Feeling so lucky for community

[Anonymous]

I truly feel so lucky for this community we have around us. We live in an apartment in the city. Near a lot of other buildings but a newer area and not many playgrounds or kids classes nearby yet.

We have found a group of kids and parents/nannies who stay home and every morning we meet up in a grassy field area and bring snacks for the kids and activities. This am we had paint and some canvas for the kids and someone else brought a water table , someone else brought tball set up and stomp rocket. Another family had chalk and bubbles and we also had a sensory bin of lentils and scoopers.

This all happened organically. And there are about 6-8 kids that come every single am and others trickle in and out as they pass by.

The kids are all around 2 and they know each other now and will go to other parents for snack or bubbles.

All we've ever wanted for our child is a strong sense of community and friendship. I just feel so lucky. Unfortunately I know we will end up moving to a suburb but I can't see how it can get better than this.

Later we are meeting at a building to grill and take the kids in the pool. We are planning to bring homemade colors for a holi celebration on Friday. And so many cultures and good coming together. I just love this and my heart is so full.

Go to the park. Bring a blanket and set up toys me talk to your neighbors. It is absolutely worth it.

[Anonymous]

Yes! We had this when DS was a toddler and we lived in another country. It was amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We had this when DS was a toddler and we lived in another country. It was amazing.

Were you able to recreate elsewhere?

I know we will be priced out or just move or others will move because that's just the nature of cities but it's so beautiful right now

[Anonymous]

Wuts a Holi celebration

[Anonymous]

Indians keep to themselves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I truly feel so lucky for this community we have around us. We live in an apartment in the city. Near a lot of other buildings but a newer area and not many playgrounds or kids classes nearby yet.

We have found a group of kids and parents/nannies who stay home and every morning we meet up in a grassy field area and bring snacks for the kids and activities. This am we had paint and some canvas for the kids and someone else brought a water table , someone else brought tball set up and stomp rocket. Another family had chalk and bubbles and we also had a sensory bin of lentils and scoopers.

This all happened organically. And there are about 6-8 kids that come every single am and others trickle in and out as they pass by.

The kids are all around 2 and they know each other now and will go to other parents for snack or bubbles.

All we've ever wanted for our child is a strong sense of community and friendship. I just feel so lucky. Unfortunately I know we will end up moving to a suburb but I can't see how it can get better than this.

Later we are meeting at a building to grill and take the kids in the pool. We are planning to bring homemade colors for a holi celebration on Friday. And so many cultures and good coming together. I just love this and my heart is so full.

Go to the park. Bring a blanket and set up toys me talk to your neighbors. It is absolutely worth it.

OP, in case it makes you feel any better: We lived in the city for years and loved our neighbors, but moved to the burbs when my kids were 4 and 2.

We now have a community out here that I am grateful for every day. I regularly tell my kids (now teens) how lucky they are to have friends whose families treat them like their own.

All this to say you’re right to appreciate it, and it can happen elsewhere if you both work at it a bit and get lucky!

[Anonymous]

I love this OP.

Humanity needs community.

Let’s put our phoned down, take off the AirPod & make eye contact with someone new.

[Anonymous]

I'll put in a plug for staying in the city if you like this vibe. We bought a small row house in Columbia Heights and our kids are early elementary now and it's still like this. I think there are tons of places like this in the city, and it doesn't always have to cost a gazillon dollars. You have to make compromises in other areas, but I'm so thrilled with our community.

I think you can find it in the suburbs, too, if you look for it, but I think it's harder. You get a lot more of the go.go.go. 12 travel sports types in the suburbs than you do in the city. Plus car based vs. walking based just makes it so much harder to live in community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We had this when DS was a toddler and we lived in another country. It was amazing.

Were you able to recreate elsewhere?

I know we will be priced out or just move or others will move because that's just the nature of cities but it's so beautiful right now

No BUT we chose to move somewhere where that same level of community wouldn't be possible (we wanted quieter area, larger property, etc). That's not to say we didn't find out own community there, we did. It just wasn't part of our immediate area where we could just walk out and meet up with people. Zero regrets though. What we had when he was a toddler was what we needed then. What we have now fits us well now. I don't think I would enjoy that same level of community at this point.

