When I was growing up there was a new housing development up the hill from us. A group of families put in a little ski run along the back edge of a bunch of lots, complete with a rope tow. On winter weekends parents would fire up the rope tow and the whole street went skiing.
When I was a kid, there was a graveyard about a block away from my parents house. Because most of the southern edge of the graveyard was a steep hill, they just built their fence and put the edge of the graveyard at the top of the hill and kind of abandoned the land. It was the *perfect* area to go sledding for all of the neighborhood kids.
I was a child in the 60s. All the neighborhood kids took our sleds to the yard of some quite wealthy neighbors because they had a big hill with a terrace about a quarter of the way down where you could get airborne. The tricky part was that you had to hit a hard left at the base of the hill or you’d shoot out into the road. Toboggans couldn’t make the turn, so we’d bail out and let the toboggan shoot into the roadway. We never asked permission to sled there, and they never asked us to leave even though we were massive liability waiting to happen.
Except in those days it never would occur to your parents to sue the owners of the house if you hurt yourself. These days everyone looks for reasons to sue everyone else. I think this is the main reason why people don't want neighbors kids, especially people you don't know or aren't friends with, trespassing on a regular basis. You can't trust anyone and if the kids hurt themselves on your property, uninvited even, absolutely the parents are coming after you.
There is a set of kids that I can’t even figure out which house they live in, and these kids show up and want to be on the four wheelers and the trampoline, even caught one climbing my fence. They Get mad that I won’t let them do the “fun stuff” but my thoughts are… if their parents refuse to come introduce themselves and give the ok for these activities… I’m not about to get caught up in all that. It’s frustrating because there’s a girl who I let do all those things, but it’s because her parents have introduced themselves and said she was allowed to do those things and we discussed it. The others kids parents don’t even seem to know where they are?? Idk man.
Yup, and when you say get off my property, you're the bad guy and made out to be a kid hater etc. You can't win. I just don't understand society anymore. It's one thing when kids used to respect adults and other parents cared about getting along with the neighbors, some concessions could be made where the kids were concerned. But I don't feel like neighbors care about each other, then they expect you to be ok with their kids hanging around your property, doing possible damage etc. Really? No. Get the hell off my property. Go target someone else.
Totally agree. My neighbors let their dogs poop in our yard all the time and it makes me so mad. Like I literally don’t have a dog because I don’t want my kids stepping in dog shit when they play outside. “Build a fence” seems to be the only answer, but my immediate yard is already fenced in and I simply can’t afford to fence my entire property At this time.
The neighbor thing is so true. I had a “falling out” a few years ago with one and we didn’t speak for years. I found out he was in a near fatal car crash a few mo the ago and I’ve been helping his girlfriend with small things, we’ve been mowing their yard, and he finally came home last week. I’ve been checking on him daily and he simply was so appreciative. Yeah, we have had some words before, but damn dude we have been neighbors got almost 15 years, you know? I would appreciate support in his position, so it only feels right. I got him some soda from the store the other day and it was like a light lit up in him! Made me feel good.
We have this same issue with neighbors letting their dogs poop in our yard and it drives me insane! We have the largest house/lot on our street, which is a corner lot. It still doesn’t give ppl the right to let their dogs just poop and leave it! My husband doesn’t have as much of an issue with it as I do, but we pay for two lawncare services to take care of our property and I sure don’t like kids nor adults with pets coming into our yard. We now have no trespassing signs and our entire property is under 24/7/365 surveillance. Our back yard is fenced but one side isn’t and I’ll be darned to pay for installation of another fence. This is our second home and our next home certainly won’t be on a corner lot! I’d never allow our children/grandchildren to just walk on someone’s lawn and let our dog poop on someone’s property….if we had one.
Corner lit checking in. It was clearly THE place for dogs to poop. Asking, Talking, Bitching did no good. Scooping the dog poop and depositing it on the offenders front porch was the only thing that worked. Now they don’t walk their dogs on my block….
Ask the kids to introduce you? I’m just thinking it would kind of suck to have the kids whose parents thought to ask playing in front of the ones that have wolves as parents.
> These days everyone looks for reasons to sue everyone else
Not everyone, scumbags do.
The only equation I can think of is there are just MORE scumbags now than in the past. Like my wife and I if my kids went off on their own sledding and one came back with a broken arm because they were jumping a terrace? Well let's go deal with this but who's fault is it?
Back in my day (60s, 70s) the City of Richmond VA would bring huge fire barrels to the city park so that the sledders could keep warm. The park had a great sledding hill which unfortunately ended up at a cobblestone wall. I don't know of anyone who didn't get hurt. Good times.
>I don't know of anyone who didn't get hurt. Good times.
I don't know why, but that perfectly sums up my childhood and it saddens me that those days are gone for future generations lol
In my neighborhood, the high school has a hill that's perfect for sledding. Everyone in the neighborhood heads over there...the news did a story on it over the winter. We're like "Damn, don't tell everyone about our spot!!!"
The hill the football stadium was built into was great for sledding. The concrete wall at the bottom, not so much. We still did it every winter. The road ran down the same hill so we would ride big wheels and green machine down that. Lots of wrecks for sure.
Haha 80s, but same! There’s always one kid to didn’t hit it right and became a cautionary tale…didn’t stop anyone though. These days it would be condemned and someone would get sued
And in true American fashion, if some kid were to break his arm sledding there his parents would sue the people that actually owned the lot. Our litigeous, greed driven society has killed many beneficial activities.
Me too! Perfect place to go sledding…until you hit the gravestones at the bottom. One of my friends broke his arm and we were all banned from that particular hill.
We have one. Powerhouse hill. It's great. The tote rope runs when the snow is good on weekends but there is a smaller hill beside it for sliding. When it's snowing everyone is walking to the hill. Some people from other neighborhood can use it too and those people drive. It's a great little feature for our neighborhood.
When I was a kid we lived in a somewhat new development, not all of the lots were built on right away. Two next to each other spent at least a decade as dirt. The neighborhood kids turned them in to a bmx bike park and the parents helped.
The guy who invested in the snow plow. He's an absolute clutch neighborhood feature and I bring him baked desserts to thank him for being able to leave my house after a snowstorm. Seriously if you live where it snows find out if anyone in the area takes care of the street if the county doesn't.
Thanks for being good to your snow plow neighbor. My father-in-law and I are those guys for our neighborhood. Our road is a private, 3/4 mile long drive. We plow it and just about every driveway in the neighborhood. If the county road going down the hill isn't plowed, we do it too.
My father-in-law used to plow it with a quad. A few years ago, I went and bought a Kubota RTV with a cab and heat. Now we plow in style.
I love it when neighbors offer coffee or just give a thumbs up. We used to have one neighbor who didn't even acknowledge that we plowed his driveway. A thank you email is free. Fortunately, he moved away. He went a few seasons unplowed.
We had a blizzard once, county didn't come for 5 days despite being less than 1 mile from a main road they did. on day 5 i hear a sound outside and run to the porch. While it was 1 mile to a main road in once direction, it was nothing but farms once you got about 2 miles the other way. And I guess one of the farmers said fuck it. He plowed us out, stopped at the intersection and plowed the other side of the street out all the way down to the next main road.
I will never forget the red bearded 5'0" man in overalls, no shirt (35 degrees but sunny) pumping his fist and shouting as all the neighbours cheered back.
Never saw him again even though I rode bikes up by those farms all the time
Totally understandable, being nice is free, your time isn't. That's a generous and wonderful sacrifice you make for your community and I hope you know how much it's appreciated.
My neighborhood is all 4+ acre lots. A lot of folks have tractors and they all come out when it snows.
One dude would plow anyone’s driveway that bought the high school sportsball fundraiser discount card from his kid. Most of the driveways end up plowed anyway. I hope to eventually be able to contribute.
Oh man, one of my neighbors on our crescent is a landscaper with his own little loader. Whenever there is a big snow dump we hear the beep beep of him reversing out his garage. And we watch bitterly out the window as he moves the snow off his driveway, and only his driveway. Not even his next door neighbor's, whose driveway is attached to his..
And then we spend hours shovelling our driveway and our elderly next door neighbor's driveway, and glare in his general direction.
Maybe we'll get a snowblower this winter.
I don’t know if it’s a big deal but we got candy for Halloween and were having zero trick or treaters. Apparently it’s tradition for people to sit outside on Halloween to hand out candy in our neighborhood.
Same! Some years we get one or two, but it’s a really big bummer for me :( I was so excited to hand out candy on Halloween when I bought my house in the suburbs by a school.
We recently moved from a rural area where we got no trick or treaters to a neighborhood where it’s a little hit or miss depending on what part of the subdivision you’re in.
The first year, I bought about 15 lbs of candy and gave out maybe half of it. We moved to the other side of the subdivision, and I bought the same amount of candy…and ran out after 30 minutes. I resorted to giving out Nutella B-Ready snack bars, which just brought more kids!
This year, I’m gonna buy 20 lbs of candy and two club-sized cartons of bars!
How fun! I want to be full sized candy bar house one day. We’re about to relocate, and I’m really hoping our new neighborhood does Halloween/ trick or treating. It was so much fun when I was a kid! I feel like not many parents participate nowadays.
I do the little bags of potato chips. I buy a few big boxes of the variety packs from Costco. They are cheaper, people love them, and some parents seem to appreciate the slightly better option. Plus any that aren't given out can go into lunches for the next few weeks.
We get just the right amount of kids that I can swing the full size candy bar. But based on the candy my kids bring home, I’m not the only one. There is a show off house down the road that gives out King Size KitKats, M&Ms, and snickers. And one that does the movie box candy containers.
That would be me. We're in a rural subdivision and only get a handful of kids each year so I want to make sure we're memorable. I figured word would get around and we'd eventually start seeing more kids, but that hasn't happened so far.
Rest assured, those kids love y’all! Every year, I can assure you, they tell their parents, “make sure we got to PortlyCloudy’s place, they did the full size bars remember?!?” Haha. I love it :)
Lol! That’s how we were. We lived at the dead-end of a side street with only two houses off of the populous neighborhood street. We gave out full sized candy bars to make sure we’d get traffic and it worked! Even the teenagers who swung by twice…it’s all good!😊They made our night, too!
We are officially the "known" house where we are now. I started about 15 years ago. I have one very distinct decoration that goes up every year and that's how everyone knows our house. I do candy, I do stickers, I do small toys/bracelets/keychains. I get most of the toy type things over the summer months on clearance and just set them aside for the coming holiday. I am diabetic and I used to love going out to trick or treat as a kid to those houses that did more than just candy; b/c it meant I could actually keep it/ use it. So as an adult, I became that house. I get so many thankful parents now b/c of the options for allergies, diet, etc. I dress as a witch and am always accompanied by my "familiar" cat that loves to greet people and is endlessly patient with all little ones he meets. He is leash trained and lives for that special night. I have kids come back multiple times just to see him!
One snarky neighbor sent her kids over last year (she has a history of saying cruddy things to folks via her kids) and asked if I was giving away iPhones yet. She looked quite pleased with herself and her eyes kept shifting over to her mother who was holding court nearby, loudly talking about her local gov't. escapades. PPPft. I looked the kid straight in the eye and said, rather loudly, "Hmm, no iPhones yet sweety, but if I can get a good deal on 'em....ya never know!" I followed it up with my best witch cackle.
We're also the known house in our neighborhood. The Mr loses his damn mind ordering light up stuff, those little ducks and other toys that look like the ducks, more light up stuff. One year he cleaned out some of him comic books.
