Reply to Should people "quarantining" at their vacation homes maybe just stay there post-pandemic?

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Reply to "Should people "quarantining" at their vacation homes maybe just stay there post-pandemic?"

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[quote=Anonymous]Was talking about it with a few neighbors during an alley hang over the weekend, and one of them pointed out something I hadn't thought of. A lot of our, shall we say, high maintenance neighbors aren't around. We live in a transitional neighborhood and while many of us bought our homes for 200-300k over a decade ago (or even longer for some of the old-timers), we also have some newer arrivals who are much more well off (housing prices are through the roof here) and some of them can be demanding. In recent years, we see way more noise complaints, combative arguments over property uses or renovations, and other not-very-neighborly behavior than we used to. Until the pandemic. It's been pretty peaceful, something I chalked up to people just being nicer in a stressful time.

My neighbor said that she speculates many of our newer arrivals are spending the pandemic elsewhere -- at vacation homes, with family that can accommodate longterm guests, etc. And that the more collaborative atmosphere in the neighborhood is partially due to the fact that our most demanding residents just aren't here anymore.

I can't stop thinking about it since she said it. We definitely have two families on our block, specifically, who have spent most of the pandemic elsewhere, save for a few months in the summer and early fall. And, yeah, when I think about it, these folks are often not very friendly (don't say hello on the street, don't participate in clean ups), more likely to complain about stuff, more easily offended by very normal city inconveniences. I don't dislike them (it's rare that I dislike anyone) but I'm not friends with any of them, either, even though I know pretty much every other family on the street and we socialize often. But these are not people who have put much effort into getting to know their neighbors.

It seems like the people who have left might also be the people least committed to the neighborhood and to DC in general. People with other options who don't feel the need to create a community here. And in light of the events of last week, community is something I really care about right now. So I guess I wonder if we wouldn't be better off if those folks just didn't return? I don't know how I'm going to feel when this is all over and the (let's just say it) rich folks return from their country and beach houses to mix with us plebes again. Part of me thinks if you can't tough it out during the hard times, what's the point of showing back up when it's over?[/quote]

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