52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 32

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Introduce yourself to someone on your block you have not met.

If you have been a part of 52 Weeks of Neighboring for a while, there is a good chance you have met some of your neighbors. You might have even met them all! That being said, we know doing so can be hard, so are there neighbors you have not yet met? This week, we challenge you to look around for someone on your block you have not met and introduce yourself to them. If you have been experimenting with our neighboring tips, there is a good chance the neighbors you have not yet met are also the most secluded. They could be new to the neighborhood, unable to leave their home easily, or speak a different language than you. But we should not misinterpret their seclusion as avoidance; our guess is that they are longing to see a friendly face in the neighborhood! If you discover there is a language barrier, perhaps you can see if there are any other neighbors who are bilingual and could help introduce you. 

If you are new to the neighborhood and there are multiple neighbors on your block you have not yet met, we also challenge you to introduce yourself to someone new! A good place to start is with the 8 homes closest to yours. When we give neighboring advice, we often suggest a block map. A block map is a simple diagram of the 8 homes closest to yours with space to fill in your neighbors’ names. As you get to know your neighbors better, you can expand the block map to include their gifts and interests in order to help foster connections on your block.

Happy neighboring!