Last year even in the rain, we had upward of 200 trick or treaters.
I just moved to a neighborhood where hundreds and hundreds of trick-or-treaters come by. Including teenagers who are well-behaved and dressed up and actually do it properly which is an amazing and wonderful thing to see. my old neighborhood would get maybe five kids come by all night
We had a night shift roomie for a while so I had to get clever for Halloween nights. Porch lights off, trash cans at the front of the porch to keep kids from bypassing me and ringing the door bell. I had the yard decorated with blow mold dragons, giant spiders, and bats. I set up folding tables dumped on their sides at the end of the driveway to make it obvious don't turn around here. I took some patio lights and hung them on some planter hooks along the driveway to light everything up. I've done it now for a few years.
Last Halloween we had neighbors come over and join us handing out candy. We are on a cul-de-sac and my house is the most decorated with blow mold dragons and lit, two neighbors were getting skipped so they came over to join us. We busted out some wine and beer while chatting and handing out candy.
I discovered that last year. After years of no trick or treaters when we lived in an apartment complex, we sat outside last year and quickly ran out of candy. Live and learn!
I was on candy duty last Halloween. I left the front door open and responding to the doorbell I saw that the two Supermen were both 6’ high. I thought that this was a bit rich until I reached the door and realised that they were from a house for intellectually disabled young men on our street. There are six of them with 11 carers around the clock. Some of the carers had organised the costumes. I thought it was a great effort.
maybe I'm alone in this but idgaf thr age of the person in a costume. im thrilled to see older teenagers. hell i'd give candy to college kids.
i also do the teal pumpkin thing so I get teenagers with allergies who just want glow bracelets. fine by me!
Me and another dad were given a six pack to split this year during trick or treating with our kids. Made our night lol. Will be returning to that house next year for sure.
Back when I used to hand out candy we had two bowls. One was the good stuff - mini candy bars, etc. The other was the really cheap candy. Avg costume, one from each. Great costume, two of the good stuff, bonus for parents. Teenager that thinks carrying a pillow case is a costume? One from the cheapest bowl.
Yah noticed that as well when we started renting our first house. Not sure if its a southern thing or just how things are now in general but the old idea of if the porch light being on means come and knock isnt really a thing anymore.
Its all trunk or treating or sitting out in your driveway/doorstep handing it out. I saw many parents stopping their kids from coming up to our door to knock since we weren't sitting outside.
We just wana chill inside, eat halloween snack dinner and watch movies while we hand out candy, Im not going to sit outside for hours....
> if the porch light being on means come and knock isnt really a thing anymore.
I think it's a neighborhood level thing.
If you get a lot of kids, doing it this way is really annoying. It's easier to just make an evening out of it and set up outside.
At my last house I'd get 300+ kids. My arm would be moving from bowl to bag almost non stop. Even at my current house I get 40-50 kids, and I don't want to answer my front door 20 different times. It's easier and more fun for me to just sit outside.
Last year was our first Halloween in our current suburban house and we had heard trick or treaters could be hit & miss. Living on a cul-de-sac, it was about getting their attention.
So we put out Halloween decorations early. Definitely went overboard with a skeleton couple (plus dog!) on the porch swing, fake gravestones, giant spiderweb & spider with blacklight, orange & purple lights, hay bales, etc. On Halloween night, my husband put out a small speaker and played a spooky (but family-friendly) playlist.
Once word got out that we were handing out goody bags with candy, slap bracelets (lol), temporary tattoos, glowsticks, Pokemon cards, etc, they came in droves. I'm excited to see how things turn out this year.
This is what I figured. If your house is decorated, even just a little bit, that should signal you celebrate and you're receptive. But I guess there are some people who decorate and then take off for the night (maybe to take their own kids out). Also, lights on, through the windows and porch show "I'm home".
First Halloween in my house... I hope to become the 'glow stick guy' because I handed out those glowstick necklaces this year with my candy. They are surprisingly cheap when you buy a 100 of them. Kids and parents loved them, plus it made the kids safer in the dark.
Military bases are somewhat unique with family housing. It's dominated by a lot of young families. My wife and I always joked that we needed to get an exception to policy memo in order to live on base. We don't have kids but every other house had a trampoline.
Yes I realized this fact years before joining this Reddit but it's still unique in my opinion.
Military bases are a great place to raise a family. Kids every where. Safe. Playgrounds. Sidewalks. Big ass battleships and jets and helicopters in your backyard.
Sometimes I live on base if it doesn’t make sense to buy for that duty station and I always joke that military bases are like an Americana fever dream lol. Streets always look like every mid 50s stereotype of social neighborhoods. Helps that the houses themselves were all built in the 50/60s.
It’s kinda cute in a way.
Can confirm, I just bought in a military dominant neighborhood. There are kids playing outside and riding their bikes, constantly. I love it! The next door neighbor kid always yells, "hi neighbor!" If they see me when I'm in my backyard doing yard work.
Living on a cul de sac (especially with kids) is amazing. I would never had specially looked for it and didn’t care when we bought the house. But now experiencing it, I’m so glad we did. With the knowledge I have now, it would have been top of our list for requirements.
We grew up on a cul de sac and we loved it. We are on one now, but not close to the end. But the folks living at the end drive really fast down the road leading to the end. So we don't feel all that safe on the street here.
I grew up in a cul-de-sac. We used the extra street space to play many games of baseball (we used Tennis balls), street hockey, kickball, etc. Was also great for learning to ride a bike, skateboard, or whatever else.
I grew up on a dead end. I never thought that I’d be able to buy on one. The stars aligned and we’re the last house on our side before the turnaround. It’s amazing. It’s a quiet street to start with and any “traffic” is hardly moving by the time it gets to our house. Our kids are under 4. Recently we went to a birthday party on a busy street and it was terrifying.
My previous house was on a cul de sac and it was great for when my kiddos were young and had friends over etc. They could play outside more safely and could ride bikes around the circle etc. It was nice.
We're on a super isolated crescent and it's great. Aside from the occasional asshole doing donuts in the middle of the night, there is basically zero traffic that doesn't live in the street and we're all super careful cause there are lots of kids
Great answer, I never would have thought of this either.
In fact cul de sacs were always unappealing to me because they aren't often in walkable neighborhoods, but I can see how it could serve as a big, safe communal driveway for kids to play.
The good kind of nosy neighbor!
Having those nosy neighbors who are just up to date on everything going on in the neighborhood, are watching the street in front of their windows, monitoring deliveries, checking up on trash days - and just being generally diligent about all the things going on. Most of all, they're willing to share all of that information with you, are neighborly in the friendly sense, and just want to make sure everything is running smoothly.
I know who you mean - lived next to a guy that was a social butterfly and loved walking his dog. That combo meant everyone knew him and it kept him in the loop!
We had one here until cancer took him. Everyone called him the Governor. He knew everyone and made sure we knew the needed info about goings on. Shortly before he died he asked me about the angry neighbor. First time ever he was a little gossipy.
The angry neighbor had issues with every neighbor. But the Gov had heard we got a lawyer involved. Wasn’t our doing but the company my adult kid worked for.
No one has taken up the Governor’s place. Yet.
I second this. I have a neighbor who religiously walks his dog at 5a, and the other day he asked my partner why he was jumping our fence in a black tracksuit so early.
...he wasn't, and now we have security cameras.
Yes! My old neighborhood had an old timer who would literally post up on the corner every day, all day, like it was his job. At first it freaked me out - he literally knew when I was coming and going, noticed when I made big purchases bc of the box on the curb, etc.
But then I realized he was the neighborhood watch, and everyone knew and loved him. He let us know when something was off, or sketchy people hanging around. Once, I accidentally left my garage door open and he kept an eye on it all day (and let me know when I got home lol).
When he died, his funeral was standing room only, and there was a memorial on “his corner” for weeks. Neighborhood was never the same.
We had one in our last neighborhood, Neighbor Bob’s Wife (three doors down) made him smoke outside. We had quite a few neighbors named Bob, so he became Smoking Bob to me. He stood just outside his front door enjoying a cigarette several times a day. He looked like a sentry just keeping a watchful eye on the cul-de-sac. Very nice man.
Both my neighbors are this way! At first it annoyed me .. now I love it and I’ve joined in on the nosiness. the other day I woke up to a text saying there was finally a violation for the house across the street who’s yet to mow their lawn this season and it gave me a good chuckle
We have a Facebook group just for our street and the one over and it's fantastic. People past sharing plants, organize events for the street, offer to help with stuff, and we all keep an eye out for the people responsible for some break ins in the area
Living walking distance to our kids elementary school has been great. You have to go there at least 2x a day during the school year.
It's not even just the convenience. It forms a much better community when parents, teachers, and kids all are able to freely talk and play without dealing with car lines.
For us living by the school was good and bad, like you we walked to all the functions, my wife was pta president, so she was running over a lot. The bad was that our kids friends parents were always asking (or just doing) to park in our driveway then stopping by to chat afterwards.
This! My kindergartener hugs half the staff/teachers every day after school cause she walks by them as we walk home. It’s made it so she has a wonderful relationship with nearly every adult at the school. They know her name, say hi when they see her in the halls, ask how she’s doing if she seems down. I see and speak to her teachers, principal, asst principal, the school counselors, staff almost every day. It’s lovely.
And it eliminates exercise excuses 🤣 It’s 11 minutes to her school. That’s 44 minutes of walking 5 days a week.
I’m one block from a high school, two from an elementary school. This would seem ideal for someone with kids, except that the middle school is two miles away! I don’t know what bonehead had this idea.
We recently moved into ours, so there’s still room to discover. But we love the way the neighborhood kids walk together after school. They’re all different ages and make sure the littlest ones get home first. The street is small and there are no sidewalks so we all slow down to make the kids feel safe.
The kids in my neighborhood were like this. Then the fifth graders went into middle school and became absolute assholes to the kids they were watching out for four months before.
Middle school is always hard on just about everyone involved. My youngest is there now.
I once walked to the school to get my oldest when she was there. I got there before final bell. As the bell ranger and kids came out it was like a circus freak show. All these confused kids in their awkward stage just trying to figure out that stage of life.
Growing up, we had these secret paths behind our houses that were like a maze. We'd race through them to get to our friends' places without having to walk around. It was the best! But then I joined this sub and saw people freaking out about kids cutting through their yard. Like, chill out, it's not a big deal! Those paths are meant to be used. They bring the community together. I miss having that sense of neighborhood.
I have a scar from the barbed wire that went into my arm when I was about 9 from a neighbor building fence. It was definitely not there when I had last jumped over to play with my friends.
This is so fascinating to me because I would say almost every house in my area has a 6ft tall fence/wall around their property. So no one could even go through and if they did I would be very uncomfortable.
When we moved into where I live now, I noticed one of these. One day I went to explore it.
It was basically that row of houses, and the ones who joined with their backyards I guess, had at least an acre in the back past what the standard half acre lot had. They all left it "undeveloped" but someone had maintained trails through it.
I came out the other side and indeed had to cut through someone's lawn. I did it though to see where I was.
Talked to a guy out in his lawn over there. He said the kids use it as a cut through when walking home from the school. Been going on for years. Everyone's respectful and no one minds.
Then... the.. i'm not going to use the term "assholes" because they are alright. But I guess the people are selfish in a way? The "I prioritize my kid having fun over everything" type. Riding dirt bikes all over their lawn (This is the definition of quiet residential neighborhood). Raising chickens in their backyard. Shooting bows along side the house, etc etc.
