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Aug 7, 2017 · In Chicago—a city of neighborhoods—neighborhood schools not only serve as anchor institutions in their communities, but they also serve the cornerstones of democracy, providing opportunities for students of all backgrounds and walks of life.
But what does it mean to be a genuinely good neighbor? Here, etiquette experts share ways to build and maintain positive, long-lasting relationships with your neighbors. (It requires more...
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- Overview
- Being Respectful and Considerate
- Getting to Know Your Neighbors
- Communicating Openly with Your Neighbors
Getting along well with your neighbors makes your community a happier and safer place to live. The key to being a good neighbor is clear and consistent communication. Introduce yourself to your neighbors and then stay in contact over time. Try to be courteous by keeping your noise levels low and your yard well-maintained. If you want to go above and beyond, you could even participate in a neighborhood association or watch.
Always be respectful and considerate of your neighbors. Keep your yard clean, follow any noise regulations, and put your trash out at the right time.
Make an effort to get to know your neighbors. Introduce yourself if you've never met before.
Deal with any issues face to face in a calm, respectful way.
Maintain and clean any shared spaces.
If you live in a duplex, townhome, or apartment, you might end up sharing responsibility for a hallway, entrance, or yard with your neighbors. Do your part to keep these spaces as nice as possible by removing or carefully storing your personal items, such as bikes or grills. Pick up any trash that you see, too.
For example, to maintain a lawn space, talk with your neighbor about rotating mowing duties each week.
Care for your own yard and garden.
To avoid unsightly, overgrown grass, stick to a lawn maintenance schedule that includes regular mows throughout the year. In the fall, make sure to collect and dispose of your leaves. Trim back any trees or bushes and clean up any flowerbeds.
If you can’t do this maintenance on your own, consider hiring a professional lawn service.
If you’ve recently moved in, go over to your neighbors and say “hello.” If you’ve lived in an area for a while, then take the initiative and reach out to new arrivals yourself. As part of welcoming someone to the area, feel free to offer them a small moving in gift.
For a more informal approach, say hi to your neighbors when they (or you) are outside walking their dog or working on their lawn.
When you first meet your neighbor you might say, “Hi! I’m Fred Thompson. I live 2 doors down from you and just wanted to come over and welcome you to the neighborhood.”
You can also give you neighbor any friendly local tips, such as what time the garbage or mail carrier stops by.
A welcoming gift can be anything from a friendly card to a basket filled with local foods or produce.
Do your neighbors a favor when possible.
Stay calm when talking with your neighbor.
If your neighbor comes to you with a concern or problem, it’s important to respond calmly and rationally. If you start to get frustrated, take a few deep breaths before answering. You can also ask to postpone the conversation until you have a bit of time to think.
For example, to give yourself a few days to think everything over, you might say, “I understand where you are coming from, but I need to consider how to fix it on my end. Can we talk about this over the weekend again?”
Deal with any problems face to face.
If you have any issue that involves your neighbor, it’s important to act fast. Go to them directly and tell them what is going on. Ask for their help in finding a solution that will work for both of you. Giving your neighbor a chance to come up with a solution is better than immediately reaching out to local authorities.
This doesn’t necessarily apply if you feel as if the safety of you, your family, or the neighborhood is at stake. In those situations, you might want to reach out to local officials for assistance.
- If you have a problem, talk to your neighbors first. Does your neighbor’s music keep you up at night? Are their kids bothering your dog? Talk to them. Having an in-person confrontation can feel scary, particularly if you need to say something you’re worried your neighbor won’t like, but talking things through face-to-face should be the first thing you try, says Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert, author of Modern Etiquette for a Better Life, and founder of The Protocol School of Texas.
- Have a neighborhood safety plan. “Wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes—you never know what will happen these days and if you ever get stuck in an emergency situation your neighbors are going to be the people you turn to first,” says Julie Bowman, MPH, emergency preparedness and public health expert.
- Look for ways to help neighbors instead of seeing them as problems. Does your elderly neighbor have an unkempt yard? Does the single mom next door always leave her garbage cans out?
- Smile and wave. Thanks to the Internet we’re interacting with people around the world more than ever but that may mean we’re also interacting much less with the people right next door to us.
In childhood and adolescence, neighbourhoods have been found to shape aggression, delinquency, and substance abuse as well as positive outcomes such as high school completion, good grades, community involvement, and general psychological well-being.
Neighborhoods are central social settings for organizing and experiencing human life. In this chapter, we focus on youth, whose lives are constrained by the housing and neighborhood choices of their parents and are more geographically bound than adults.
noun, verb. Add to word list. UK spelling of neighbor. (Definition of neighbour from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press) Examples of neighbour. neighbour. What does this entail for the way in which we should love our neighbours? From the Cambridge English Corpus.