[Anonymous]

That sounds really nice! My kids are teens, and we have had different forms of community throughout the different stages of their lives. People move, we moved, kids form their own friendships, kids get busy…

I don’t feel sad though and am thankful for the friendships at each stage. Each person really holds a special place in my heart (and a couple are lifelong friends, even if our kids aren’t close and we don’t see each other often).

[Anonymous]

I always found it relatively easy- and wonderful!- to find community when my kids were babies and toddlers living in a city. Certain areas of the city were always most popular for young families and this sort of casual meet up was so common, and so lovely.

It fades very quickly as kids enter preK or K, with different schools, different schedules, and evenings and weekends being the only times the family can be together so there is way, way less of this stuff even if kids don't do sports or after school clubs. So I will say this- don't fall into the trap of thinking you are doing it right and others with older kids are doing it wrong. It's so easy to be certain that you're doing it right when your only (or oldest) kid is still in diapers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I truly feel so lucky for this community we have around us. We live in an apartment in the city. Near a lot of other buildings but a newer area and not many playgrounds or kids classes nearby yet.

We have found a group of kids and parents/nannies who stay home and every morning we meet up in a grassy field area and bring snacks for the kids and activities. This am we had paint and some canvas for the kids and someone else brought a water table , someone else brought tball set up and stomp rocket. Another family had chalk and bubbles and we also had a sensory bin of lentils and scoopers.

This all happened organically. And there are about 6-8 kids that come every single am and others trickle in and out as they pass by.

The kids are all around 2 and they know each other now and will go to other parents for snack or bubbles.

All we've ever wanted for our child is a strong sense of community and friendship. I just feel so lucky. Unfortunately I know we will end up moving to a suburb but I can't see how it can get better than this.

Later we are meeting at a building to grill and take the kids in the pool. We are planning to bring homemade colors for a holi celebration on Friday. And so many cultures and good coming together. I just love this and my heart is so full.

Go to the park. Bring a blanket and set up toys me talk to your neighbors. It is absolutely worth it.

You sound like someone who would absolutely thrive in a homeschooling community as your kid gets older. Many homeschool coops continue to exist like this past the baby/toddler phase. Check out some in your area! Otherwise, I agree with other posters, that as kids get older and want to choose their own friends, start to have preferences about how to spend their free time after school, this stuff is harder to maintain. But we live in the burbs now and the kids have their own awesome community and play pick up soccer, etc after school all the time without parent involvement (some of the parents I'm not even sure of their names), bike to eachothers houses to play in eachothers yards on weekends, etc. and I love it so much. But if you value community in the sense that both parents AND kids spend a lot of community time together- look into those sort of coops!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I truly feel so lucky for this community we have around us. We live in an apartment in the city. Near a lot of other buildings but a newer area and not many playgrounds or kids classes nearby yet.

We have found a group of kids and parents/nannies who stay home and every morning we meet up in a grassy field area and bring snacks for the kids and activities. This am we had paint and some canvas for the kids and someone else brought a water table , someone else brought tball set up and stomp rocket. Another family had chalk and bubbles and we also had a sensory bin of lentils and scoopers.

This all happened organically. And there are about 6-8 kids that come every single am and others trickle in and out as they pass by.

The kids are all around 2 and they know each other now and will go to other parents for snack or bubbles.

All we've ever wanted for our child is a strong sense of community and friendship. I just feel so lucky. Unfortunately I know we will end up moving to a suburb but I can't see how it can get better than this.

Later we are meeting at a building to grill and take the kids in the pool. We are planning to bring homemade colors for a holi celebration on Friday. And so many cultures and good coming together. I just love this and my heart is so full.

Go to the park. Bring a blanket and set up toys me talk to your neighbors. It is absolutely worth it.

OP, in case it makes you feel any better: We lived in the city for years and loved our neighbors, but moved to the burbs when my kids were 4 and 2.

We now have a community out here that I am grateful for every day. I regularly tell my kids (now teens) how lucky they are to have friends whose families treat them like their own.

