Community Building Tip: Traveling

[ysabetwordsmith]

In today's fragmented world, people can improve it by reaching out to each other. Here are some ideas for building community in your neighborhood.

Let your neighbors know when you will be out of town and ask them to contact you or the police if anything is suspicious. You don’t need a formalized neighborhood watch program to keep the neighborhood safe. My next-door neighbor had a break-in stopped by a helpful neighbor who knew she was traveling. If you ask your neighbors, they will likely ask you in turn, which helps to keep the neighborhood safe for everyone.

Comments

[cmcmck]

We always do this as do our immediate neighbours.

It really is a useful thing.

[gingicat]

So, my next-door neighbor has pissed a lot of people off (including me) for playing his music at extreme volume at all hours, and is also being closely watched because he is neglecting his very sweet dog.

Nevertheless, when I got home from work and saw his garage door open, I worried that there might have been a break-in and called the PD to be helpful rather than complaining.

Turned out that the garage door had bounced off the garbage can unnoticed and had been open all day, and no-one had considered that it gave open access to his house. (Turns out that he had a locked interior door, but STILL.)

I won’t call next time now that I know he has a locked interior door, but REALLY? None of the curious neighbors mentioned knowing this. And we’re in a townhouse complex.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

People aren't as connected as they used to be. They move around too much. Even if you want to connect with your neighbors, it's hard, because they move and/or you move and the churn undermines building relationships. So things that people used to know about each other and do for each other just ... don't happen. It's a problem. Reaching out can fight it, but the situation is a mess.

Re: Well ...

[gingicat]

I was more annoyed that the other neighbors hadn’t considered the safety issue. Even though the guy is a brat, I still didn’t want someone to randomly enter and steal stuff.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Always look for ways that a desired action will benefit the listener. In this case, looking out for the jerk neighbor's house means that everyone's house will be safer. You don't want the neighborhood to get a reputation as an easy hit because nobody pays attention.

[cmcmck]

I suppose it's the advantage of small town living.

We moved to this small Shropshire market town three years back from a big southeastern conurbation and feel so much more connected to people here.

The facts that the guy's an arsehole makes your good neighbourliness (if that's a word :o) all the more commendable.