Our personal life is significantly impacted by the people who live around us. Starting from friends, this also includes neighbors. Having a good neighbor is a blessing and having a bad one is a nightmare. Our mental peace and life at our home, including safety, security, and peace of mind, all are attached with the exact string.
As much as we want others to be good neighbors, we also need to be good neighbors to others. It is equally important when it comes to the maintenance of a good, peaceful neighborhood. Being a good neighbor is almost entirely an easy task. You just have to maintain a few basic things and become the excellent neighbor your surroundings wish you to be.
After moving in, don’t wait for others to come and greet you. You go out in your block or outside, greet and introduce yourself. It is the first effort of building a friendly, trustworthy relationship.
Ask their whereabouts, invite them to your place for a coffee, and exchange numbers. You must remember your approach would be reciprocated in later interactions and activities.
Your appearance and cleanliness spread a solid message to your community and define what kind of person you are. And they associate their judgment based on how you keep your home inside and outside. It is essential to clean all the dirt, leaves, and litter from your yard, balcony, or front space.
Do not overload the trashcan or leave the trash here and there. Keep your driveway, sidewalk clean, and shovel off the snow regularly. Organize your furniture and keep the house clean and tidy.
There is probably nothing that irritates you more than a noisy neighbor who makes your life hell. Just imagine not sleeping or concentrating on work for the loud music or screaming crowd in your neighborhood.
As much as you would hate this, others would too. So be considerate and keep the noise level low, and try not to bother anyone at all.
If you own a dog, cat, or any other pet, make sure people around you do not get disturbed by it. Try to put a leash on your dog or pet if it has the habit of running rampant and disturbing others.
Make sure your dog or cat is vaccinated and doesn’t poop here and there, and if it does so, clean it instantly. If your dog barks or you can’t control it properly, visit a local vet for a proper solution.
While driving around the block, make sure you maintain the maximum speed level and do not unnecessarily use horns. Be careful about neighbor’s kids and pets running into your vehicle.
Make sure when you park, you do not block other driveways, parking spaces, sidewalks, or fire hydrants. Obey driving and parking laws set by the local community.
A very effective yet super-easy way to socialize with neighbors is to invite them over to your place. It offers a sense of special care and closeness, and people love to get invited.
You can call them up for a coffee or a snack and discuss life and get the details of this neighborhood. Who knows, you probably could make your next good friend by doing this.
Try to spread a helping hand whenever your neighbor needs it. Take care of shared spaces, gardens, or porches. Help them with their work whenever you feel like they need it.
Shovel off snow from your neighbor’s driveways and parking. Offer them to lift or carry things. Be that trusted and friendly person on whom they can rely.
Memorize everyone’s names in a short time and say hello to everyone you meet. It has surprising effectiveness in making someone’s day better.
Do drop by their places occasionally and offer them to visit you as well. You can also remember what you talked about last time and bring that topic up. It would make your neighbor feel you are an avid listener and a caring person.
Try to attend neighborhood meetings, events, and programs. You do not have to go there always, do it once in a while.
This way, you become a familiar face in your surroundings, which offers you a higher socializing chance with people around you.
Not all people have the same mentality or taste. It makes our lifestyles distinctive from each other. What seems ok to you might not be ok to your neighbors.
Displaying much closeness or some language might not seem ok to your neighbors, So carefully analyze their behavior and activities first. Be considerate to their mentality and lifestyle, then act.
Your neighbors might own irritating pets that could disturb you or make your front or garden dirty. Be mindful of that, stay careful, and keep your belongings safe.
Don’t react aggressively. Instead, take a polite approach and convince the neighbors to take proper measures to relieve you from this pain.
Grow a sense of trust in your community. Help others trust you, and you trust them as well. Help them with things and packages when they are not at home. Practice the art of giving and make them feel comfortable around you.
Problems, disputes, and disagreements are going to arise; this is very normal. You have to handle things maturely. Heated conversation, aggressive action, or Facebook posting would not resolve an issue.
These are the recipes for intensifying the trouble. Instead, meet face to face, talk the problem through. If that’s not possible, try to get a mediator and resolve that problem most maturely.
Keep your eyes always open for any sort of suspicious or malicious activities happening around. Try to contact cops or community members immediately when something fishy happens in a neighbor’s place or yours.
FOR A PLACE TO LIVE do business per the federal Fair Housing Laws. The law makes illegal any discrimination in the sale, lease, or rental of housing, or making housing otherwise unavailable, because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.