All this to say you’re right to appreciate it, and it can happen elsewhere if you both work at it a bit and get lucky!

We have an amazing suburban community. The neighborhood is great, but our street is next level. The kids spent years scootering, biking and playing outside while we supervised and socialized. We had organized happy hours while the kids played, block parties, holiday parties etc. My kids loved it. They are about to graduate but still spend time outside with the younger crop of kids because the street is so fun. So it is possible. The toddlers next door are legit celebrities - everyone loves them. We always tell people who are looking at houses on our street how great it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I truly feel so lucky for this community we have around us. We live in an apartment in the city. Near a lot of other buildings but a newer area and not many playgrounds or kids classes nearby yet.

We have found a group of kids and parents/nannies who stay home and every morning we meet up in a grassy field area and bring snacks for the kids and activities. This am we had paint and some canvas for the kids and someone else brought a water table , someone else brought tball set up and stomp rocket. Another family had chalk and bubbles and we also had a sensory bin of lentils and scoopers.

This all happened organically. And there are about 6-8 kids that come every single am and others trickle in and out as they pass by.

The kids are all around 2 and they know each other now and will go to other parents for snack or bubbles.

All we've ever wanted for our child is a strong sense of community and friendship. I just feel so lucky. Unfortunately I know we will end up moving to a suburb but I can't see how it can get better than this.

Later we are meeting at a building to grill and take the kids in the pool. We are planning to bring homemade colors for a holi celebration on Friday. And so many cultures and good coming together. I just love this and my heart is so full.

Go to the park. Bring a blanket and set up toys me talk to your neighbors. It is absolutely worth it.

You sound like someone who would absolutely thrive in a homeschooling community as your kid gets older. Many homeschool coops continue to exist like this past the baby/toddler phase. Check out some in your area! Otherwise, I agree with other posters, that as kids get older and want to choose their own friends, start to have preferences about how to spend their free time after school, this stuff is harder to maintain. But we live in the burbs now and the kids have their own awesome community and play pick up soccer, etc after school all the time without parent involvement (some of the parents I'm not even sure of their names), bike to eachothers houses to play in eachothers yards on weekends, etc. and I love it so much. But if you value community in the sense that both parents AND kids spend a lot of community time together- look into those sort of coops!!

This can last though, some kids will choose their neighborhood friends and choose to not be busy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I truly feel so lucky for this community we have around us. We live in an apartment in the city. Near a lot of other buildings but a newer area and not many playgrounds or kids classes nearby yet.

We have found a group of kids and parents/nannies who stay home and every morning we meet up in a grassy field area and bring snacks for the kids and activities. This am we had paint and some canvas for the kids and someone else brought a water table , someone else brought tball set up and stomp rocket. Another family had chalk and bubbles and we also had a sensory bin of lentils and scoopers.

This all happened organically. And there are about 6-8 kids that come every single am and others trickle in and out as they pass by.

The kids are all around 2 and they know each other now and will go to other parents for snack or bubbles.

All we've ever wanted for our child is a strong sense of community and friendship. I just feel so lucky. Unfortunately I know we will end up moving to a suburb but I can't see how it can get better than this.

Later we are meeting at a building to grill and take the kids in the pool. We are planning to bring homemade colors for a holi celebration on Friday. And so many cultures and good coming together. I just love this and my heart is so full.

Go to the park. Bring a blanket and set up toys me talk to your neighbors. It is absolutely worth it.

You sound like someone who would absolutely thrive in a homeschooling community as your kid gets older. Many homeschool coops continue to exist like this past the baby/toddler phase. Check out some in your area! Otherwise, I agree with other posters, that as kids get older and want to choose their own friends, start to have preferences about how to spend their free time after school, this stuff is harder to maintain. But we live in the burbs now and the kids have their own awesome community and play pick up soccer, etc after school all the time without parent involvement (some of the parents I'm not even sure of their names), bike to eachothers houses to play in eachothers yards on weekends, etc. and I love it so much. But if you value community in the sense that both parents AND kids spend a lot of community time together- look into those sort of coops!!

No thank you!