Meeting Neighbors, College Edition
September 4, 2013 1:36 PM   Subscribe

What are good ways to introduce yourself to your neighbors? Each year the houses adjacent to us cycle out with new folks. We'd like to get to know the new neighbors every year, just to be able to know who the people who live feet away from us.

I bought a house last year on a very short street (200 feet long) where 75% of the occupants are renters, most of whom are college students (not the studious edition). We met other neighbors (though, non college students) who have become great friends. Last year we had an excuse-- a housewarming party.

I know def would have both of us walk over (I feel like a couple is less intimidating), with gifts, etc? I feel like neighbor introductions is weird, especially for college students (we are about a decade older than the neighbors but still live pretty young). Willing to throw a party, but would like people to attend actually (only one set of neighbors stopped by last year).
posted by sandmanwv to Society & Culture (9 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I live in a neighborhood with a makeup very similar to yours. A couple summers ago, we got in the habit of sitting on our front steps most evenings after dinner to drink a beer and watch the sunset, and got to meet a surprising number of residents that way (since it's kind of a rarity these days to find people sitting and relaxing in FRONT of their houses, rather than in the privacy of their backyards). Often just saying hello to passersby would lead to longer conversations about neighborhood happenings, what led them to move there, and so on.
posted by anderjen at 1:47 PM on September 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


Is there anything unique about the neighborhood the landlord wouldn't mention? Something you wish they'd told you when you moved in?

Go over there and say, "Hi, we're your neighbors in the pink house and we wanted to say hi and tell you about (nonobvious issue)." Breaks the ice and gives you a chance to see if they want to get to know their neighbors better, and it's a nice thing to do.

I would not go to a neighborhood party with strangers because it's too intimidating, but I would welcome the chance to meet individuals and gradually grow a friendship.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:47 PM on September 4, 2013


You could have an open house party. More low-key than a party-party (stop by between [hours], drinks, snacks, mingle) so it's a little more likely folks would show up, though I'm not sure how much luck you'd have with the college crowd.

Something that I think would be kind of cool is to go over to greet the new neighbors with a little basket with some sort of casual homebaked good, some sort of small local gift (examples: local beekeeper's honey, spice rub blend from the bbq place around the corner, etc), a collection of takeout menus from nearby places, business cards for things like a mechanic, repair guy, plumber, dog walker, etc that you've used before, and a note from you guys saying welcome to the neighborhood, here are our phone numbers.

And then just be friendly. I would welcome you with open arms, especially if you were nice to my dog and had dogs and offered to be a dog friend who would come over and feed my dog when I have to work late.
posted by phunniemee at 1:48 PM on September 4, 2013


Best answer: This has happened to me a few times and I really appreciated it. Say you guys were on your way out and wanted to stop by and say hello, welcome to the neighborhood. Have a quick convo, ask about where they're from, what their majors are and say if you or your roomies need anything, feel free to give us a shout, we've been here for a few years.

Oh and bring cookies.
posted by PeaPod at 1:48 PM on September 4, 2013 [5 favorites]


I don't think anything would be weird about bringing over a plate of cookies and saying "Hi, we live next door! Welcome to the neighborhood." If you know things like, say, parking under a certain tree will result in a lot of bird crap, mention it to them.

If you did it with the other neighbors you'd look like some sort of cult, though.
posted by troika at 1:49 PM on September 4, 2013


I bought a house last year on a very short street (200 feet long) where 75% of the occupants are renters, most of whom are college students (not the studious edition).

Bring beer?
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 2:55 PM on September 4, 2013


You could have an annual yard sale. It would be easy for people to stop by and look at stuff for five minutes.
posted by steinwald at 7:48 PM on September 4, 2013


Having a dog has enabled me to meet most of my neighbors. You walk him around, people will stop to pet him, ask about him, etc. as a gateway to conversation.

It has to be said, though, that most of the people I get to know in this vein are people who hang around outside a lot and are chatty. So instead of the one with the dog, you could always be the ones with the beers on your stoop, and I bet it would even out.
posted by Sara C. at 8:56 PM on September 4, 2013


PeaPod's script is spot-on, and I can confirm that most college students would be pretty pleased if someone friendly brought cookies to their doorstep.

You shouldn't bring beer, because the students might not be of drinking age yet (even if you've seen them drinking).
posted by topoisomerase at 9:44 PM on September 4, 2013


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