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Has your Neighbourhood changed

(37 Posts)
Toadinthehole Thu 09-Jul-20 10:03:32

No, not really, we’re predominantly a student area, so believe it or not, it’s usually very quiet, with the houses empty for half the year. The permanent residents around are friendly if we see them, especially walking about, but otherwise not that much different.

TerriBull Thu 09-Jul-20 09:46:47

Yes lucky here also, if anything the communal spirit is alive and well and brought to the fore during the lockdown. Many neighbours including ourselves have had a bit of work done on the house, and during the good weather it's brought most outside, much sharing of recommendations, we gave our neighbours the name of an excellent painter/decorator who has now carried out work for them and they are delighted. When they were having some work done on their roof similarly we nabbed their roofer to come and replace some roof tiles. We've lent our karcher to several neighbours and one brought us round a very nice bottle of wine to say thanks, completely un necessary, but we were persuaded after a nano second after a short pause to take it.

Furret Thu 09-Jul-20 09:09:55

That is dreadful. No, we haven’t changed here. Always been a lovely avenue of people.

MerylStreep Thu 09-Jul-20 09:08:55

Our small Close has always been very friendly. I've only been here 6 years but feel as if I've come home
Before lockdown 6 of us would go out socially every 3 weeks so when lockdown came we would bring a chair outside every week and have a chat. We have played charades in the Close ?
Then we all decided that the air in the Close was no different than any of our back gardens so that's what we do every week.
My OH has done a couple of small building projects for a neighbour and shops for a couple of the more elderly neighbours. He also does them a roast dinner when we have one. I have been doing a neighbours garden all the way through this.

Rosalyn69 Thu 09-Jul-20 09:03:27

No difference. Us, our son and his wife and our neighbour and his friend up family plus two holiday cottages. Nothing to change really except no holidaymakers.

harrigran Thu 09-Jul-20 09:01:30

There are four of us, in our street, that have lived here for 49 years and we pass the time of day. The rest of the street only use us as a depository for deliveries.
Even the young people we have provided with CCTV coverage when their cars were damaged have avoided us like the plague whilst passing to go to the shop every day.
No more Mrs Helpful here, they can take their Bohoo parcels and shove them.

lemongrove Thu 09-Jul-20 08:56:35

Our village also has a neighbourhood social network page, which, over this year has proved a real help for many of the elderly residents...I don’t count myself in that age bracket.?
I think tbh that as our village has grown in size over the years,
It has proved to be better for it, more amenities, improved bus service and a friendly atmosphere with so many people eager to help.

BlueSky Thu 09-Jul-20 08:52:14

No difference here, quiet cul de sac, middle aged and elderly couples who kept themselves to themselves before during and after! We did catch a glimpse of some of the neighbours during clapping time, exchanged a wave, now back to normal!

Ellianne Thu 09-Jul-20 08:50:10

I belong to a neighbourhood group in my area of London and I see a big difference like Marydoll mentioned. When people were busy working they didn't have time to interact as much, even online. The city pages were just quick posts asking who can recommend a decorator, cleaner, home hairdresser - all things to save people time in their busy schedules. That all changed in lockdown and the same folk were offering help to look for lost dogs, to shop for the vulnerable and to swap useful items. The posts became longer and more chatty, it was nice to read, though whether it will continue remains to be seen.

GrannyGravy13 Thu 09-Jul-20 08:37:28

Definitely more friendlier round here ( we have lived in this house for 32 years) people smiling and saying hello on our walks. I guess that when everyone is back to work and schools are fully open the normal dashing around with no time to spare will return.

Marydoll Thu 09-Jul-20 08:12:49

Ours is quite the opposite. Most of us have lived here for nearly thirty years and some are good friends. We know each other really well. If anything, our neighbourhood as improved.
We all used to be so busy working, that we never had time to chat. As a result of lockdown, we have been able to reignite that closeness. Two of my neighbours have been outstanding, since I have been shielding.
DH and I have also noticed on our walks that people who previously would never say hello have become much friendlier.

That's really sad to read that a couple of individuals have changed the dyna!mics. Social networking can have it's disadvantages, as we have seen recently on GN.

H1954 Thu 09-Jul-20 08:02:35

Specifically, has your immediate Neighbourhood changed during lockdown? We are a mix of ages, some with young families and some retired etc, at the start someone set up a social network page to enable everyone to check on each other but also to ask for help if required.

This all worked very well to begin with but now seems to have soured somewhat.

There now appears to be a bully culture developing, a couple of individuals are turning people against each other to the point of certain very elderly couples who have known each other for decades no longer associate and it's so sad.

One person in particular is really manipulative and wastes no time in passing derogatory remarks online against others for no apparently reason.

I keep my distance to be honest; if a question is asked directly to me I will respond and will genuinely help out if anyone is struggling. On the whole I find the dynamics have morphed into several cliques and there is no community spirit left.

Is this happening around you?