The friends you make in your neighborhood can become some of the best friends of your life, and welcoming your new neighbors into the neighborhood is one of the easiest ways to start making new friends. If you’d like to turn the strangers next door into new friends, then you’ll appreciate these three tips.
Say Hello
Once upon a time, it used to be a normal thing to stand and chat with your neighbors over the backyard fence, but those days seem to be rapidly disappearing. Sadly, nowadays people can go for years never speaking to their neighbors even though they live less than twenty yards away. If you haven’t developed a “chat habit” with your neighbors, you should. Getting up the nerve to say hello breaks the ice, and it’s easy to do. Make a point of going over to introduce yourself to your new neighbors. Doing so could be the beginning of an unexpected yet rewarding friendship.
Offer Your Help
Moving is overwhelming even for the most organized among us. A simple offer of help can help you start your relationship with your new neighbors on a high note, and if you’re the shy type, sometimes it’s easier to strike up a conversation with people if you have a pretense for doing so. If your neighbors have just moved in, plan to bring dinner, a new plant, or some coupons for coffee for the local coffee shop. If you’re around when they’re unloading the truck to move in, you could even offer to help them unpack. If they’ve been there for a little while, then try to observe them and their home for a couple of days (being discreet, of course). Is your neighbor elderly or does he/ she have trouble getting around? If so, then you could offer to shovel the snow in the winter. You can even help a neighbor by fixing up the fence in between your yards.
Exchange Phone Numbers
Exchanging phone numbers or emails allows you to communicate with each other so you can help each other out with things when needed. Doing this signifies that you and your neighbors have begun to trust one another. This step also comes in handy when the family dog runs away, or you need someone to pick up your mail while you’re on vacation. Not only does having a neighbor’s phone number allow you to get another pair of eyes involved, so to speak, it also gives you someone to talk to if you’re feeling stressed about something that’s going on. Helping each other out during these times also helps to build the bonds of friendship because you’re giving one another support at a time when one or the other is in need of help.
Getting to know your new neighbors gives you the opportunity to make new friends and to build a support system near you. Although building a true friendship takes time, you can never build one if you don’t take the first step. Using these tips will help you to take that first step and build good relationships with your neighbors that could last a lifetime.