We are extremely lucky Bumbles. When we made the decision to buy our house we went through lots of home inspections, town research, financial planning and legal paperwork. We felt we had found the best lot in a great town with a plan to expand the home to make it into what we wanted it to be. But there is one thing that can spoil all of that hard work and shatter dreams of a perfect home. Neighbors.
You never really know them until you move in. And with fingers crossed you scope them out. Our neighbors are more than the people who live next door. They are friends. They are watchdogs. They are entertainers. They are fixers. They are lenders. They are confidants. I told you we are lucky.
They like our company and we like theirs. Our street is a dead end and all the kids ride their bikes up and down it all day. They have big group games of hide and seek using all of the yards on the street as their boundaries. Everyone knows everyone else's kids. We know each others cars. We know when someone comes in who doesn't belong. And we watch out for each other.
Backyard parties are an open invitation to drop in. We fix each others stuff and borrow what we need when we run out. We mow each others lawns, shovel each others driveways, clean out gutters together, share tree removal expenses, make a united front at town meetings, feed each others pets and keep spare keys in case of emergency.
We share in the building of, filling and maintaining of a backyard ice rink next door where everyone gathers in the winter for further neighborhood bonding. We play music together, we give advice, we bring each other our mail that the mail lady never delivers properly and we stop in for drinks, bringing snacks to watch the game.
We bought our house because we loved the lot, the town and the potential to expand our home into exactly the way we wanted it to be. We love our house because our neighborhood is the way it was when we were little. It is safe and friendly. Because we all get out of our homes and get to know each other across the way.
7 comments:
Ah yes, the unknown element when considering a new home. I once read somewhere that when you are looking at houses, that you should randomly talk with the people who live nearby. It not only gives you the opportunity to meet potential neighbors face-to-face, but you also get to hear what they have to say abut the neighborhood, and the "other" neighbors. It could give you a sense of how comfortable you'll be there.
Sounds like you've got great ones.
You are so lucky! We live in one of the rare areas of Orlando that was there before Disney. It is a private drive with three houses, no HOA and a variety of elements living over fences. I feel bad for my kids, and I often long for a real neighborhood. On the other hand, it is crazy private and I can do whatever I want. That pony we had for my daughter's 6th birthday? No problem!
I don't suppose you'd like a room mate? You're very lucky to have such great neighbors, and they're lucky to have good neighbors like you!
that's a great neighborhood you live in. Ours is like that except we don't live on a dead end and we don't have an ice-skating rink ;P
your neighborhood sounds like bliss. reminds me of when i was a kid playing kickball in the street with all the neighborhood kids, my best friend living next door, riding my bike to friends' houses on neighboring streets, walking the two blocks to school. good times.
p.s. i so fancy your ice rink.
I have always been pretty lucky with neighbors, but you totally lucked out. And now I want to go skating!
How wonderful! It sounds like just the kind of neighborhood we all dream of.
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