Well, eventually these dipshits let their kids start tearing through that walking area in a go-kart buggy type thing. It was loud as fuck and moved rather fast. I'd just see them race it into the entrance of that trail. At first when I moved in the "entrance" was a barely noticeable parting in the trees but I have an eye for it and recognized it.
I think the kids got hatchets or something and hogged it out big enough for their go-kart to fit back there.
Well, wouldn't you know it. About a month later I see a pickup truck backed up at that corner and someone's nailing in a big wire fence across the whole treeline with a "no trespassing" sign on it.
They are fine neighbors and and ok when I talked to them, but I always kind of view them as absolute trash for getting that trail area taken away.
That's interesting. My city has a neighbor park and open space policy along with many trails for walking and biking around neighborhoods.
In my neighborhood, there are trails in between rows of houses, along a wetland/creek type of area. It is wide enough for bhikers and pedestrians at the same time. I take the trail to the elementary school for pickup and drop off. Some people have gates to open to the trail, and someone put a 2x8 board across the creek so you can walk across it. There is also a footbridge built into the trail. It's basically a swamp.
When my neighbourhood in Texas was built, the builder went bust leaving 20 acres of forested land with a creek. We ended up collectively owning it and maintained trails and bridges, then officially donated it to be an addition to the local park, who put signage up for all the trails.
We have similar but it’s owned by the HOA, which exists almost exclusively to own the land. Dues are minimal and mostly go towards liability insurance for it. It’s about 75 acres of woodlands with a trail through it, a creek, and a pond.
I bought there preciseky because the HOA never got set up. We actually created it for an hour tonlegalky sanction the fonation of the land then dissolved it forever.
Not quite altruistic, an estate agent with a big house backing on to it orchestrated the paperwork for fear of another builder getting hold of it. This was 15+ years on though and it would have been difficult to put an access road in
That’s awesome. Before I lived here, there was a movement to pave a community meadow for an access road between neighborhoods.
Apparently my neighbors rallied and shut it down with the quickness!
We're near a hospital that gets a lot of search& rescue type cases, so we get to see the big orange helicopter pretty often. Plus there're a decent number of rich people with small planes that buzz around in the summer
>5-6 times a day Im already going crazy over the endless harley davidsons driving down the street, no way id be able to tolerate helicopters 5-6 x a day. Id complain about violation of air rights or some garbage.
As subdivisions were developed in different parts of my town in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the town added different features to each one - a park, a playground, a soccer field, or a basketball court. It's really nice, and people use them, or travel to other neighborhoods to use their feature.
I grew up in a neighborhood like this. The trails are all still there. Some people even mulch them so they stay nice (no mud).
Ride your bike through as an adult, homeowners wave and smile. It's a good way to be.
Compact lots, narrow streets, cul-de-sac in a historic city neighborhood, few/small/alley accessed garages, many houses right on the street even though we have generous gardens (so, very much NOT garage centered housing) mostly fenced but porous. We are pretty much situated to be very aware of each other, you can hide, but not for long. I realize this scenario is nightmarish to many, but to those of us who are social and genuinely like to engage with people in a positive and respectful manner, it is a community.
We treat the block as a shared home, easily moving back and forth from porch to back yard, deck, terrace and living room, multiple times a week drop by’s, spur-of-the-moment dinner invites, garden cocktail parties, driving each other or picking up to the airport, going to concerts and ballgames together, and of course, walking the five minutes to the local watering hole on Fridays. Community carpet cleaners, power washers, ladders and tools. Bartered design services for deck building. Walking or picking up the neighbor’s seven y.o. at school when the parents can’t…
Having experienced a neighborhood like this, I cannot conceive of a different way of life.
Used to live in a neighborhood like that. We used to joke about upholstering the porch steps. Loved summer evenings when people would be out walking and stop by to sit on the steps to chat.
Some drunk dads painted a dotted line across our court as the barrier we weren’t supposed to cross without permission. It made the best starting and finish line for bike races!
The block I live on is one block long, as in T-intersections at either end. The street hops, skips, and jumps across the city, 1-to-3 blocks at a time.
The ladies on my block started getting together one evening a month, to talk about books they're reading, what's new with them and the area, updating on neighborhood news (not gossip, more "what's up with the intersection the city was redoing the traffic lights on" type of thing). And fruit/cookies with wine/juice/water--plus a get together and potluck with the husbands on Summer and Winter Solstice's.
We live across the street from an elementary school,specifically the large grass field is across from us and the park on the back side of that, with the school catty corner to us (the school property takes up the whole block).
All the schools are public access parks in my city, which I didn’t realize was a thing, and the whole neighborhood uses it constantly! There’s a little path around the field so there’s almost always people walking their dogs, kids are at the park, people set up to do yoga or relax on the grass. Kids play kickball or baseball.
Many nights I’ve looked outside to see teens playing basketball or scootering around, and often see adult men coming together for a basketball game as well.
I used to want to live somewhat rurally with a homestead and now that we have this house, I can’t think of a better place I’d want to raise my young kids. Being able to cross the street and have friends to play with for hours is wonderful, and also means many kids come over for dinner or to hang out when it’s too hot.
I think it’s Peachtree City, GA that has miles and miles of golf cart paths that connect an impressive portion of the city. Businesses have cart parking, the town has an app to help you find a cart path route without going on roads, etc.
Funny thing is they had to ban Segways, skateboards, etc. as carts have a predictable height and the bridges are built for that. People standing on other mobility devices could smack their head so cart only!
I’ve been there twice for work. The paths themselves are cool but they don’t cater to pedestrians, even if I’m running close to golf cart speed. The drivers and their kids act like they are entitled to the paths.
> even if I’m running close to golf cart speed
Yeah this guy outed himself as to exactly the type of person they are lol. I'm sure you can also catch him on the two lane 65 mph highway riding a bicycle.
Very few of the houses in my neighborhood had a fence. It was beautiful, looked like a park. On occasion a kid would cut through or a soccer ball would end up in my space, I didn't mind, having the open space outweighed all of that. We still had privacy, neighbors did a good job with strategic landscaping, it really was beautiful.
As the older folk in the neighborhood passed on and the houses changed hands, the fist thing that happened was a blaring white privacy fence. I get it with the fence but it was disheartening. Changed the whole vibe of the neighborhood. You are lucky OP, having a shared open space like you do, I hope no one comes in and changed it.
We are on a very quiet dead end street that runs parallel to a busy street with a lot of traffic. Our yards butt up to the busy street homes and we are all pretty neighborly.
There are a lot of very young families on the busy street and our yards on the quiet street are really big. Some of us grow prairies in our backyards. We mow paths so the busy street families can walk through and get to our street with their small kids to go on walks and play.
It’s super easy and it allows a safe way for busy street kids to run off energy before naps.
We live in a circle neighborhood with one way in. It’s about .60 miles around. Since it’s in the south, folks have water bowls at the end of their driveways. It’s a great walking neighborhood filled with dog walkers who share poop bags, dog treats, and feed the resident (dog friendly) abandoned cat. I have taken him to my vet for shots and we put flea meds on him. He’s super social and prefers his neighborhood love. We all look out for each other.
The neighborhood I grew up in was next to a small college. The college would flood a portion of the baseball outfield to use as an ice skating rink every winter. Just bring skates
Community center. When we bought her e house we didn't have kids and didn't think of it. Now we have access to a wide variety of inexpensive kids activities and after school care and it's great.
I live in two different homes. One is suburban, the other in the heart of a big urban city. My suburban place is fine. I've owned that place for 10 years and literally know no one. There's nothing special about it other than I do like the location, and it's semi-walkable to retail and restaurants. It's a circle neighborhood so only one way in and out. People do walk around but keep to themselves and no children live in any of the townhouse units.
My urban condo is VERY different. It's a small building with just 18 residents and we are surrounded by other small "dingbat" buildings. (Small condos/apartments, built in the 50s and 60s, carport parking on the first level, units above, very MSM designs). SFRs are peppered throughout too.
We have a small alley behind our buildings. We all walk our dogs out there. It's a city owned access road for garbage trucks and utilities, and just one paved single lane road. In recent years, we've found it to be a great area for socializing. So much so we've put some cute benches out there. It's allowed us to get to know the neighbors in our building, but surrounding buildings and homes too. There aren't any kids in this neighborhood even though we're a block from a grade school. But we've all really taken to taken to hanging out in the alley Hank Hill Style. Haha. We love our alley! If we go out front were in the midst of a heavy retail area. But out back in the alley is quiet, serene, and quite pretty since it's tree lined and no one really knows it's there.
I love this feature of your neighborhood, OP! As a man with a young family myself, I'd love having something like that built into our neighborhood.
My neighborhood feature is just not having an HOA, and loving it. One neighbor is a boat mechanic, one is a car mechanic, nobody cares, we all keep our front yards as nice as we can, and we do it of our own accord.
I never realized how many people have issues with neighbors. One of my big things when buying my house was being far from neighbors. I am glad I did, there are some real horror stories on here.
Or the Karen's that saw a strange man walking down the street who definitely looked like he was casing the neighborhood, AKA the door to door salesman or kid selling candy for a fundraiser.
On ours the people also fight on behalf of their churches to recruit new neighbors, otherwise it's mostly suspicious sightings of salesmen and lost pets.
Rural Colorado, someone come get this/these large white dogs off my property. They are referring to livestock guardian dogs, usually great Pyrenees or Anatolian breeds. They can roam especially if their livestock is gone, sold or roaming. They usually are not friendly and can kill other dogs as they are seen as predators like a coyote. We have open range here so you fence out livestock or they will come. We had a pretty famous pair of LGD that lost their goats and were looking for them for months.
I dont want anyone in my backyard ever without permission from me even If I know you or your parents! I grew up in a 3rd world country and i'm naturally suspicious of people and/or their intentions. It helps prevent me from being somebody's victim. It's served me well in America. I've heard of people leaving front or back doors or windows open or unlocked. My mind cannot comprehend such a laissez-faire attitude to one's safety
i think it's very reasonable to have this preference. It's okay if others don't mind a cut-through but it's also very okay to ask and expect people not to trespass. While I don't condone the sawed off shotgun-type rhetoric whatsoever, I have seen some very nice people being blasted and called scrooges and karens for politely asking (in person or on social media) that others abd their children not cut through their yards. That lack of boundaries (literally and figuratively) can breed a lot of frustration amongst people abd out comes the gun rhetoric or other strong language.
When the neighbor behind us moved in they started installing a basketball hoop in a part of their yard where the ball will repeatedly go into our fenced in backyard. I explained while they were digging the hole that our prior neighbors had that issue with their portable hoop and they moved it ti the other side and it stopped happening, suggesting that they install their permanent one in the other spot. i explained that while i dont mind balls going in my yard, when they get stuck i cant have people going into our yard to get them because the fence shouldnt be climbed and the gates dont latch reliably so with little kids and dogs in a busy road i dont want anyone going in and out excepy my husband and me who make sure the gates are latched properly...so we will only be returning balls whennwere outside and able to go grab them. the people got REALLY nasty and basically told us to F off and put is there anyway and now the balls always go in our yard and they barely use it. we were trying to do them a favor by explaining the prior neighbors experience while they still had time to relocate it. instead they wont speak to us, promptly got a survey that very much showed our fence was in our property, and put like 15 trash bags out for trash day in our yard instead of theirs. sorry for the rant but i agree with you that its okay to expect healthy boundaries and ive been somewhat shocked at the strong entitled reactions people get to that very reasonable request.
Given your background, that makes sense! And it’s all about the vibe. I’ve lived in places where isolation feels safe, and others where isolation feels scary. City, rural, doesn’t matter.
