June 2017

MOM’S PERSPECTIVE
Getting to
Know Your
NEW
NEIGHBORS
by Cynthia MacGregor
June is famous for being the month
of weddings, but that isn’t all that
June is known for. June is also the
month when many people, especially
families with school-age kids, move from
one home to another. Many parents,
not wanting to put their kids through
changing schools in the middle of a
school year, plan their moves with the
start of summer vacation: June.
Whether you’re the one who’s moving or
someone new has moved into the house
next door or across the street, or into the
apartment down the hall, chances are
excellent that you have or soon will have
new neighbors.
How do you get to meet them?
When I was 18 and moved out on my
own, renting an apartment in New York,
I wanted to meet my new neighbors but
wasn’t bold enough to ring doorbells
and introduce myself. So I saved bags
of garbage and took one out to the
incinerator chute when I heard the
building’s front door slam and footsteps
begin to ascend the stairs. Fortuitously
my apartment was well placed just off
the top of the stairs on the second floor
of a walk-up building, and the incinerator
chute was between my front door and
that of my next-door neighbor. When
visitors were buzzed in, if I heard the
buzzer, I knew not to bother wasting a
perfectly good bag of garbage. If the door
slammed but no footsteps ascended,
it was a first-floor resident. Otherwise, I
would grab a bag of garbage, open the
front door, reach for the garbage chute,
and act surprised to see the neighbor
coming upstairs.
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“Oh – hi! I’m Cynthia. I just
moved in recently.”
This inevitably led to the neighbor
introducing himself or herself, and it
wasn’t long before I knew the occupants
of all 20 apartments.
But why not be bold and just ring
doorbells if you’re a new resident? You
don’t have to go up and down the block
or around the cul-de-sac, but surely you
can knock on the front doors of your
neighbors on either side and across the
street, and introduce yourself.
You can always add
something like, “I try to
be a good neighbor,
but if my kids aren’t
good citizens/
if my dog barks
too much/if my
trees are dropping
leaves on your
property, ring my
bell and let me know
there’s a problem.”
If it’s your neighbor who’s
new on the block (or in the
apartment building), don’t wait to run
into them by accident. If you’re any kind
of cook or baker, prepare a batch of
cookies, a pot of chili, or something as
simple as a meatloaf, and ring their bell.
“Hi. Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m
______. I live next door/down the street
with my husband/wife/kids/Significant
Other. I’m sure you’re busy unpacking, so
I brought over some goulash so you don’t
have to stop and cook a whole dinner
tonight/a chocolate cake for when you’re
ready for a break.”
JUNE 2017
If you’re all thumbs in the kitchen, you
can still ring the doorbell, albeit emptyhanded
except for a piece of paper with
your name and phone number on it. Your
spiel of introduction starts out the same
as above, but instead of ‘I’m sure you’re
busy unpacking…” add “Here’s my
phone number. If you need information
like where the nearest 24-hour drugstore
is or something, call me. Welcome to the
neighborhood.”
Whether you’re the new neighbor or
you’re welcoming a new neighbor, an
invitation to a casual dinner “so we can
get to know our new neighbors” is never
out-of-order. You may even find you’ve
just met your new best friend. P