Do you yak with your neighbors?

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12 years 2 months ago - 12 years 2 months ago #14714 by Sharkey
Do you yak with your neighbors? was created by Sharkey
I don't know. Maybe I'm just an anti-social, don't wanna wave and smile every damn day kind of old SOB that has no need to make pals with folks just cuz they happen to live 2 houses down from me.

My wife and I were invited to the people's house across the street cuz we have young boys and they were having a party for their daughter who is roughly their age. We are sitting in our chairs watching the boys play and a 60ish couple sat down near us and started talking. They live across the street and one house down from us.

As we were all talking they ended up asking us where we lived and how we knew their kids who were having the party for THEIR grandchild.

I pointed directly across the street to where we lived and they went "Oh wow, did you just move in?". I said no, we've been there for a little while now with a bit of a grin. The woman went "really? How long?" and my wife looked at her and laughingly said "about 11 years"... Of course the people were all shocked but that's just how we live I guess. We're happy and don't really WANT anyone coming knocking to say hi and have coffee or whatever people do and now I'm told I'm like the "big mean looking scary guy" that everyone likes to have in the neighborhood but no one really knows or wants to bother so now I ALMOST feel bad for not being a little more sociable.. Not enough to do anything about it mind you, but maybe a little...

Do you guys feel it is important to have any kind of a palship with your neighbors at all? I mean, our neighborhood is pretty quiet, on a dead end street and we love it that way and now apparently, it's because I'm a big scary guy that they all warn bad people about to keep them out of the neighborhood...lol

Truth is, I'm a REALLY easy going guy who just likes his life now and keeps it pretty safe and quiet without a bunch of yahooing going on but I dunno. Maybe I'm a bastard and just don't know when I have that "keep your damn distance" face thing going on...lol

What do you guys do?
Last edit: 12 years 2 months ago by Sharkey.

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12 years 2 months ago #14715 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
I keep to myself. BUT I like to be neighborly at the same time. Right now most of my fellow apartment dwellers are old fixed income. I help bring in groceries, help catch cats that try to make a break for it every time the door opens. and I try to talk a bit in passing, but I do not get close or too involved.
Being a good neighbor has already paid off once when the lil ol lady down stairs came to let me know she thought someone was messing with my truck. It wasn't my truck but it's the thought that counts. Those old ladies are better than any guard dog, nothing gets by them even when jeopardy is on.

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12 years 2 months ago #14725 by gdcpony
Replied by gdcpony on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
I do associate with my neighbors just to find out who they are. I am military and our neighbor hood changes quite often. It has worked out for me so far. My wife is best friends with our next door neighbor, I shoot with her husband and the other next door neighbor. When they move next year we might end up with jerks, but I would rather know than not know.

Having kids tends to affect this though. They play with the others, and that brings the parents together.

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12 years 2 months ago #14726 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
Mine are pretty much the only kids that live on our street full time and they stick to the back areas anyway. The little girl across the street probably isn't much for football with my LARGE 7 and 9 year old boys and due to divorce issues, I think she's only there a couple days a week anyway.

My neighbor right next door tends to peak out of his bathroom window at my wife a lot so the only words I've had with him are "what, aren't I exciting enough to look at too there buddy boy?".

I don't think that's a good ice breaker when it comes to making pals... :laugh:

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12 years 2 months ago #14730 by Siscowet
Replied by Siscowet on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
Wen I lived in the suburbs I really didn't know my neighbors that well and didn't care to. Really had nothing in common with them. Now I live in a town of 500 that encompasses 55 square miles. Here by necessity we have each others backs. We have one Deputy on duty for the whole county sometimes, which is over 2000 square miles. If you need help, or your neighbor needs help, You may need to call them, or they need to call you. I am currently Chairman of the Town and that is the way we run it. Someone gets hurt, you help them if you can. Someone goes out of town, you watch their place. The down side, is everybody knows everybody else's business. The good side, we work together and help each other out. Plus, here, if you are male, chances are you hunt and fish. So you automatically have something in common. I am not friends with all my neighbors, but I know them and talk to them at least once a month. And know who I can trust.