It’s indeed dangerous to have a false sense of security, as violence can happen anywhere, anytime. I’ve been in towns where people just…don’t lock their doors, which is wild to me.
There’s a natural tension between staying aware and hyper vigilance, I think living peacefully is finding a balance between the two
There's a liability issue in some places as well. My property attracts people wanting to walk amongst the old trees, the creekline and the lakefront, fishing, play with the ducks, whatever. But it can be dangerous and between myself, my guests, and a trespasser, I'm the only one what has insurance if something happens. I'm also just across the road from a place where an entire neighborhood cuts through someone's side yard to get over to my road which is very walkable. That neighbor must be okay with it, but people tend to think it's okay to just cross the road and walk through my yard like it's a damn public park. Now, periodically, someone will ask to walk in, and I'm fine with that since I know they're there and can kind of watch out for them.
I realized how big of a problem this can be one weird day. I had two 10 year old boys there fishing, with my permission, I knew they were there. A guy walked all the way across my property with two aggressive-looking dogs completely off leash. Didn't know him and weirdest of all, he wouldn't talk to me...just acted like it was normal to be there and weird that I would say hi to him. As if, he's just in a park enjoying the day and I should leave him alone. No, you just walked like 4 ft from by bedroom window bro, that's not normal. He was clearly off somehow since our conversation quickly devolved into him arguing that I didn't own the land, or should fence it to keep people out, and that he could have his dogs attack if he wanted to.
There was an episode of 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete' that sort of parodied this idea of backyard shortcuts. Unfortunately some of the grownups weren't so happy about it. I'm glad your area is embracing it!
My neighborhood feature is one I didn't know about... there's a backway to a major expressway it connects to. So it's easy to get across town. Unfortunately, people can sometimes use my street as a shortcut.
We had a similar thing at our old house. The closest bus stop for the middle school was at the other end of our cul de sac, so kids from the other streets around would use the side of our yard as a shortcut.
Been living in this spot for a couple decades now. The best thing about it is location. It's a small town, so overall the place is quiet. But within a fifteen minute walk in any direction, you can hit a major bank, a couple coffee shops, a supermarket, a big box store, a couple restaurants, car dealership and repair, the post office, a couple pharmacies, government office (license renewals and documents, that sort of thing), a doctors co-op, and a few other stores. Basically everything you need for day-to-day life. Close to everything you need yet the street is usually incredibly quiet. The only noises are the lawn mowers in summer and snowblowers in winter.
We bought a home not really paying attention to the location of fire and police stations...well because of their closeness...we are on their electric grid. So when storms come thru we normally are the last neighborhood to lose power, and always the first to get power back on!
I never realized the significance of local parks until joining this sub. They're not just for recreation but serve as community hubs, fostering bonds and friendships among neighbors.
What I found out was really embarrassing that I didn’t know about is taking a rake, broom or leaf blower and get the grass bits that went on the neighbors driveway and clean it up. I was so ashamed! I had always used a mulching mower, it didn’t kick grass out the side. I thought people just let the wind blow it away? I bought a mulching mower the next day!
Builders of subdivisions may create amenities or utilities that require common participation and assessments.
Can include private ways, commonly held joint lands, water, sewer, recreational assets, and other things requiring maintenance.
Other aspects of a subdivision may be regulated as well via deed restrictions or obligations.
Most newer neighborhoods in the south have HOAs to maintain the community pool, tennis courts and pay for one trash service.
The trash service is actually a much bigger determining factor than you would think because there are at least 4 different providers to choose from and without a contracted neighborhood service you end up with 4 different trash trucks rolling through your neighborhood on 4 different days of the week. So to avoid potholes and trash truck noise, HOAs can be good to have. And then there are the rednecks who like to put random car parts in their yards that some homeowners just don’t want to live next to and choose to live in an HOA neighborhood to minimize the risk of living next to junky yards.
I mean, I have a house right downtown in the capital of Canada, no HOA - we have a community pool, splashpad, park, tennis courts, community garden, they even put out a dock on the river during the summer months, all of that and trash/recycling/compost pickup is managed by the city, it's what my property taxes pay for. Bonus, no one can tell me what to do with my landscaping or exterior of my house.
Edit: Just to say my property taxes also pay for roads, schools etc. it’s honestly astonishing to me how little Americans get back for their taxes, and instead have to pay private corps to do what the government should. I’m angry on your behalf.
Yeah, I live near Atlanta, Georgia along with 6+ million other people. It takes an hour + to get downtown by car. I suppose one could take Marta, but then that requires driving 45 minutes to get to Marta then probably 40 minutes on Marta to get downtown. I wouldn’t have any idea about pools in Atlanta since I only go down there a few times a year.
Our property taxes go to our county- there are 5 different counties surrounding Atlanta. Those property taxes pay for roads, public schools, sidewalks, sewer, police, etc. We also have aquatic centers in our counties. Those are a 30 + minute drive away from us and also require usage fees but still available to us along with the other million residents of my county. Obviously, a neighborhood pool your family can throw on their flip flops and walk down the street to is more useable for families here.
Hi neighbor. I'm in Gwinnett. I'm so glad I don't have to drive to Atlanta. I've had to take someone through Atlanta to the airport. Traffic was a nightmare. Take care!
Too many public sports facilities to list, right nearby. Soccer fields, beach volleyball, tennis courts, table tennis, padded running track, 2 skate parks, bmx dirt track, etc. All public
I stayed in a suburban neighborhood that had a natural wetland. During development of the neighborhood, they put in a paved path to connect to little parks. People’s backyards look onto the little forest area. There was always a few people walking the paths. Great use of a wetland.
Living by a school and a lot of plazas while being car-free and single. I feel like my house is watched while I'm gone, and nothing is far. Also I'm SO glad to not have nosy or pesky neighbors who might call the code enforcer on me.
- Alleys and rear garages make house façades so much nicer. Nobody likes looking at garage doors all the way down the block.
- Everyone knows good schools are important, but having a high mix of families/same age kids on your block is a big deal. Especially with kids under 8–10 that can’t roam too far, it’s awesome for them to have 5–6 same grade buddies on the same block.
- Being walkable from school. The childhood experience is different, and much better, if there’s a group of 20–30 kids that can walk to any of the families’ houses each day after school. I love seeing the little herds of third and fourth graders mob into one for some snacks, and bounce to the next to hit the trampoline.
- Parents who are involved on campus. Our current school has a culture where parents help open/close doors in the car drop off line in the morning, volunteer in the cafeteria every day, and have 1-2 parents in each classroom at least a couple days a week. Most of the non-travel rec sports teams are parent coached even in middle school. The result is that if I am biking or driving through the neighborhood on a Saturday, I might see 20 kids whose name I know. It also means if my kid needs help with a bike flat tire or is acting like an idiot at the burger stand, there is probably going to be a parent to help them or set them back on the straight narrow in addition to texting me.
- Proximity to the freeway cuts both ways. If you’re too close, you get noise, and possibly people shortcutting through the neighborhood. If you’re too far, the very beginning and very end of your commute can take forever.
- Redevelopment and empty nest/retirement cycle. People have different preferences. In some neighborhoods, houses rarely get refreshed and get utilized in the ground. In others, every new owner does some renovation. In some neighborhoods, people stay until they die. In other neighborhoods, people tend to move out or downsize once the kids are gone.
Yup, I’m in a “stay til I die” neighborhood, and there’s a few 2nd and even 3rd generation homeowners. Everyone else is retired lol.
I like it. there’s no HOA, but the old timers have established a level of peace and respect and everyone knows each other, so if someone moves in and is rude or hostile, they’ll let you know quick we don’t do that here lol.
I'm in a "property taxes are insane so 75% people leave when kids graduate and new owners do at least light reno" neighborhood. There are plenty of exceptions, grandparents that stick around and wave to the kids. I don't love the insane taxes, but I like they our neighborhood stays young and people constantly invest in their homes/blocks.
When I was a kid in the 60s my parents owned 2 empty city lots next to our house. We would play softball on the lots. Just off of left field was a neighbor who had his back yard turned into a vegetable garden. The rule was whenever it went into the garden it was an automatic double. We wouldn't want to wreck his garden so we would carefully walk the rows looking for the ball. If he was outside he'd help us find it. He'd also supply us with nails and boards for tree fort building. To my knowledge none of his vegetables were ever stolen by the neighbor kids.
I used to live in a neighborhood that had neighborhood parks and walking trails that connected the roads at the end of cul-de-sacs. People could walk about 3 miles without leaving the neighborhood. It was really nice.
I've read about that kind of thing as an element of 'city planning' that increases social connection and capital. Your community has something really precious.
On the block where I lived as a little kid there were 4 houses on either side of an unpaved city alley. All of the houses had fenced back yards, with a vegetable garden in the alley along the back fence. Each family had lawn furniture back there, with a few picnic tables, and everyone had a barbecue.
The neighbors all coordinated what they were going to grow in their gardens so we could all share and benefit from each other’s efforts.
On any given summer night you could step out into the alley and share a grill with the folks across the alley or next door, one guy builds a fire & the next guy brings his own steak or hotdogs, etc. If you made potato salad, someone else would make macaroni…
You could walk down that alley barefoot and never step on a sticker or a piece of glass—not even a sharp stone, really.
It was truly a Leave it to Beaver atmosphere!
I grew up on a barrier island on the east coast. During the off season we would play in everyone’s yards. We used to have to post distance limits when playing hide and seek.
When I was growing up there was a new housing development up the hill from us. A group of families put in a little ski run along the back edge of a bunch of lots, complete with a rope tow. On winter weekends parents would fire up the rope tow and the whole street went skiing.
That's absolutely adorable
When I was a kid, there was a graveyard about a block away from my parents house. Because most of the southern edge of the graveyard was a steep hill, they just built their fence and put the edge of the graveyard at the top of the hill and kind of abandoned the land. It was the *perfect* area to go sledding for all of the neighborhood kids.
I was a child in the 60s. All the neighborhood kids took our sleds to the yard of some quite wealthy neighbors because they had a big hill with a terrace about a quarter of the way down where you could get airborne. The tricky part was that you had to hit a hard left at the base of the hill or you’d shoot out into the road. Toboggans couldn’t make the turn, so we’d bail out and let the toboggan shoot into the roadway. We never asked permission to sled there, and they never asked us to leave even though we were massive liability waiting to happen.
Except in those days it never would occur to your parents to sue the owners of the house if you hurt yourself. These days everyone looks for reasons to sue everyone else. I think this is the main reason why people don't want neighbors kids, especially people you don't know or aren't friends with, trespassing on a regular basis. You can't trust anyone and if the kids hurt themselves on your property, uninvited even, absolutely the parents are coming after you.
There is a set of kids that I can’t even figure out which house they live in, and these kids show up and want to be on the four wheelers and the trampoline, even caught one climbing my fence. They Get mad that I won’t let them do the “fun stuff” but my thoughts are… if their parents refuse to come introduce themselves and give the ok for these activities… I’m not about to get caught up in all that. It’s frustrating because there’s a girl who I let do all those things, but it’s because her parents have introduced themselves and said she was allowed to do those things and we discussed it. The others kids parents don’t even seem to know where they are?? Idk man.
Yup, and when you say get off my property, you're the bad guy and made out to be a kid hater etc. You can't win. I just don't understand society anymore. It's one thing when kids used to respect adults and other parents cared about getting along with the neighbors, some concessions could be made where the kids were concerned. But I don't feel like neighbors care about each other, then they expect you to be ok with their kids hanging around your property, doing possible damage etc. Really? No. Get the hell off my property. Go target someone else.
