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how to meet your neighbors (with no dog or baby).

we moved into our new house on december 15th in a christmas flurry and left 5 days later for seattle. since we got back it feels like time has flown. and while we've loved the new place, we feel a little ashamed at how few of our neighbors we have met so far.

we are both dog-less and baby-less, which i think makes it harder right off the bat. but, seriously, we need to figure out how to get to know these people! how do you go about making friends with new neighbors? are you brave enough to go door to door knocking and introducing yourself (with a plate of warm cookies)? or do you just hang out outside on sunny days and hope that someone with a cute dog or baby walks by, so that you can comment on the cuteness and then awkwardly introduce yourself?


(i feel like this last one is the closest thing we have to strategy so far...)


there is a dog park in our neighborhood. and apparently that's where people go to meet one another. again, no dog. maybe we should make some homemade doggy treats and take them to the dog park? and hang out, dog-less. i'm still brainstorming...


but in all seriousness, what has worked for you? what hasn't worked? or do you prefer to mind your own business and leave your neighbors to theirs?


help me out here!


grazie mille.











14 comments:

  1. i'd bake something and go door to door and introduce myself. be bold...the fields are more than ripe in the the master's Harvest.

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    1. so true! thanks for the encouragement. i need a little push to get out of my comfort zone sometimes!

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  2. Hi Elise -- I forget how I found your blog, but I live in the area and love your blog, esp posts about living in Durham! I work in Durham and live in Raleigh near Brier Creek. Do you go to church in this area? I attend the Summit. Anyway, nice to "meet" you. :)

    As for meeting neighbors, I have a hard time with this one too. It's easy for me to assume they don't like me or won't want to get to know me. But then I wonder if a neighbor started to befriend me or started talking to me at a park, I'd be so happy they reached out! (I mean, unless they were a creeper or something). I think we all assume the worst, but the fact is most people out of college have a hard time making friends, and it just takes one person to initiate it. It will also get easier when it's nicer out and you can work in your yard or spend more time outside.

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    1. Thanks so much for reading! I go to summit too! what a small world. Great to meet you! I think you are so right about putting myself in their shoes and realizing that i would love it if they reached out to me! glad to know i'm not the only one that finds it difficult!

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    2. You do?! I LOVE the Summit. I attend Brier Creek -- are you at West Club? I know this is stalkish, but I saw in an earlier post you also work at Duke... me too! If you ever want to grab lunch or whatever, let me know. :)

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  3. Sam and I just walked over and knocked on the door. A year and a half after we moved in. Yeah, silly, I know. She was so sweet and invited us in. It was great to get her phone number in case of an emergency. What finally pushed me was when I felt God told me one day "You want to do great work for me but you won't even meet your neighbor?" And the passage in scripture that tells us to care for the widows and to love our neighbor. Our neighbor is a widow. So God pretty much slapped me in the face.

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    1. Linnea--That is such an awesome story! sometimes i do wonder if it's awkward to go to someone's door even after you've been living there awhile. it's easy to convince myself that the window has passed of "we just moved in" and now it would just be awkward. you have totally inspired me! sometimes we all need God to hit us over the head with something like that. miss you friend!

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  4. I completely agree with Linnea...Taylor and I moved into our little house in Houston 18 months ago, and we met two of our neighbors in quite a flurry, and I thought to myself, "Ok, I know these two, I'm good here." But then God began working in us about the neighbor on our left. He leaves at all hours, makes a lot of noise really early in the morning, and I realized that my not knowing him was making it easier for me to be upset about his habits. One day in church, just before Easter, the pastor was preaching on the true meaning of being in the world and not of the world, and how this didn't mean we abandoned the world, but always tried to bring light into it, and God convicted me right there. He clearly told me to bring cookies over, knock on the door to say hi, even if it meant nothing would come of it. And so I did. (it took me 5 weeks to get the courage, but eventually, I did)

    My other favorite method I've seen so far is even more bold! My neighbor to the right of me "mailed" invitations to everyone on our street, inviting us all to a potluck gathering at her house before Christmas (Easter could be another good excuse ;) And surprisingly, almost everyone came! I think we were all so desperate for a community and no one knew how to build one. People brought kids, dogs, we played outside, sat inside, ate and drank together. I don't know where she got the courage, but it was great. I now know almost everyone on my block, at least by sight. Such an example.

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    1. Wow, your neighbor does sound brave but how fun! And what a great idea. I think if i get up the courage i will end up baking/delivering door to door. how did it go over with your neighbor when you finally got up the courage?

      you are so right about everyone being desperate for community. i think if just assume they are in the same boat as me, it will make it easier. we are all human! and we all need people around us!

      miss you girl!!

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  5. this is where we struggle. We live in an apartment and moved in September but we have been so busy. All of our friends from college moved away and Andrew works at UNC and I am a teacher but we work with very old aged people. We are having a hard time meeting people in our complex and ppl our own age! If you find something that works let me know!

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    1. Yes, busyness can get in the way so fast. I think for me it is just going to take biting the bullet, picking a Saturday and going to knock on some doors. Sounds so scary! That seems to be what everyone else is saying. :) to be brave and realize that everyone is in the same place--wanting community. Thanks so much for your response girl!

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  6. I love going for walks when everyone else is out walking and then just give a simple hey! Good luck! Hugs from Cali! xx The Golden Girls

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    1. Yes! That's probably the most old fashioned, good old way to meet a neighbor! Love it! Now that the weather is nice and it's actually light when we get home, we will have to do some neighborhood strolling/socializing! Thanks so much for reading!

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  7. hahaha when i moved in when i got married to john, our sweet neighbor brought cookies over to introduce herself. :) i loved it!

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