- By Matthew P. Binkewicz
- Around Town
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Ask IMOAsk IMOLansing's Advice Column
Dear IMO,
How can we get our neighbors to act like neighbors? Our neighbors will wave at us when they leave or arrive, but there is no real feeling of a neighborhood. Can you think of any ways to get our neighbors to act neighborly?
Sincerely,
Keith and Rita
Dear Keith and Rita,
Your request is a bit tricky. Unlike your children, whom you can threaten if they don’t do as you tell them, your neighbors require a different approach if you wish to bring them into the mindset of neighborhood. The approach you take with your neighbors will require tact, patience, and creativity.
You should plan an event at which everyone would feel comfortable. At this time of year, a picnic or summer barbeque might be a great way to gather your neighbors together for some good food and light conversation. Perhaps one or more of them will enjoy the camaraderie and suggest another such event. At these future events, more neighbors may suggest ways to keep meeting—holidays, birthdays, and other occasions. If you are patient, you might experience a strange sensation which some might interpret as the beginnings of a neighborhood.
If this does not happen, and your neighbors do not show any interest in gatherings, then you will have another answer. This negative response may not be the one you had hoped for, but it will give you an idea how they feel about being neighbors. Don’t take it personally. They may lead busy lives and choose to spend time in other ways. In any event, you will have done your part to make a neighborhood out of a cluster of houses.
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