Do neighbours come and say hello to new people ?

44 comments

1. I remember it happening as a kid in the 90s but it has never happened to me as an adult.

2. We’ve had it happen once when I was a kid. We lived just outside of a smaller town. They stopped by and just said hello and wanted to introduce their kids to me. They did end up becoming family friends.

   However it seems to be a dying custom that’s probably only really kept alive in rural or suburban settings. Since moving to the city I haven’t known any of my neighbors names, although that may also be because I live in a rental.

3. Depends what community you’re moving into. Most of the time probably not

4. Yes, that has happened at both houses we’ve moved into. Each time it was one mom/daughter pair with a plate of baked goods welcoming us to the neighborhood.

5. A neighbor stopped by with some sort of baked goods when I was moving into my current house….was very “as seen on TV” lol. I don’t think it’s super common

6. Was common when I was growing up in the 60s & 70s but not so much now. We moved into our current house 7 years ago and no one came over. We do exchange brief pleasantries if we are outside and someone walks by.

7. Lived in many different rural and city homes and personally never had it happen so maybe idk?

   The introduction usually occurs when you accidentally meet them outside, if ever, I lived in a home where I never knew the name of, never talked to the next door neighbor for 10 years. They tend to be the best neighbors.

8. I’ve baked a loaf of bread and left it on people’s porches with a note saying hi and leaving my cell number, but I don’t take it personally if they don’t respond. This is for the four or five houses closest by, I don’t do this for all 66 houses in the neighborhood.

9. Yes, and invite you to their church also.

10. They might.

    I was friendly when my neighbors moved in and helped them carry some stuff in from their moving trailer since I had some time.

11. That used to be a common feature of suburban living. It was especially true back when it was more of the “husband goes to work and wife stays home” era. Sometimes a neighborhood organization would have that task as representatives of the neighborhood.

    There was also this:

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Wagon

    >When the company was founded, Welcome Wagon “hostesses” would visit new homeowners with a gift basket containing samples, coupons, and advertising from contributing businesses. These home visits continued for over 50 years until 1998, when then-owner Cendant laid off the “hostesses”, saying that changing demographics meant few homeowners would be at home when representatives called.

12. I’ve made it a point to introduce myself to new neighbors since I’ve lived in my house. I’ve never knocked on their door. But when I see them outside I’ll go over and introduce myself. I’m always outside doing something so usually I see them moving in. I go over and introduce and let them know I’m there if they need anything to get settled in (like tools or move something heavy, hoping they don’t need it tho lol).

13. Only time it happened to me was when I moved into my current house. The neighbor kid (13 or 14 years old) came over the first day and asked us to help her open a jar of pasta sauce that was too tight for her to open. In retrospect I’m pretty sure her VERY nosy mom sent her over to scope us out.

14. I just moved this summer. The neighbors on one side came over when we were moving boxes in to introduce themselves. One of the neighbors across the street brought over brownies and introduced herself and her kids (our sons are in the same class). The neighbors with dogs all introduced themselves as we ran into each other on walks. Anytime I was outside doing yard work or anything for the first 6 weeks or so people walking by would stop, and sometimes people driving by would roll down their window and introduce themselves. I still haven’t met the couple behind me (and my neighbor says she hasn’t talked to them in 8 years).

    The last house I moved into was much of the same, people knew someone new was in and would say hi. At that house everyone HATED the people that used to live there, so there was a lot of “We’re SO happy you’re here”.

    It’s definitely more of a trope in film/TV, but it does happen. My new neighbors also let us know when they were going on vacation and asked us to keep an eye out and grab any packages that get delivered. We also swapped keys for emergencies.

15. I’ve moved around a lot, and this has never happened to me.

16. We bought a house upstate and introduced ourselves to the neighbors. When I bought my condo in Brooklyn my neighbors all introduced themselves and one gave me a plant. I guess it depends but it’s pretty common with my fam and friends.

17. Feels like that went away after 2008.

    I agree with the others who say that was more of a thing in the 90s. IME there was much more of a welcoming community vibe then, neighbors were more involved and it was like a big block club.

18. That depends. If it looks like we will have something in common or something, we will. Like if our kids appear to be the same age, or you can tell that they may have similar interests when moving, etc. Otherwise, I will usually wait until I catch them outside and say hey.

19. I think this is more of a TV/movie trope then something that happens in real life.

20. Very often yes. They may not show up at your door with a basket of muffins, but they’ll usually at least, in my experience, at least make it a point to stop and say hello when they see you outside.

    All of this is different in apartment (rental) conplexes though.

21. Until we all banded together to fight our HOA president, our neighborhood didn’t really greet each other. Lol

22. In the 90’s it was definitely a thing, nowadays however people dont do it, our society has gotten more socially isolated the last 25 years.

