OLTL Discussion Group

Topic: New Neighbors

When someone new moves into your neighborhood, do you take something as a welcoming gift to them?  I have taken a cake or some sandwiches when they are moving in, but I have gotten some strange reactions to that, so I quit doing it.

Do any of you do anything like that or do you just wave and say hi?

Dottie

I'm usually the one moving in.   LOL     My next door neighbor on one side brought us a pie when we moved in.   She is a lovely person and the biggest entertainer I've ever known.   We have been over there to various parties and have been invited to WAY more than we've gone to.    The neighbors on the other side had a block party the first year we lived here and we met a lot of neighbors that way.   Some didn't come though.   We are blessed with very good neighbors on either side of us.   Wouldn't hesitate to holler for help from either and would hope they'd do the same to us. 

Some people moved in down the street and I wanted to say hello and welcome them to the neighborhood, but have never caught them outside.    I'm not someone who likes to bake, so I would just go and introduce myself and say hi.   Although I suppose it wouldn't kill me to bake some brownies.   :-)

I can remember people doing things like that when I was kid...don't see it much now.

I'll introduce myself and wave or nod when they're outside when I am, but I don't initiate chatting. The guy next door...a very nice man...can talk your leg off about nothing. I don't get trapped too often, but Jeff has to listen to him frequently. It's never just "hi"...the guy is the neighborhood gossip, I swear.

The day we moved into our house the next door neighbors came over with a cake.  I thought it was the nicest thing and we'd become great friends, but we barely speak.  They're a little older than us and have no children and seem annoyed when they hear my kids.  The husband was in a terrible accident a couple of years ago and my husband and I offered to help in any way we could (let the dogs out, give the wife a ride to the hospital), but she told us that the people in their congregation would take care of things.  I made ziti and brought it over to her one evening and she told me "no thanks", which I thought was rude.  The husband is a pastor in his own church and she is very involved too and pretty much the only times they've voluntarily spoken to us is to try to get us to go to their church. 

I'm very friendly with other neighbors and my daughter has quite a few friends on our street.  The older man who lived on the other side of us passed away in May and his house just went on the market yesterday.  I'll probably make some sort of overture to the new people, especially if they have kids my kids age, but probably not the day they arrive.

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That was so rude to say no thanks to your ziti. Hard to believe that a pastor's wife would be like that. One of my neighbors had surgery and I made a whole dinner, dessert and everything. Took it over to them. When I saw her again, she told me she didn't like the casserole, but her husband ate it. I thought that was rude too. If I had to throw it down the garbage disposal, I would never have said that to anyone. People are strange. Dottie

Dottie, I would have had your casserole and I know you would have eaten the ziti! When I had my son, my SIL made us this awful pasta dish. It was dry and just had no flavor. My husband and I didn't eat it, but my daughter had some. I wound up throwing the majority of it away, but thanked her profusely and never let her know we didn't like it. When someone goes to any kind of trouble for me, I always appreciate it, even if I don't like it!

That was so rude of her to do that to you. I wouldn't make any effort to be friendly to them at all after that. .... suzyb

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Posted by: SuzyB
Date posted: Sat Sep 6 15:37:44 2008
Message:
I've never done that, I guess my parents generation did that sometimes. I've always been such a shy person, it's hard for me to approach people and make small talk. I smile and wave, sometimes say hi over the fence to the people next door but that's about it.

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I used to be shy, but the older I get, the less I am. Dottie

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Posted by: trkdrvrsqueen
Date posted: Sat Sep 6 13:32:17 2008
Message:
Interesting topic. The street we live on has so few houses that it's hard to ignore when someone new moves in! I do go over and introduce myself and say welcome to the neighborhood....that way I get a feeling if I want to be friendlier or not. I'm not real big on the neighbors popping in! At Christmas tho when I bake I take baked goods to all the neighbors. Also nowdays w/so many renters you never know how long they are going to be your neighbor. I guess I go introduce myself more out of fear than friendliness!! I want to know who they are!

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LOL about fear over friendliness. I think you're right about that too. The people that just moved out of the house across the street from me were definitely not people I would like to know and I'm glad I didn't take anything over to them when they moved in. Dottie

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Posted by: JoEllen
Date posted: Sat Sep 6 12:57:44 2008
Message:

I used to when our neighborhood was new.

Hubby is really good at meeting new people but being shy it's extremely difficult for me.

On my home page I have a section for quotes of the day. Your topic reminds me of one quote:

I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street.

Virginia Woolf (1882 - 1941), The Waves (1931)

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That is a good quote by Virginia Woolf. True too. Dottie

That is a great quote!! and so true. TDQ

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Posted by: Doopy
Date posted: Sat Sep 6 12:52:42 2008
Message:

Hi, Dottie. I normally don't, but we recently got new people in the house next door. I thought since they were close it'd be nice to take something, so I grabbed a 12-pack of Pepsi. It was HOT that day. But normally, I would fear the odd reaction you speak of. I don't even introduce myself, but will nod or wave, if they aren't directly beside or across from me. Unless they make the first effort. I'm shy that way.

My street has 12 houses. In the last year, 4 have sold, two have new renters, and two are currently for sale. Makes me wonder if we did the right thing by remodeling last year. I'd say so, it's just a fluke.

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I guess in this dangerous world we do have to be leary of people. Too bad. That used to be a good thing to do. Dottie

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