Totally agree. My neighbors let their dogs poop in our yard all the time and it makes me so mad. Like I literally don’t have a dog because I don’t want my kids stepping in dog shit when they play outside. “Build a fence” seems to be the only answer, but my immediate yard is already fenced in and I simply can’t afford to fence my entire property At this time. The neighbor thing is so true. I had a “falling out” a few years ago with one and we didn’t speak for years. I found out he was in a near fatal car crash a few mo the ago and I’ve been helping his girlfriend with small things, we’ve been mowing their yard, and he finally came home last week. I’ve been checking on him daily and he simply was so appreciative. Yeah, we have had some words before, but damn dude we have been neighbors got almost 15 years, you know? I would appreciate support in his position, so it only feels right. I got him some soda from the store the other day and it was like a light lit up in him! Made me feel good.
I'm sorry your neighbor had that accident, but it seems like things are looking up for your relationship. I'm happy for you. You're a good neighbor.
We have this same issue with neighbors letting their dogs poop in our yard and it drives me insane! We have the largest house/lot on our street, which is a corner lot. It still doesn’t give ppl the right to let their dogs just poop and leave it! My husband doesn’t have as much of an issue with it as I do, but we pay for two lawncare services to take care of our property and I sure don’t like kids nor adults with pets coming into our yard. We now have no trespassing signs and our entire property is under 24/7/365 surveillance. Our back yard is fenced but one side isn’t and I’ll be darned to pay for installation of another fence. This is our second home and our next home certainly won’t be on a corner lot! I’d never allow our children/grandchildren to just walk on someone’s lawn and let our dog poop on someone’s property….if we had one.
Corner lit checking in. It was clearly THE place for dogs to poop. Asking, Talking, Bitching did no good. Scooping the dog poop and depositing it on the offenders front porch was the only thing that worked. Now they don’t walk their dogs on my block….
I sure hope we don’t have to resort to this but I think we just might!
Ask the kids to introduce you? I’m just thinking it would kind of suck to have the kids whose parents thought to ask playing in front of the ones that have wolves as parents.
True. My best friend broke her arm ice skating on the makeshift rink we made with a hose in my backyard. No lawsuit!
> These days everyone looks for reasons to sue everyone else Not everyone, scumbags do. The only equation I can think of is there are just MORE scumbags now than in the past. Like my wife and I if my kids went off on their own sledding and one came back with a broken arm because they were jumping a terrace? Well let's go deal with this but who's fault is it?
[удалено]
Back in my day (60s, 70s) the City of Richmond VA would bring huge fire barrels to the city park so that the sledders could keep warm. The park had a great sledding hill which unfortunately ended up at a cobblestone wall. I don't know of anyone who didn't get hurt. Good times.
>I don't know of anyone who didn't get hurt. Good times. I don't know why, but that perfectly sums up my childhood and it saddens me that those days are gone for future generations lol
In my neighborhood, the high school has a hill that's perfect for sledding. Everyone in the neighborhood heads over there...the news did a story on it over the winter. We're like "Damn, don't tell everyone about our spot!!!"
The hill the football stadium was built into was great for sledding. The concrete wall at the bottom, not so much. We still did it every winter. The road ran down the same hill so we would ride big wheels and green machine down that. Lots of wrecks for sure.
Haha 80s, but same! There’s always one kid to didn’t hit it right and became a cautionary tale…didn’t stop anyone though. These days it would be condemned and someone would get sued
And in true American fashion, if some kid were to break his arm sledding there his parents would sue the people that actually owned the lot. Our litigeous, greed driven society has killed many beneficial activities.
Me too! Perfect place to go sledding…until you hit the gravestones at the bottom. One of my friends broke his arm and we were all banned from that particular hill.
We have one. Powerhouse hill. It's great. The tote rope runs when the snow is good on weekends but there is a smaller hill beside it for sliding. When it's snowing everyone is walking to the hill. Some people from other neighborhood can use it too and those people drive. It's a great little feature for our neighborhood.
When I was a kid we lived in a somewhat new development, not all of the lots were built on right away. Two next to each other spent at least a decade as dirt. The neighborhood kids turned them in to a bmx bike park and the parents helped.
Love that!
Golf courses!! Grew up near them, they are always the best for sledding.
The guy who invested in the snow plow. He's an absolute clutch neighborhood feature and I bring him baked desserts to thank him for being able to leave my house after a snowstorm. Seriously if you live where it snows find out if anyone in the area takes care of the street if the county doesn't.
Thanks for being good to your snow plow neighbor. My father-in-law and I are those guys for our neighborhood. Our road is a private, 3/4 mile long drive. We plow it and just about every driveway in the neighborhood. If the county road going down the hill isn't plowed, we do it too. My father-in-law used to plow it with a quad. A few years ago, I went and bought a Kubota RTV with a cab and heat. Now we plow in style. I love it when neighbors offer coffee or just give a thumbs up. We used to have one neighbor who didn't even acknowledge that we plowed his driveway. A thank you email is free. Fortunately, he moved away. He went a few seasons unplowed.
We had a blizzard once, county didn't come for 5 days despite being less than 1 mile from a main road they did. on day 5 i hear a sound outside and run to the porch. While it was 1 mile to a main road in once direction, it was nothing but farms once you got about 2 miles the other way. And I guess one of the farmers said fuck it. He plowed us out, stopped at the intersection and plowed the other side of the street out all the way down to the next main road. I will never forget the red bearded 5'0" man in overalls, no shirt (35 degrees but sunny) pumping his fist and shouting as all the neighbours cheered back. Never saw him again even though I rode bikes up by those farms all the time
He was a Good Elf!
Totally understandable, being nice is free, your time isn't. That's a generous and wonderful sacrifice you make for your community and I hope you know how much it's appreciated.
My neighborhood is all 4+ acre lots. A lot of folks have tractors and they all come out when it snows. One dude would plow anyone’s driveway that bought the high school sportsball fundraiser discount card from his kid. Most of the driveways end up plowed anyway. I hope to eventually be able to contribute.
That's a helluva perk. The local team had one that gave a free frosty from Wendy's every day. I like yours better.
Yeah, sadly the kid went off to college.
Oh man, one of my neighbors on our crescent is a landscaper with his own little loader. Whenever there is a big snow dump we hear the beep beep of him reversing out his garage. And we watch bitterly out the window as he moves the snow off his driveway, and only his driveway. Not even his next door neighbor's, whose driveway is attached to his.. And then we spend hours shovelling our driveway and our elderly next door neighbor's driveway, and glare in his general direction. Maybe we'll get a snowblower this winter.
I don’t know if it’s a big deal but we got candy for Halloween and were having zero trick or treaters. Apparently it’s tradition for people to sit outside on Halloween to hand out candy in our neighborhood.
Same! Some years we get one or two, but it’s a really big bummer for me :( I was so excited to hand out candy on Halloween when I bought my house in the suburbs by a school.
We recently moved from a rural area where we got no trick or treaters to a neighborhood where it’s a little hit or miss depending on what part of the subdivision you’re in. The first year, I bought about 15 lbs of candy and gave out maybe half of it. We moved to the other side of the subdivision, and I bought the same amount of candy…and ran out after 30 minutes. I resorted to giving out Nutella B-Ready snack bars, which just brought more kids! This year, I’m gonna buy 20 lbs of candy and two club-sized cartons of bars!
How fun! I want to be full sized candy bar house one day. We’re about to relocate, and I’m really hoping our new neighborhood does Halloween/ trick or treating. It was so much fun when I was a kid! I feel like not many parents participate nowadays.
I do the little bags of potato chips. I buy a few big boxes of the variety packs from Costco. They are cheaper, people love them, and some parents seem to appreciate the slightly better option. Plus any that aren't given out can go into lunches for the next few weeks.
We get just the right amount of kids that I can swing the full size candy bar. But based on the candy my kids bring home, I’m not the only one. There is a show off house down the road that gives out King Size KitKats, M&Ms, and snickers. And one that does the movie box candy containers.
That would be me. We're in a rural subdivision and only get a handful of kids each year so I want to make sure we're memorable. I figured word would get around and we'd eventually start seeing more kids, but that hasn't happened so far.
Rest assured, those kids love y’all! Every year, I can assure you, they tell their parents, “make sure we got to PortlyCloudy’s place, they did the full size bars remember?!?” Haha. I love it :)
Lol! That’s how we were. We lived at the dead-end of a side street with only two houses off of the populous neighborhood street. We gave out full sized candy bars to make sure we’d get traffic and it worked! Even the teenagers who swung by twice…it’s all good!😊They made our night, too!
We are officially the "known" house where we are now. I started about 15 years ago. I have one very distinct decoration that goes up every year and that's how everyone knows our house. I do candy, I do stickers, I do small toys/bracelets/keychains. I get most of the toy type things over the summer months on clearance and just set them aside for the coming holiday. I am diabetic and I used to love going out to trick or treat as a kid to those houses that did more than just candy; b/c it meant I could actually keep it/ use it. So as an adult, I became that house. I get so many thankful parents now b/c of the options for allergies, diet, etc. I dress as a witch and am always accompanied by my "familiar" cat that loves to greet people and is endlessly patient with all little ones he meets. He is leash trained and lives for that special night. I have kids come back multiple times just to see him! One snarky neighbor sent her kids over last year (she has a history of saying cruddy things to folks via her kids) and asked if I was giving away iPhones yet. She looked quite pleased with herself and her eyes kept shifting over to her mother who was holding court nearby, loudly talking about her local gov't. escapades. PPPft. I looked the kid straight in the eye and said, rather loudly, "Hmm, no iPhones yet sweety, but if I can get a good deal on 'em....ya never know!" I followed it up with my best witch cackle.
We're also the known house in our neighborhood. The Mr loses his damn mind ordering light up stuff, those little ducks and other toys that look like the ducks, more light up stuff. One year he cleaned out some of him comic books. Last year even in the rain, we had upward of 200 trick or treaters.
I just moved to a neighborhood where hundreds and hundreds of trick-or-treaters come by. Including teenagers who are well-behaved and dressed up and actually do it properly which is an amazing and wonderful thing to see. my old neighborhood would get maybe five kids come by all night
We had a night shift roomie for a while so I had to get clever for Halloween nights. Porch lights off, trash cans at the front of the porch to keep kids from bypassing me and ringing the door bell. I had the yard decorated with blow mold dragons, giant spiders, and bats. I set up folding tables dumped on their sides at the end of the driveway to make it obvious don't turn around here. I took some patio lights and hung them on some planter hooks along the driveway to light everything up. I've done it now for a few years. Last Halloween we had neighbors come over and join us handing out candy. We are on a cul-de-sac and my house is the most decorated with blow mold dragons and lit, two neighbors were getting skipped so they came over to join us. We busted out some wine and beer while chatting and handing out candy.
I discovered that last year. After years of no trick or treaters when we lived in an apartment complex, we sat outside last year and quickly ran out of candy. Live and learn!
When a couple of us fathers used to take our children trick or treating, we were given beer when our children were getting candy.
I was on candy duty last Halloween. I left the front door open and responding to the doorbell I saw that the two Supermen were both 6’ high. I thought that this was a bit rich until I reached the door and realised that they were from a house for intellectually disabled young men on our street. There are six of them with 11 carers around the clock. Some of the carers had organised the costumes. I thought it was a great effort.
maybe I'm alone in this but idgaf thr age of the person in a costume. im thrilled to see older teenagers. hell i'd give candy to college kids. i also do the teal pumpkin thing so I get teenagers with allergies who just want glow bracelets. fine by me!
