Living Harmoniously With Neighbours
by Ronnee Ruselle
Here are some tips for how you can have a harmonious relationship with neighbours.
Get to Know Your Neighbours
The police service encourage people to get to know their neighbours and their regular habits so that if something should happen to you and nobody is around to help, the neighbours might at least recognize that something is wrong and alert the authorities or your family. Lives have been saved this way so it's worth considering getting to know your neighbours. Exchange phone numbers and details so that in times of emergency you can contact your neighbours to check on them or to ask them for help.
Assistance
When people are sick or grieving, neighbours have been known to drive kids to school, take people to doctors and help with cooking and catering. Being prepared to be helpful to your neighbours will go a long way to having them return the favour when you need it. Do it with the right intentions though. If you offer assistance it's with no strings attached. They may not be in a position to help you when you need it and if you feel like they 'owe' you, this can create negative feelings within yourself and towards the neighbour which will disrupt the harmony. Simply find somebody else to help in these circumstances. Some people just wont help, but the majority will do their best to return the favour when they can.
Going on Holidays
Neighbours can be a great help to you. When you go away on holidays, it's advised that signs of this are not shown so you need someone to collect your paper and mail, turn lights on and off etc. so that all appears normal and as usual. This will lessen your chances of being burgled. Your neighbour is the most obvious person for the job so if they are happy to do this for you, don't forget to give them a gift of thanks and to return the favour should they need it.
Childminding
If you and your neighbour both have children and you all get along fine, it's the perfect opportunity to exchange childminding. This will give both you and your neighbour a chance to take a well deserved break and go out to dinner or some other relaxation.
Be Polite
It's important to observe politeness in relation to your neighbours. You all have to live happily together so when you move in or a new neighbour moves in, why not greet them with a welcome basket or a cake and say hello so that they can meet you personally. This helps prevent rumours and can create a stable start to a peaceful neighbourhood environment. Observe proper respect and don't swear or cause problems around neighbours and their children. If they have different habits to you, then you don't have to do the same thing within your home, but outside of your home, you should be respectful of their beliefs and behaviours and teach your children to be also.
Be Aware of Times and Lengths of Visits
Some neighbours are very helpful and friendly and it's important not to abuse this. It's easy when you're going through a hard time to rely more upon others than you normally would, but it's also important to stand up and get through it as best you can. So should you normally drop into your neighbours' house for a cuppa once a week, try not to make this an every day event when you are going through difficulty. Be aware of how often and how long you visit for and the same goes for phone and in-person conversations. Friendly and polite is good but infringing upon their personal time and space is not. You will see signs of when a neighbour needs you to leave - be alert for it and politely leave when it is time to, avoiding that extra cuppa even if it is politely offered.
Neighbourhood Socials
Perhaps you'd like to organise street parties or similar get-togethers, where everyone in the street becomes involved and contributes, plans and enjoys the event together. It can be a great way to make new friends and give the kids a safe, fun environment to meet and mix with others.
Awareness of their Rights and Comfort
Observe such things as height of fences, trees infringing upon other people's properties, noisy vehicles and parties and that sort of thing. If you are having a party, it is polite to invite the neighbours or at least inform them of the party so that they can make arrangements in regard to it if they need to. Be aware of the ages of the children in the neighbourhood and if you have a loud party with a baby living next door, try to keep the noise level down so that the baby can sleep or have the party elsewhere. At the very least, discuss it with the neighbours so that they know you are not blatantly being rude to them.
All of these tips create a pleasant, safe neighbourhood environment.