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12 years 2 months ago - 12 years 2 months ago #14732 by VTIT
Replied by VTIT on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
I live in a medium sized town on a small dead end street. I share my driveway with the neighbor on one side. I like most everyone on my street. The three closest neighbors (one on each side and across the street) are the ones I am closest with. The neighbor I share my drive with is in the same line of work so we have that in common. The one on the other side likes hunting and fishing and shooting so we have that in common. We also are both in to cars. The lady that lives across from me is single, around 60 or so and I like to be neighborly with her because she is such a sweetheart and lives all alone. I like it when she calls me and she says I make her feel safer.
I am lucky in that I LIKE my neighbors. I knew one of them because of my hobbies and that is one of the reasons I chose this house. I moved out of my old neighborhood because I hated my neighbors. I wanted to live where I could trust my neighbors and have friends close by. I actually host a party every 4th of July and most everyone on the street shows up. I had problems when I first moved in with one neighbor but we got it sorted. It turned out he was a retired state trooper and didn't trust anyone at first. We go shooting together on a regular basis and take Tae Kwon Do together.
I grew up in a large family on a farm and we always had extra people hanging around. I guess that is just the way I am. I know where we used to live I never hung around with my neighbors at all. They were always giving me dirty looks because I was "That Redneck Hunter" that they didn't want their kids around.
I don't trust people that easily and I think I never trusted my old neighbors. Probably just me. My wife always got along with them. I just hated their attitudes and never trusted them. I think the people you are surrounded by make it easier or harder to talk with. You either mesh or you don't. I am a pretty conservative person living in one of the most liberal states so finding the right mix of people isn't always the easiest thing to do.
Last edit: 12 years 2 months ago by VTIT.

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12 years 2 months ago #14735 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
It's funny how you mentioned what things were like when you were growing up and always having people around.

Since I grew up, pretty much since I was little, in the fire department, I couldn't go to school the next day and tell the kids about the accident scene I was at with my father the night before and everything I saw and did. It would have pretty much freaked everyone out and, well, I was just a kid so I suppose it wasn't always all that easy for me to process either.

As I got older and got into bigger and worse things, I spose just sticking to myself became a way of life. Being able to keep my mouth shut and just handle stuff was always a plus in certain fields as well but not really all that good for my "neighborly skills" probably.

I think the worst of it all was that I LIKE sitting around shooting the breeze sometimes as long as no one really ASKS me anything..lol Joking around is one thing but sooner or later, it seems like new people are always asking questions I don't want to answer so it's easier just to stick with my inner circle and let the rest of the world do it's thing.

My life is no big mystery really either, just a lot of crap I don't feel like reliving all the time when people ask and then I have to drag it all out and it's just, ya know, the damn past. Leave it there and stop asking stupid questions.

Dunno. Maybe I'm just a crotchety old bastage with a keyboard and fast fingers but mean looks when mooks come a callin around ma dooryard...

I have one guy down the street who seems to think he has free range authority with his chickens and they roam all over hell. When he sees em coming toward my yard, he always runs em down and apologizes for the noise... Sometimes it's fun being the bastage on the street I spose... Too bad though cuz my wife makes great fried chicken... :laugh:

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12 years 2 months ago #14747 by Sharkey
Replied by Sharkey on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
My wife laughs when everyone thinks I'm a big mean guy and she's always having people "empathize" with her thinking she's "under my total rule" cuz she's just a pretty, happy little smiling thing and they think I'm like the beast from the 4th level of hell or something.

If the neighbors ever saw her beating the crap out of me, I think my reputation might be in trouble. She does it all the time too. Maybe I'm abused... :laugh:

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12 years 2 months ago #14749 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
I live 1 1/2 blocks from where I grew up, my parents still live there. The only neighbors I haven't known forever just came from Mexico or Sudan. I try to keep an eye on the four widows that live close on all sides of me, two are related by marriage and I delivered the paper to the other two when I was 11. When I worked on the road they all helped watch out for my family so now that I'm home I try to help them when I can. I bring them produce from my garden and they bring me baked goods all year, I'm getting the better end of that deal! My 5th grade teacher lives just across the street. Sadly he suffered brain damage in the first Gulf war so he is real hard to talk with, but easier than the Sudanese! One of my 7th grade teachers lives 5 houses down. I'm surrounded with my own history.
I don't think I would ever want to live anywhere else. I get the best of both worlds by being surrounded with people I've known my whole life and a healthy does of multiculturalism.

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12 years 2 months ago #14754 by switchman
Replied by switchman on topic Do you yak with your neighbors?
I've lived in the same town for 25 years, moved here because of a job transfer. Recently retired and decided to stay, for the time being. Just moved to a different part of town where I knew a few folks from work. Mostly retirees, with a mix of younger families.

Most of the neighbors are friendly without being too snoopy. There's a neighborhood watch program with little to do. Pretty quiet, that's why we moved here. Probably because:

There are a lot of gun folks around here, the guy across the street builds black powder rifles, there's an FFL dealer, five or six are regulars at the ranges and I volunteer as a range safety officer and collect military rifles myself.

Just your average, quiet, gun-totin' neighborhood.

We get along just fine.

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