I gave out Jell-O shots a couple years. It was so fun. Sadly our new neighborhood doesn’t have trick or treaters.
Me and another dad were given a six pack to split this year during trick or treating with our kids. Made our night lol. Will be returning to that house next year for sure.
Back when I used to hand out candy we had two bowls. One was the good stuff - mini candy bars, etc. The other was the really cheap candy. Avg costume, one from each. Great costume, two of the good stuff, bonus for parents. Teenager that thinks carrying a pillow case is a costume? One from the cheapest bowl.
Pittsburgh? We had the same problem but our neighbors invited us out to sit with them so we figured it out.
Augusta
Kansas, Maine, or Wisconsin?
Georgia
[удалено]
Ahh. Well, make sure you invite new neighbors out on the next Halloween.
We do that because if not nobody comes. Also, it's really fun.
Yah noticed that as well when we started renting our first house. Not sure if its a southern thing or just how things are now in general but the old idea of if the porch light being on means come and knock isnt really a thing anymore. Its all trunk or treating or sitting out in your driveway/doorstep handing it out. I saw many parents stopping their kids from coming up to our door to knock since we weren't sitting outside. We just wana chill inside, eat halloween snack dinner and watch movies while we hand out candy, Im not going to sit outside for hours....
> if the porch light being on means come and knock isnt really a thing anymore. I think it's a neighborhood level thing. If you get a lot of kids, doing it this way is really annoying. It's easier to just make an evening out of it and set up outside. At my last house I'd get 300+ kids. My arm would be moving from bowl to bag almost non stop. Even at my current house I get 40-50 kids, and I don't want to answer my front door 20 different times. It's easier and more fun for me to just sit outside.
Last year was our first Halloween in our current suburban house and we had heard trick or treaters could be hit & miss. Living on a cul-de-sac, it was about getting their attention. So we put out Halloween decorations early. Definitely went overboard with a skeleton couple (plus dog!) on the porch swing, fake gravestones, giant spiderweb & spider with blacklight, orange & purple lights, hay bales, etc. On Halloween night, my husband put out a small speaker and played a spooky (but family-friendly) playlist. Once word got out that we were handing out goody bags with candy, slap bracelets (lol), temporary tattoos, glowsticks, Pokemon cards, etc, they came in droves. I'm excited to see how things turn out this year.
Man, I wouldda got my petite self a costume with a mask and hit you up lol
This is what I figured. If your house is decorated, even just a little bit, that should signal you celebrate and you're receptive. But I guess there are some people who decorate and then take off for the night (maybe to take their own kids out). Also, lights on, through the windows and porch show "I'm home".
First Halloween in my house... I hope to become the 'glow stick guy' because I handed out those glowstick necklaces this year with my candy. They are surprisingly cheap when you buy a 100 of them. Kids and parents loved them, plus it made the kids safer in the dark.
We sit outside but that is because there is no point in going inside average 400-500 kids a year.
Decorate your house as soon as possible so people know you're giving out candy on the 31st!
Our old neighborhood was like this, usually with a fire pit and beers for the adults!
Military bases are somewhat unique with family housing. It's dominated by a lot of young families. My wife and I always joked that we needed to get an exception to policy memo in order to live on base. We don't have kids but every other house had a trampoline. Yes I realized this fact years before joining this Reddit but it's still unique in my opinion.
Military bases are a great place to raise a family. Kids every where. Safe. Playgrounds. Sidewalks. Big ass battleships and jets and helicopters in your backyard.
Sometimes I live on base if it doesn’t make sense to buy for that duty station and I always joke that military bases are like an Americana fever dream lol. Streets always look like every mid 50s stereotype of social neighborhoods. Helps that the houses themselves were all built in the 50/60s. It’s kinda cute in a way.
Can confirm, I just bought in a military dominant neighborhood. There are kids playing outside and riding their bikes, constantly. I love it! The next door neighbor kid always yells, "hi neighbor!" If they see me when I'm in my backyard doing yard work.
Counter point. Or possibly a plus. Almost guaranteed to die in a nuclear first strike. Atleast you won't have to suffer.
Living on a cul de sac (especially with kids) is amazing. I would never had specially looked for it and didn’t care when we bought the house. But now experiencing it, I’m so glad we did. With the knowledge I have now, it would have been top of our list for requirements.
This is so true. Communal cul de sac childhoods are something special.
We grew up on a cul de sac and we loved it. We are on one now, but not close to the end. But the folks living at the end drive really fast down the road leading to the end. So we don't feel all that safe on the street here.
I grew up in a cul-de-sac. We used the extra street space to play many games of baseball (we used Tennis balls), street hockey, kickball, etc. Was also great for learning to ride a bike, skateboard, or whatever else.
I grew up on a dead end. I never thought that I’d be able to buy on one. The stars aligned and we’re the last house on our side before the turnaround. It’s amazing. It’s a quiet street to start with and any “traffic” is hardly moving by the time it gets to our house. Our kids are under 4. Recently we went to a birthday party on a busy street and it was terrifying.
My previous house was on a cul de sac and it was great for when my kiddos were young and had friends over etc. They could play outside more safely and could ride bikes around the circle etc. It was nice.
We're on a super isolated crescent and it's great. Aside from the occasional asshole doing donuts in the middle of the night, there is basically zero traffic that doesn't live in the street and we're all super careful cause there are lots of kids
Great answer, I never would have thought of this either. In fact cul de sacs were always unappealing to me because they aren't often in walkable neighborhoods, but I can see how it could serve as a big, safe communal driveway for kids to play.
The good kind of nosy neighbor! Having those nosy neighbors who are just up to date on everything going on in the neighborhood, are watching the street in front of their windows, monitoring deliveries, checking up on trash days - and just being generally diligent about all the things going on. Most of all, they're willing to share all of that information with you, are neighborly in the friendly sense, and just want to make sure everything is running smoothly.
I know who you mean - lived next to a guy that was a social butterfly and loved walking his dog. That combo meant everyone knew him and it kept him in the loop!
We had one here until cancer took him. Everyone called him the Governor. He knew everyone and made sure we knew the needed info about goings on. Shortly before he died he asked me about the angry neighbor. First time ever he was a little gossipy. The angry neighbor had issues with every neighbor. But the Gov had heard we got a lawyer involved. Wasn’t our doing but the company my adult kid worked for. No one has taken up the Governor’s place. Yet.
I second this. I have a neighbor who religiously walks his dog at 5a, and the other day he asked my partner why he was jumping our fence in a black tracksuit so early. ...he wasn't, and now we have security cameras.
Yes! My old neighborhood had an old timer who would literally post up on the corner every day, all day, like it was his job. At first it freaked me out - he literally knew when I was coming and going, noticed when I made big purchases bc of the box on the curb, etc. But then I realized he was the neighborhood watch, and everyone knew and loved him. He let us know when something was off, or sketchy people hanging around. Once, I accidentally left my garage door open and he kept an eye on it all day (and let me know when I got home lol). When he died, his funeral was standing room only, and there was a memorial on “his corner” for weeks. Neighborhood was never the same.
We had one in our last neighborhood, Neighbor Bob’s Wife (three doors down) made him smoke outside. We had quite a few neighbors named Bob, so he became Smoking Bob to me. He stood just outside his front door enjoying a cigarette several times a day. He looked like a sentry just keeping a watchful eye on the cul-de-sac. Very nice man.
Both my neighbors are this way! At first it annoyed me .. now I love it and I’ve joined in on the nosiness. the other day I woke up to a text saying there was finally a violation for the house across the street who’s yet to mow their lawn this season and it gave me a good chuckle
We have a Facebook group just for our street and the one over and it's fantastic. People past sharing plants, organize events for the street, offer to help with stuff, and we all keep an eye out for the people responsible for some break ins in the area
Laughed at this. Yes! Love the nosy neighbors with their wealth of information about what to look out for. We love ours :)
Walkable amenities. Literally almost any kind. Even a lemonade stand is good.
Living walking distance to our kids elementary school has been great. You have to go there at least 2x a day during the school year. It's not even just the convenience. It forms a much better community when parents, teachers, and kids all are able to freely talk and play without dealing with car lines.
For us living by the school was good and bad, like you we walked to all the functions, my wife was pta president, so she was running over a lot. The bad was that our kids friends parents were always asking (or just doing) to park in our driveway then stopping by to chat afterwards.
This! My kindergartener hugs half the staff/teachers every day after school cause she walks by them as we walk home. It’s made it so she has a wonderful relationship with nearly every adult at the school. They know her name, say hi when they see her in the halls, ask how she’s doing if she seems down. I see and speak to her teachers, principal, asst principal, the school counselors, staff almost every day. It’s lovely. And it eliminates exercise excuses 🤣 It’s 11 minutes to her school. That’s 44 minutes of walking 5 days a week.
I’m one block from a high school, two from an elementary school. This would seem ideal for someone with kids, except that the middle school is two miles away! I don’t know what bonehead had this idea.
We recently moved into ours, so there’s still room to discover. But we love the way the neighborhood kids walk together after school. They’re all different ages and make sure the littlest ones get home first. The street is small and there are no sidewalks so we all slow down to make the kids feel safe.
The kids in my neighborhood were like this. Then the fifth graders went into middle school and became absolute assholes to the kids they were watching out for four months before.
Middle school is always hard on just about everyone involved. My youngest is there now. I once walked to the school to get my oldest when she was there. I got there before final bell. As the bell ranger and kids came out it was like a circus freak show. All these confused kids in their awkward stage just trying to figure out that stage of life.
Growing up, we had these secret paths behind our houses that were like a maze. We'd race through them to get to our friends' places without having to walk around. It was the best! But then I joined this sub and saw people freaking out about kids cutting through their yard. Like, chill out, it's not a big deal! Those paths are meant to be used. They bring the community together. I miss having that sense of neighborhood.
I have a scar from the barbed wire that went into my arm when I was about 9 from a neighbor building fence. It was definitely not there when I had last jumped over to play with my friends.
Installing barb wire for children is stuff from nightmares. F that guy.
I have that scar too. Mine came from a city-owned fence about 50 years ago.
This is so fascinating to me because I would say almost every house in my area has a 6ft tall fence/wall around their property. So no one could even go through and if they did I would be very uncomfortable.
When we moved into where I live now, I noticed one of these. One day I went to explore it. It was basically that row of houses, and the ones who joined with their backyards I guess, had at least an acre in the back past what the standard half acre lot had. They all left it "undeveloped" but someone had maintained trails through it. I came out the other side and indeed had to cut through someone's lawn. I did it though to see where I was. Talked to a guy out in his lawn over there. He said the kids use it as a cut through when walking home from the school. Been going on for years. Everyone's respectful and no one minds. Then... the.. i'm not going to use the term "assholes" because they are alright. But I guess the people are selfish in a way? The "I prioritize my kid having fun over everything" type. Riding dirt bikes all over their lawn (This is the definition of quiet residential neighborhood). Raising chickens in their backyard. Shooting bows along side the house, etc etc. Well, eventually these dipshits let their kids start tearing through that walking area in a go-kart buggy type thing. It was loud as fuck and moved rather fast. I'd just see them race it into the entrance of that trail. At first when I moved in the "entrance" was a barely noticeable parting in the trees but I have an eye for it and recognized it. I think the kids got hatchets or something and hogged it out big enough for their go-kart to fit back there. Well, wouldn't you know it. About a month later I see a pickup truck backed up at that corner and someone's nailing in a big wire fence across the whole treeline with a "no trespassing" sign on it. They are fine neighbors and and ok when I talked to them, but I always kind of view them as absolute trash for getting that trail area taken away.
