas156]

I think Im going to just leave a note to the effect, “Hello we just moved in next door and would like to give you our contact information in case anything comes up that we need to know about or in case of emergency. –Thanks” If there any grumpy people like some of you guys that just throw it in the trash then so be it.

 

[churchmouse]

I had a guy move in down the street and when he handed me a business card with century 21 on it and asked if we ever decided to sell he would like to list it. I thought that was tacky until about a month later when my kids went trick or treating in the neighborhood. They came home and I was checking their candy out to make sure it hadn't been tampered with. Upon my inspections I noticed the same century 21 business card stapled to a snack bag with cheap candy in it. Now that was TACKY.

All neighborhoods are different but mine is great. I would introduce myself and give a handwritten note with my name and number in case of an emergency or if I leave open my garage door after dark. Ask them questions about trash service, lawn care and etc. My neighbor has a key to my house. We have a block party every year at mine or my neighbors house.

This area was like that when I grew up here. Not so much anymore. Sad. I miss the block party's and such.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Always buy from kids selling things. Be pleasant, and give them an extra $ to buy one for themselves. No business cards. i always wave at people as I drive around mine. No idea who they are but they'll recognize my car in the drive.

 

[CindyE]

We are friendly with most of our neighbors, and work out our differences when we have them. We don't chat over the fence every time we see them, but we wave and say hi, and once in awhile do things together. I'm not very social, so that works for me. There is one annoying and rude couple that never wave or smile. Then there's the #sshole across the alley from us. Most annoying neighbor ever. He married the woman that already lived there. We didn't know he was such a nuisance at first. Constantly coming over and bugging us, to the point where we wouldn't go outside if we saw him, unless we absolutely had to. Took forever for him to get the hint, we finally had to be downright rude! Everyone tries to avoid him.