To live in a wonderful neighborhood and enjoy all of the benefits of coming home to a supportive and tight-knit community means that you have to do your part to be a good neighbor as well. We know what it takes to be a bad neighbor because of so many examples we see from television but being a genuinely good neighbor can help you cultivate long-lasting relationships with those people who live next door or down the street as long as you follow the right etiquette.
Being the Best Neighbor You Can Be With Information
This all starts with information. You might think of the quintessential neighbor sharing information over the garden hedge or while on a walk to check the mail, providing a snippet of gossip here or there, and while the locations are legitimately where you would most likely share information, the gossip isn’t what you should share. Use the small opportunities when you see your neighbor in their garden to yell out a greeting and provide them information that you think they might need like a recent community board update that you saw. Perhaps your neighbor didn’t see it but they need to know about the upcoming change. Other examples of useful information to share include:
- Updates on emergency protocols in your neighborhood.
- Changes to a community watch schedule or a community event,
- New restaurants you found recently that serve good food or offer great delivery,
- A housekeeper, a dry cleaner, or a handyman you discovered that your neighbor might want to use in the future,
Whenever you see your neighbor you can make small talk by providing this information or discussing a pamphlet that perhaps everyone received in the mail. You might not always have something of critical importance like an emergency notification for a revised evacuation plan in the event of a fire, you might only have information on a good movie you watched recently or a local dentist where you booked your child’s dentist appointment but by cultivating that type of relationship and sharing information when you pass each other or see each other you will be a good neighbor.
Do Your Part
Being a good neighbor also means doing your part when it comes to keeping up your curb appeal. Every neighborhood has one house that is falling apart or has overgrown grass, or dirty windows. You should always clean up the front of your house, even if you don’t see it that often, so that everyone on the street can appreciate the landscape or at the very least the cleanliness of your gutters. When you see other houses whose yards you admire, try to at least meet the level of curb appeal that they have implemented. It’s hard work. You might even need to hire someone to give a helping hand when it first comes to maintaining and landscaping your yard but it will be worth it. Similarly, be a responsible pet owner. When you take your dogs for walks, follow basic things like cleaning up after them and disposing of what you clean up in your own home.
Keeping an Eye Out
You can also be a good neighbor by keeping watch on your neighbor’s home, and checking in on a residential locksmith service should you notice anything wrong with the property, or any locks that have been damaged. When you know that someone is leaving even if it’s just for a weekend getaway, they shouldn’t have to ask you to keep an eye out. You should just do it naturally. Good neighbors keep an eye out on their nearby properties whenever they sense something is wrong, when they see something that shouldn’t be there, or when they know the neighbor is gone. If you see that a neighbor’s trash cans have been blown over during a storm or the features on their porch are about to fall off the porch during a rainstorm, feel free to call them and let them know. They will appreciate you for these little updates.
Be Engaged
And after you update them on local information, do your part to keep your curb appeal the same as theirs, and keep an eye out when they’re gone, organize community events like neighborhood cookouts or block parties, or invite some of the neighbors you know really well to come over for a social event. Having small gatherings every couple of months will encourage other people to do likewise.