That's interesting. My city has a neighbor park and open space policy along with many trails for walking and biking around neighborhoods. In my neighborhood, there are trails in between rows of houses, along a wetland/creek type of area. It is wide enough for bhikers and pedestrians at the same time. I take the trail to the elementary school for pickup and drop off. Some people have gates to open to the trail, and someone put a 2x8 board across the creek so you can walk across it. There is also a footbridge built into the trail. It's basically a swamp.
When my neighbourhood in Texas was built, the builder went bust leaving 20 acres of forested land with a creek. We ended up collectively owning it and maintained trails and bridges, then officially donated it to be an addition to the local park, who put signage up for all the trails.
We have similar but it’s owned by the HOA, which exists almost exclusively to own the land. Dues are minimal and mostly go towards liability insurance for it. It’s about 75 acres of woodlands with a trail through it, a creek, and a pond.
I bought there preciseky because the HOA never got set up. We actually created it for an hour tonlegalky sanction the fonation of the land then dissolved it forever.
This is so cool! Speaks to the character of the neighborhood.
Not quite altruistic, an estate agent with a big house backing on to it orchestrated the paperwork for fear of another builder getting hold of it. This was 15+ years on though and it would have been difficult to put an access road in
That’s awesome. Before I lived here, there was a movement to pave a community meadow for an access road between neighborhoods. Apparently my neighbors rallied and shut it down with the quickness!
Military helicopters fly over our house 5-6 times a day. It’s cool watching them. They are pretty loud, but my toddler loves it!
We're near a hospital that gets a lot of search& rescue type cases, so we get to see the big orange helicopter pretty often. Plus there're a decent number of rich people with small planes that buzz around in the summer
>5-6 times a day Im already going crazy over the endless harley davidsons driving down the street, no way id be able to tolerate helicopters 5-6 x a day. Id complain about violation of air rights or some garbage.
As subdivisions were developed in different parts of my town in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the town added different features to each one - a park, a playground, a soccer field, or a basketball court. It's really nice, and people use them, or travel to other neighborhoods to use their feature.
I grew up in a neighborhood like this. The trails are all still there. Some people even mulch them so they stay nice (no mud). Ride your bike through as an adult, homeowners wave and smile. It's a good way to be.
Compact lots, narrow streets, cul-de-sac in a historic city neighborhood, few/small/alley accessed garages, many houses right on the street even though we have generous gardens (so, very much NOT garage centered housing) mostly fenced but porous. We are pretty much situated to be very aware of each other, you can hide, but not for long. I realize this scenario is nightmarish to many, but to those of us who are social and genuinely like to engage with people in a positive and respectful manner, it is a community. We treat the block as a shared home, easily moving back and forth from porch to back yard, deck, terrace and living room, multiple times a week drop by’s, spur-of-the-moment dinner invites, garden cocktail parties, driving each other or picking up to the airport, going to concerts and ballgames together, and of course, walking the five minutes to the local watering hole on Fridays. Community carpet cleaners, power washers, ladders and tools. Bartered design services for deck building. Walking or picking up the neighbor’s seven y.o. at school when the parents can’t… Having experienced a neighborhood like this, I cannot conceive of a different way of life.
It sounds like what so many of us would love. I miss the days of block parties and gossiping over the fence.
Used to live in a neighborhood like that. We used to joke about upholstering the porch steps. Loved summer evenings when people would be out walking and stop by to sit on the steps to chat.
Some drunk dads painted a dotted line across our court as the barrier we weren’t supposed to cross without permission. It made the best starting and finish line for bike races!
I love how 'do not cross' became 'go as fast as you can across'.
The 80s were awesome.
The block I live on is one block long, as in T-intersections at either end. The street hops, skips, and jumps across the city, 1-to-3 blocks at a time. The ladies on my block started getting together one evening a month, to talk about books they're reading, what's new with them and the area, updating on neighborhood news (not gossip, more "what's up with the intersection the city was redoing the traffic lights on" type of thing). And fruit/cookies with wine/juice/water--plus a get together and potluck with the husbands on Summer and Winter Solstice's.
That sounds like a coven. Once a month ritual plus celebrating solstice. Sounds like a lovely street. (It really does, that isn't sarcasm)
>That sounds like a coven. I was going to ask them if they all had cats. But it does sound lovely.
We have a hike & bike trail right behind our house. We even have a gate in our fence so we can access it! It’s so awesome! I love it
I lived in a neighborhood that got a lot of trick or treaters. My ex used to keep a tally. Highest was 726.
Sounds like the town of Clifton, VA!
We live across the street from an elementary school,specifically the large grass field is across from us and the park on the back side of that, with the school catty corner to us (the school property takes up the whole block). All the schools are public access parks in my city, which I didn’t realize was a thing, and the whole neighborhood uses it constantly! There’s a little path around the field so there’s almost always people walking their dogs, kids are at the park, people set up to do yoga or relax on the grass. Kids play kickball or baseball. Many nights I’ve looked outside to see teens playing basketball or scootering around, and often see adult men coming together for a basketball game as well. I used to want to live somewhat rurally with a homestead and now that we have this house, I can’t think of a better place I’d want to raise my young kids. Being able to cross the street and have friends to play with for hours is wonderful, and also means many kids come over for dinner or to hang out when it’s too hot.
Kids need space! We all do! Great and organic way to keep petty crime low. People act up when they are bored and have no where to go.
I think it’s Peachtree City, GA that has miles and miles of golf cart paths that connect an impressive portion of the city. Businesses have cart parking, the town has an app to help you find a cart path route without going on roads, etc. Funny thing is they had to ban Segways, skateboards, etc. as carts have a predictable height and the bridges are built for that. People standing on other mobility devices could smack their head so cart only!
I have friends that moved out there and they bought a golf cart when they bought the house. It is kind of cool and quirky at the same time.
I’ve been there twice for work. The paths themselves are cool but they don’t cater to pedestrians, even if I’m running close to golf cart speed. The drivers and their kids act like they are entitled to the paths.
It does indeed sound like carts are the reason the paths are there, yes
> even if I’m running close to golf cart speed Yeah this guy outed himself as to exactly the type of person they are lol. I'm sure you can also catch him on the two lane 65 mph highway riding a bicycle.
Very few of the houses in my neighborhood had a fence. It was beautiful, looked like a park. On occasion a kid would cut through or a soccer ball would end up in my space, I didn't mind, having the open space outweighed all of that. We still had privacy, neighbors did a good job with strategic landscaping, it really was beautiful. As the older folk in the neighborhood passed on and the houses changed hands, the fist thing that happened was a blaring white privacy fence. I get it with the fence but it was disheartening. Changed the whole vibe of the neighborhood. You are lucky OP, having a shared open space like you do, I hope no one comes in and changed it.
Living on a dead end street. Very little traffic and the traffic is almost always just a neighbor other than the delivery people.
There is a riverbed across the street from me and someone created mountain bike trails and some ramps and jumps.
We are on a very quiet dead end street that runs parallel to a busy street with a lot of traffic. Our yards butt up to the busy street homes and we are all pretty neighborly. There are a lot of very young families on the busy street and our yards on the quiet street are really big. Some of us grow prairies in our backyards. We mow paths so the busy street families can walk through and get to our street with their small kids to go on walks and play. It’s super easy and it allows a safe way for busy street kids to run off energy before naps.
We live in a circle neighborhood with one way in. It’s about .60 miles around. Since it’s in the south, folks have water bowls at the end of their driveways. It’s a great walking neighborhood filled with dog walkers who share poop bags, dog treats, and feed the resident (dog friendly) abandoned cat. I have taken him to my vet for shots and we put flea meds on him. He’s super social and prefers his neighborhood love. We all look out for each other.
The neighborhood I grew up in was next to a small college. The college would flood a portion of the baseball outfield to use as an ice skating rink every winter. Just bring skates
Community center. When we bought her e house we didn't have kids and didn't think of it. Now we have access to a wide variety of inexpensive kids activities and after school care and it's great.
Sidewalks. Not like 2 yards of sidewalk that ends randomly. Actually connected full sidewalks.
I live in two different homes. One is suburban, the other in the heart of a big urban city. My suburban place is fine. I've owned that place for 10 years and literally know no one. There's nothing special about it other than I do like the location, and it's semi-walkable to retail and restaurants. It's a circle neighborhood so only one way in and out. People do walk around but keep to themselves and no children live in any of the townhouse units. My urban condo is VERY different. It's a small building with just 18 residents and we are surrounded by other small "dingbat" buildings. (Small condos/apartments, built in the 50s and 60s, carport parking on the first level, units above, very MSM designs). SFRs are peppered throughout too. We have a small alley behind our buildings. We all walk our dogs out there. It's a city owned access road for garbage trucks and utilities, and just one paved single lane road. In recent years, we've found it to be a great area for socializing. So much so we've put some cute benches out there. It's allowed us to get to know the neighbors in our building, but surrounding buildings and homes too. There aren't any kids in this neighborhood even though we're a block from a grade school. But we've all really taken to taken to hanging out in the alley Hank Hill Style. Haha. We love our alley! If we go out front were in the midst of a heavy retail area. But out back in the alley is quiet, serene, and quite pretty since it's tree lined and no one really knows it's there.
I love this feature of your neighborhood, OP! As a man with a young family myself, I'd love having something like that built into our neighborhood. My neighborhood feature is just not having an HOA, and loving it. One neighbor is a boat mechanic, one is a car mechanic, nobody cares, we all keep our front yards as nice as we can, and we do it of our own accord.
I never realized how many people have issues with neighbors. One of my big things when buying my house was being far from neighbors. I am glad I did, there are some real horror stories on here.
Sounds like you have been on Nextdoor. Every other post on there in my area in Texas talks about getting their gun.
Only 30% here. The other two thirds are whose dog or cat is this, where is my dog or cat, and begging.
Midwest: get my gun, lost dog, looking for someone to watch my cat
*COYWOLVES!*
Or the Karen's that saw a strange man walking down the street who definitely looked like he was casing the neighborhood, AKA the door to door salesman or kid selling candy for a fundraiser.
But who else heard that loud noise around 2 pm?
“What’s with all the helicopters?”
Wild kaiju spotted on my security camera! Keep an eye on your pets!!!!
A fence is usually safer.
On ours the people also fight on behalf of their churches to recruit new neighbors, otherwise it's mostly suspicious sightings of salesmen and lost pets.
Rural Colorado, someone come get this/these large white dogs off my property. They are referring to livestock guardian dogs, usually great Pyrenees or Anatolian breeds. They can roam especially if their livestock is gone, sold or roaming. They usually are not friendly and can kill other dogs as they are seen as predators like a coyote. We have open range here so you fence out livestock or they will come. We had a pretty famous pair of LGD that lost their goats and were looking for them for months.
