Earlier quoted context omitted.
The global pandemic may be affecting their behavior.
[flagged]
Why put pandemic in quotes?
Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
31–40 of 330 posts
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#32In our last house we knew 90% of the people on our street and regularly interacted with them. We have been in our new house for just over 2 years and only know our neighbors on one side of our house. The neighbor in the other house moved in just a week after we did. In those 2 years we have seen him only once, they day he moved in when he pulled up in his car, got out (without looking our way), opened the garage door…
Yeah I had a similar experience at my last place. I actually attribute it at least in part to what kind of weather your area has. My last house was in a very temperate place, and I and my neighbors were very often outside where spontaneous conversation could manifest.
I’m currently in Phoenix, AZ, and given regular temperatures over 105* F, there just typically aren’t many people out and about, save for a few hours in the morning. And that’s usually before sun up.
I have noticed a general decline in my spirits not shooting the breeze with my neighbors from time to time.
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US most people in suburbs only ever walk from their door to their car (which is itself often inside the garage) and then they sit in their steel and glass box to the minimal possible distance from their desk, then do the reverse on the way home.
Do those "neighborhoods" even have sidewalks then?
Not always, and, in my experience, the answer is increasingly "no".
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US most people in suburbs only ever walk from their door to their car (which is itself often inside the garage) and then they sit in their steel and glass box to the minimal possible distance from their desk, then do the reverse on the way home.
Do those "neighborhoods" even have sidewalks then?
Not usually, or if they do, they're merely 'decorative' in that they're not a viable option for pedestrians to get from A to B. They just end without signals or crosswalks. Someone in a wheelchair would literally have to drive in the street in many areas of the south.
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#35Mr. Rogers was my actual neighbor in Pittsburgh in 1999-2000, while I was at CMU. He would really go out of his way to have social interactions. He would always say hello and ask how you were doing in a way that felt like he actually genuinely wanted to know the answer. Case of the person in real life being exactly like what he seems like on TV.
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#36Mr. Rogers and this gallup cohort have not met my neighbours.
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mean isn't a suburb one of those HOA neighborhoods with houses every 1/4 acre? Seems ripe for neighbor communication. This seems like a cop out.
In the US most people in suburbs only ever walk from their door to their car (which is itself often inside the garage) and then they sit in their steel and glass box to the minimal possible distance from their desk, then do the reverse on the way home.
Idk. I live in a suburb and my little neighborhood is pretty friendly to the point where someone can post to our private Facebook group and ask someone to hold a package or to check out their house while they're on vacation. Really depends on what kind of community you have
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#38In our last house we knew 90% of the people on our street and regularly interacted with them. We have been in our new house for just over 2 years and only know our neighbors on one side of our house. The neighbor in the other house moved in just a week after we did. In those 2 years we have seen him only once, they day he moved in when he pulled up in his car, got out (without looking our way), opened the garage door…
Sounds blissful.
I'm a fairly introverted, reclusive person. Much like your one neighbour. I keep to myself.
I do know my neighbours. The couple on one side is delightful and the woman on the other side is a "Karen" who I prefer not associate with. She is an outdoor person and only "talks" to me when she has a problem with how I keep my yard. Ironically I would probably use my yard more (and thus tend to it more) if she were not always outside in her yard being loud.
We have alley parking and garages in the rear, and I have workshop in my garage so I met a lot of my neighbours on the other side of the alley when working on projects... they came and introduced themselves and asked me what I was working on. They are delightful, but they also interrupted me which is annoying.
My wife and I are easy to get along with and go out of our way to be friendly, but would honestly rather not know that our neighbours exist. Car doors, the sound of people talking, dogs barking, kids being loud, lack of privacy in our back yard are all things that really bother us. On the flip-side, when the tree in our front yard shed a branch so large that it was practically a small tree, the delightful couple next door helped us clean it up. I felt a sense of community that day and I started to get what others find enjoyable about it. Still, we often talk of going "going rural" and not having neighbours at all.
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#39In our last house we knew 90% of the people on our street and regularly interacted with them. We have been in our new house for just over 2 years and only know our neighbors on one side of our house. The neighbor in the other house moved in just a week after we did. In those 2 years we have seen him only once, they day he moved in when he pulled up in his car, got out (without looking our way), opened the garage door…
I'm one of those neighbors who doesn't seem to exist. I don't dislike my neighbors and would like to interact with them more often, unfortunately I don't often have time for it.
Re: Mister Rogers had a point – routinely greeting six neighbors maximizes wellbeing
#40In our last house we knew 90% of the people on our street and regularly interacted with them. We have been in our new house for just over 2 years and only know our neighbors on one side of our house. The neighbor in the other house moved in just a week after we did. In those 2 years we have seen him only once, they day he moved in when he pulled up in his car, got out (without looking our way), opened the garage door…
The global pandemic may be affecting their behavior.
My street was full of older folks that we got to know over the years. Some moved to assisted living, some are getting there, and some passed away from unexpected diagnoses.
We have new Gen Z neighbours for the last two years who seem to exist in their bubble, shutting out the immediate world and interacting only with their social circle. Barely an acknowledgement even if we’re out in the yard, shovelling snow or cutting grass.
I don’t expect much, but maybe small talk once every couple of months to get a sense they’re alright, and not gone off the deep end and bottling their urine in mason jars.
At some point, you start to fill in the blanks by noticing little things like what’s on TV through the window (hockey 24/7) when you drive by, who does the yard work (she does) or the decorations they put up on the outside.
I am wondering if this is some generational divide at play where some slice of the population had been conditioned that the only valid interactions are those that happen online.
It’s also possible that we seem intimidating or unsocial — but our interactions with other neighbours don’t seem to give this vibe.