Are you in a friendly neighborhood or unfriendly?

[Anonymous]

Very friendly- North Ridge/Rosemont/Beverly Hills section of Alexandria. While we don't always socialize on our block consistently, we stop to talk when the weather is warmer, there's always a babysitter in a pinch, and someone always has an extra cup of sugar

[Anonymous]

Friendly but not overly so. We're a "wave hi and chat for a moment with folks walking their dogs" kind of cul-de-sac.

[Anonymous]

^^ in North Four Corners

[Anonymous]

Very, very friendly. We are in Alcova Heights is S Arl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park. Very friendly. Houses on our block regularly host potlucks, play dates, etc for neighbors. Also, just everyday kindness..shoveling each other's walks/driveways without being asked, stopping and chatting on the street, etc.

Ditto. Also a nice mix of young, middle aged and older people, and a great racial-ethnic and income mix. The longer we live in Takoma Park, the more I like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friendly, as are most of our neighbors. We live in a neighborhood full of families with young kids.

I do see a divide on our street though between those of us who have kids and those who don't. The house 2 doors up from us was bought by a late 30's couple with no kids and they are not at all friendly- never wave or say hi, were rude to a neighbor who lives directly next to them and went over to introduce herself when they first moved in.

We're a couple in our 30's (over 35) without children, and we are friendly to our neighbors. Maybe the neighbors you are talking about don't say "hi" because you were rude to them or somehow made them feel unwelcome to your kid-centric events.

But they were rude (attitude of "why are you knocking on my door to introduce yourself ") to a neightobr who went over to say hi. She is about 50, single and has no kids so I don't think it has anything to do with kids or feeling excluded from "kid-centric events". I get that our relationship with them will be different because they aren't going to be joining us and the other neighbors in the front yard while the kids play, but they could wave and say hi when we all leave at the same time for work and see each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ask because we just moved to a neighborhood where people are not friendly, do not say hi, pretend they don't see you, etc. I find this strange.

I live in a very friendly neighborhood, however, my next door neighbor has always purposely avoided me in social situations. She will purposely turn her back on me and pretend she doesn't see me. She did this to another neighbor of mine who would cry to me how mean my next door neighbor was. I assured her that is happened to more people than just her. People who pretend they don't see you are very insecure. It's them, not you! I don't believe that everyone in your neighborhood does this. You will find some very nice people to be friends with, I'm sure.

Is she new? She may have had a bad experience elsewhere? Some next door neighbors are "give them an inch and they think they are a ruler" types. One is all it takes. My friends moved to an amazing neighborhood after being in a horrible one. She hasn't gotten to know any of her current neighbors, except the ones she knew before she moved there. Which is how she knew the neighborhood was considered normal (especially compared to her last one). Some people just want a balance of MYOB types and nice, but definitely don't want in your face over nothing types, understandably.

[Anonymous]

My neighborhood is pretty friendly. There are lots of people out walking, and generally everyone waves and says hi or stops by for a brief chat if they see you outside.

The neighborhood is a mix of younger families and original owners (houses built in the late 60s) and seems to be getting younger every year as some of those original owners move out. One of the things that sold us on the neighborhood was the kids playing outside and friendliness of the neighbors when we were looking at houses.

And for the record, the house 2 doors up from us was bought by a late 30's couple with no kids and they are AWESOME. Shovel the older folks driveways, join us for happy hour on our porch, and offer to babysit our kids so we can escape for an evening out.

[Anonymous]

Put up the appearance of friendly, but not much is authentic - security/military types.

[Anonymous]

It changes - been here for 15 years. I'd say not friendly now. use to be friendly - but not now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very friendly. We waited for over a year for a house on a certain street, not because of its prestige, but because a friend of ours loved her street and neighbors and really wanted us to move there. The street has been everything she promised. Neighbors range from young new parents to empty nesters and grandparents and everything in between. The mix is great and everyone is super friendly. The older families LOVE all the little kids moving in - totally dote on them.

All I'm saying is, you have to do your research. There is more to choosing a house than just the house itself.

This is very much like my street. I'm in Vienna Woods. Love our neighbors and the range of families from young couples with small kids, to couples with elementary and teen kids, empty nesters and senior citizens.

On a nice day, everyone is outside chatting and kids are playing. Someone always breaks out some snacks, wine or beer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park. Very friendly. Houses on our block regularly host potlucks, play dates, etc for neighbors. Also, just everyday kindness..shoveling each other's walks/driveways without being asked, stopping and chatting on the street, etc.

Agree. Very friendly vibe there.

[Anonymous]

Very friendly -- I'm in CCDC. We looked for this specifically in our home search. And when we'd find a home we were interested, we would walk around the block, say hi to people, stop them to ask them how they liked living there and if they'd recommend it. That told us a lot about how friendly people were.

[Anonymous]

Woodley Park, very friendly for families with kids and active retirees.

[Anonymous]

I'm in a friendly North Arlington neighborhood near Yorktown HS. In the warmer months, people walk around a lot with their kids and pets. It's unusual if someone *doesn't* say hi to you as you pass by, whether they know you or not. On halloween, everyone walks around with wagons and beers, trick-or-treating, and you'll get invited in for a drink. We're thinking about having a block party this summer. The neighbors on our street who have kids are the most friendly; the child-free younger renters are less likely to say hi, but my guess is they're just living there and not looking for a community.