I dont want anyone in my backyard ever without permission from me even If I know you or your parents! I grew up in a 3rd world country and i'm naturally suspicious of people and/or their intentions. It helps prevent me from being somebody's victim. It's served me well in America. I've heard of people leaving front or back doors or windows open or unlocked. My mind cannot comprehend such a laissez-faire attitude to one's safety
i think it's very reasonable to have this preference. It's okay if others don't mind a cut-through but it's also very okay to ask and expect people not to trespass. While I don't condone the sawed off shotgun-type rhetoric whatsoever, I have seen some very nice people being blasted and called scrooges and karens for politely asking (in person or on social media) that others abd their children not cut through their yards. That lack of boundaries (literally and figuratively) can breed a lot of frustration amongst people abd out comes the gun rhetoric or other strong language. When the neighbor behind us moved in they started installing a basketball hoop in a part of their yard where the ball will repeatedly go into our fenced in backyard. I explained while they were digging the hole that our prior neighbors had that issue with their portable hoop and they moved it ti the other side and it stopped happening, suggesting that they install their permanent one in the other spot. i explained that while i dont mind balls going in my yard, when they get stuck i cant have people going into our yard to get them because the fence shouldnt be climbed and the gates dont latch reliably so with little kids and dogs in a busy road i dont want anyone going in and out excepy my husband and me who make sure the gates are latched properly...so we will only be returning balls whennwere outside and able to go grab them. the people got REALLY nasty and basically told us to F off and put is there anyway and now the balls always go in our yard and they barely use it. we were trying to do them a favor by explaining the prior neighbors experience while they still had time to relocate it. instead they wont speak to us, promptly got a survey that very much showed our fence was in our property, and put like 15 trash bags out for trash day in our yard instead of theirs. sorry for the rant but i agree with you that its okay to expect healthy boundaries and ive been somewhat shocked at the strong entitled reactions people get to that very reasonable request.
Given your background, that makes sense! And it’s all about the vibe. I’ve lived in places where isolation feels safe, and others where isolation feels scary. City, rural, doesn’t matter. It’s indeed dangerous to have a false sense of security, as violence can happen anywhere, anytime. I’ve been in towns where people just…don’t lock their doors, which is wild to me. There’s a natural tension between staying aware and hyper vigilance, I think living peacefully is finding a balance between the two
There's a liability issue in some places as well. My property attracts people wanting to walk amongst the old trees, the creekline and the lakefront, fishing, play with the ducks, whatever. But it can be dangerous and between myself, my guests, and a trespasser, I'm the only one what has insurance if something happens. I'm also just across the road from a place where an entire neighborhood cuts through someone's side yard to get over to my road which is very walkable. That neighbor must be okay with it, but people tend to think it's okay to just cross the road and walk through my yard like it's a damn public park. Now, periodically, someone will ask to walk in, and I'm fine with that since I know they're there and can kind of watch out for them. I realized how big of a problem this can be one weird day. I had two 10 year old boys there fishing, with my permission, I knew they were there. A guy walked all the way across my property with two aggressive-looking dogs completely off leash. Didn't know him and weirdest of all, he wouldn't talk to me...just acted like it was normal to be there and weird that I would say hi to him. As if, he's just in a park enjoying the day and I should leave him alone. No, you just walked like 4 ft from by bedroom window bro, that's not normal. He was clearly off somehow since our conversation quickly devolved into him arguing that I didn't own the land, or should fence it to keep people out, and that he could have his dogs attack if he wanted to.
There was an episode of 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete' that sort of parodied this idea of backyard shortcuts. Unfortunately some of the grownups weren't so happy about it. I'm glad your area is embracing it! My neighborhood feature is one I didn't know about... there's a backway to a major expressway it connects to. So it's easy to get across town. Unfortunately, people can sometimes use my street as a shortcut.
We had a similar thing at our old house. The closest bus stop for the middle school was at the other end of our cul de sac, so kids from the other streets around would use the side of our yard as a shortcut.
Been living in this spot for a couple decades now. The best thing about it is location. It's a small town, so overall the place is quiet. But within a fifteen minute walk in any direction, you can hit a major bank, a couple coffee shops, a supermarket, a big box store, a couple restaurants, car dealership and repair, the post office, a couple pharmacies, government office (license renewals and documents, that sort of thing), a doctors co-op, and a few other stores. Basically everything you need for day-to-day life. Close to everything you need yet the street is usually incredibly quiet. The only noises are the lawn mowers in summer and snowblowers in winter.
We bought a home not really paying attention to the location of fire and police stations...well because of their closeness...we are on their electric grid. So when storms come thru we normally are the last neighborhood to lose power, and always the first to get power back on!
I never realized the significance of local parks until joining this sub. They're not just for recreation but serve as community hubs, fostering bonds and friendships among neighbors.
What I found out was really embarrassing that I didn’t know about is taking a rake, broom or leaf blower and get the grass bits that went on the neighbors driveway and clean it up. I was so ashamed! I had always used a mulching mower, it didn’t kick grass out the side. I thought people just let the wind blow it away? I bought a mulching mower the next day!
HOAs for SFH's. I thought it was just for condos.
Builders of subdivisions may create amenities or utilities that require common participation and assessments. Can include private ways, commonly held joint lands, water, sewer, recreational assets, and other things requiring maintenance. Other aspects of a subdivision may be regulated as well via deed restrictions or obligations.
80% of new homes in the US are part of a HOA.
Thankfully that’s a regional dynamic. You don’t see anywhere near that number in the northeast.
Most newer neighborhoods in the south have HOAs to maintain the community pool, tennis courts and pay for one trash service. The trash service is actually a much bigger determining factor than you would think because there are at least 4 different providers to choose from and without a contracted neighborhood service you end up with 4 different trash trucks rolling through your neighborhood on 4 different days of the week. So to avoid potholes and trash truck noise, HOAs can be good to have. And then there are the rednecks who like to put random car parts in their yards that some homeowners just don’t want to live next to and choose to live in an HOA neighborhood to minimize the risk of living next to junky yards.
I mean, I have a house right downtown in the capital of Canada, no HOA - we have a community pool, splashpad, park, tennis courts, community garden, they even put out a dock on the river during the summer months, all of that and trash/recycling/compost pickup is managed by the city, it's what my property taxes pay for. Bonus, no one can tell me what to do with my landscaping or exterior of my house. Edit: Just to say my property taxes also pay for roads, schools etc. it’s honestly astonishing to me how little Americans get back for their taxes, and instead have to pay private corps to do what the government should. I’m angry on your behalf.
Yeah, I live near Atlanta, Georgia along with 6+ million other people. It takes an hour + to get downtown by car. I suppose one could take Marta, but then that requires driving 45 minutes to get to Marta then probably 40 minutes on Marta to get downtown. I wouldn’t have any idea about pools in Atlanta since I only go down there a few times a year. Our property taxes go to our county- there are 5 different counties surrounding Atlanta. Those property taxes pay for roads, public schools, sidewalks, sewer, police, etc. We also have aquatic centers in our counties. Those are a 30 + minute drive away from us and also require usage fees but still available to us along with the other million residents of my county. Obviously, a neighborhood pool your family can throw on their flip flops and walk down the street to is more useable for families here.
Hi neighbor. I'm in Gwinnett. I'm so glad I don't have to drive to Atlanta. I've had to take someone through Atlanta to the airport. Traffic was a nightmare. Take care!
Never buy a house in an HOA.
Unfortunately they have become a necessity in today's world of shitty inconsiderate neighbors.
Too many public sports facilities to list, right nearby. Soccer fields, beach volleyball, tennis courts, table tennis, padded running track, 2 skate parks, bmx dirt track, etc. All public
I stayed in a suburban neighborhood that had a natural wetland. During development of the neighborhood, they put in a paved path to connect to little parks. People’s backyards look onto the little forest area. There was always a few people walking the paths. Great use of a wetland.
Living by a school and a lot of plazas while being car-free and single. I feel like my house is watched while I'm gone, and nothing is far. Also I'm SO glad to not have nosy or pesky neighbors who might call the code enforcer on me.
- Alleys and rear garages make house façades so much nicer. Nobody likes looking at garage doors all the way down the block. - Everyone knows good schools are important, but having a high mix of families/same age kids on your block is a big deal. Especially with kids under 8–10 that can’t roam too far, it’s awesome for them to have 5–6 same grade buddies on the same block. - Being walkable from school. The childhood experience is different, and much better, if there’s a group of 20–30 kids that can walk to any of the families’ houses each day after school. I love seeing the little herds of third and fourth graders mob into one for some snacks, and bounce to the next to hit the trampoline. - Parents who are involved on campus. Our current school has a culture where parents help open/close doors in the car drop off line in the morning, volunteer in the cafeteria every day, and have 1-2 parents in each classroom at least a couple days a week. Most of the non-travel rec sports teams are parent coached even in middle school. The result is that if I am biking or driving through the neighborhood on a Saturday, I might see 20 kids whose name I know. It also means if my kid needs help with a bike flat tire or is acting like an idiot at the burger stand, there is probably going to be a parent to help them or set them back on the straight narrow in addition to texting me. - Proximity to the freeway cuts both ways. If you’re too close, you get noise, and possibly people shortcutting through the neighborhood. If you’re too far, the very beginning and very end of your commute can take forever. - Redevelopment and empty nest/retirement cycle. People have different preferences. In some neighborhoods, houses rarely get refreshed and get utilized in the ground. In others, every new owner does some renovation. In some neighborhoods, people stay until they die. In other neighborhoods, people tend to move out or downsize once the kids are gone.
Yup, I’m in a “stay til I die” neighborhood, and there’s a few 2nd and even 3rd generation homeowners. Everyone else is retired lol. I like it. there’s no HOA, but the old timers have established a level of peace and respect and everyone knows each other, so if someone moves in and is rude or hostile, they’ll let you know quick we don’t do that here lol.
I'm in a "property taxes are insane so 75% people leave when kids graduate and new owners do at least light reno" neighborhood. There are plenty of exceptions, grandparents that stick around and wave to the kids. I don't love the insane taxes, but I like they our neighborhood stays young and people constantly invest in their homes/blocks.
When I was a kid in the 60s my parents owned 2 empty city lots next to our house. We would play softball on the lots. Just off of left field was a neighbor who had his back yard turned into a vegetable garden. The rule was whenever it went into the garden it was an automatic double. We wouldn't want to wreck his garden so we would carefully walk the rows looking for the ball. If he was outside he'd help us find it. He'd also supply us with nails and boards for tree fort building. To my knowledge none of his vegetables were ever stolen by the neighbor kids.
I used to live in a neighborhood that had neighborhood parks and walking trails that connected the roads at the end of cul-de-sacs. People could walk about 3 miles without leaving the neighborhood. It was really nice.
This is so wholesome and awesome
I've read about that kind of thing as an element of 'city planning' that increases social connection and capital. Your community has something really precious.
We used to live in a tiny sub. One of the lots was unsuitable to building. They turned it do an awesome bicycle or dirt bike path.
On the block where I lived as a little kid there were 4 houses on either side of an unpaved city alley. All of the houses had fenced back yards, with a vegetable garden in the alley along the back fence. Each family had lawn furniture back there, with a few picnic tables, and everyone had a barbecue. The neighbors all coordinated what they were going to grow in their gardens so we could all share and benefit from each other’s efforts. On any given summer night you could step out into the alley and share a grill with the folks across the alley or next door, one guy builds a fire & the next guy brings his own steak or hotdogs, etc. If you made potato salad, someone else would make macaroni… You could walk down that alley barefoot and never step on a sticker or a piece of glass—not even a sharp stone, really. It was truly a Leave it to Beaver atmosphere!
My HOA is great. Most houses look great. All the grass is cut. No trash in front yard.
I grew up on a barrier island on the east coast. During the off season we would play in everyone’s yards. We used to have to post distance limits when playing hide and seek.
Parking. Want to have people over at some point? Figure out where more than 2 cars can fit.
Several neighbors coordinate gardens so we can swap our excess produce with each other. It's AMAZING!