23. Sometimes. We did it in towns where everyone had their own houses, but not in city apartments.

    The trick is you give them some dessert on your own plate, so they have to give it back. Easy way to have an excuse for two conversations before you decide if you like them or not.

24. I’ve moved a lot, I’ve never had this happen once.

25. Common here in the DC suburbs

26. I’ll introduce myself to immediate neighbors– next door, or across the street– sometime when I see them outside after they’ve finished moving in.

27. Most of the time no, if I see a new neighbour on the sidewalk or porch I’ll introduce myself and point out which house I’m from but that’s it.

28. I’m in the suburbs and I’ve seen this with neighbors directly on either side of me if we are both outside at the same time but I’ve never in my life seen someone go out of their way to welcome people to the neighborhood.

29. Sometimes. We’ve introduced ourselves to new neighbors on occasion, though it might be several weeks before we do. It usually occurs when we all happen to be outside at the same time (in which case we’ll walk over to their place), as opposed to knocking on their door.

30. When we bought our house in the suburbs, yes. One person knocked on our door to say hi and a couple others approached me while I was working outside. Some of them had been living there for 20+ years and its like a small community.

    For an apartment or rental home? Nope, and I prefer it that way.

31. Depends on the neighborhood, I wouldn’t walk up and knock on their door unprompted, but If I notice someone moving onto my block I’ll usually try to strike up a conversation the first time I see them and say hi, if they are just out in their yard or something (not if they seem busy)

32. > Tv invention or reality?

    It really depends on the area. I’ll make a dish for new arrivals, but not the day of, because they’re stupidly busy. However, the day after it’s very nice to get a home-cooked meal from your new neighbors.

    It also sets the relationship one would want with their neighbors. I’m the definition of a hermit, but when I need help I’d like to know my neighbors are there, and vice versa.

33. Not in our neighborhood. We all know each other now though. My favorite neighbor has since moved, unfortunately, but we first met when we were both walking our dogs in the field + kinda surprised each other. He met my bf a bit later + they became fast friends too. I’ve only met the guy that lives there now once but (despite my bf’s attempts to make friends) he doesn’t like us, at all. The feeling is now mutual but, I hope we can fix it.

    I first met the neighbors across the street when the mom + kid were passing out Jehovah’s Witness literature + cookies. They’re very nice + the kid has also attempted to help me catch a chicken that got loose. They’re cool.

34. When I moved into my new building my immediate neighbor and I said hi. I have chats with folks in the building but nothing much.

35. In some suburban neighborhoods, it is common. It just depends on the vibe of the area. My neighbors are all up in eachothers lives, so they do that. They even gave us a map of the people on the block. It was creepy because our names were on it and we were in the middle of moving in that day!

    I’m not a super talkative person, so I’d rather not chit chat with my neighbors.

36. I live in a mostly residential neighborhood in a city – the neighborhood has lots of apartment buildings, but my block is all single-family homes or doubles. It’s 50/50 renters vs. owner-occupants. In general, when someone new moves in, no one knocks on their door to introduce themselves, however, people are friendly and introduce themselves to new neighbors when they see each other outside – both walking dogs at the same time, working on the yard, walking to their cars (almost everyone on my block parks on the street), etc.

37. The smaller a town is, the more likely it probably is. When I was around ten years old we had new neighbors move in, and my parents had all of us help them unload their moving truck and bring the boxes into their house. The dad of that family and my own dad are still really close friends.

    As an adult, I’ve never had neighbors come over to introduce themselves to me, and I’ll be honest, I’ve never introduced myself when someone else moved in either.

38. My family moved into our home shortly before the holidays a couple years ago, and our neighbors welcomed us to the neighborhood with a platter of homemade cookies and other goodies on a Christmas dish, along with a bag of homemade peanut brittle. 😊

39. Yes for me. Some of the stuff we’ve received included cookies, blueberry crumble, honey, and fresh eggs. I’ve given cookies and donuts to new neighbors. I always like to introduce myself because those are the people who will be seeing what is going on with your property when you are away. And you never know when you might need to depend on them for something.

40. Within 5 minutes of arrival at my current house (which I had never been to before), I was met/interrogated by a neighbor. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes.

    Other neighbors have brought over biscochitos, tamales, and roasted green chile.

41. When I moved to my current house my neighbors came over with cookies, it was really nice. These were really nice mormons though and I don’t think that’s typical anymore.

42. I’ve done it when I see new neighbors moving in. Don’t make a point to have some formal greeting ritual or anything but if they’re outside I’ll walk over and say hi and all that stuff. Nothing better than good neighbors and nothing worse than bad ones. It helps to start off on the right foot.

43. Nope.

44. Depends. When I moved into an apartment in a big city, no. No one said hi. Moved to a suburb to a tiny neighborhood and so many people came to check out the new people (us) and say hello.