apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Some think that New York is not an easy place to talk to neighbors but in fact it is quite the opposite. Maybe its because I'm from NYC. But heaven forbid one tries to do this in the midwest. I've lived in the Twin Cities for almost 9 years and I'm still shocked by the lack of person-to-person interaction/conversation. Yesterday I spoke with a friend (from the Bronx) who lives in the Bay Area and she said the same thing.

That being said, the level of civic participation and activism here in Twin Cities is unparalleled. When I return to the East Coast I'm always struck by a certain amount of disconnect, disenfranchisement, or the necessary naivete needed to believe in participation affecting change.

We in the United States occupy many lands.

Cheers!

I was the same way. When my roommate from CA moved here I chided her for chatting with the folks at the bodega or our neighbors.

But then I started organizing a group to pool resources in Brklyn to educate about TNR (spay/neuter feral cats to cut down on feline overpopulation) and I had to make myself become a people-person. It was in there somewhere. But now - there are seriously blocks in my neighborhood where I've spoken to no less than 20 people about spay/neuter and the history of the block at length and I've tabled many many street fair booths for our nfp, meeting people who've read about us in the local papers or supported us through spreading the word or donating.

It's funny what we'll do for our causes. It would have never occurred to me to make friends with my neighbors (whether my block, 10 blocks away or a town away) otherwise.

Good for both of you!

I've canvassed in CA, FL and now CO for political candidates. You meet the most amazing people that you otherwise would not have met.

Gotta ask, this being AT and all, do you make mental notes of which porches/entryways you love?? Whenever I canvas it makes me realize that I need to make my front porch as welcoming as possible.

And on that note....

Obama??!

:)

p.s. Because I volunteered for his campaign and I am also not much of a team-player. I hated team sports when I was a kid.

I volunteered for Obama when he was at Washington Square Park. I personally registered 30 voters. It was fun!

If you look at how home architecture has evolved over the years, we went from big welcoming wrap-around porches where you would sit for hours catching a cool breeze and waving to your neighbors to back decks surrounded by privacy fencing. And once the temperature reaches 85, we retreat into air conditioned environments.

I live in a pre-war coop, so I do know my fellow shareholders in the building. But this story has inspired me to meet more people on my block.

Obama who?

I know most of my neighbors by address and face, if not by name. I have a dog I walk every day and I make it a point to say hello to everyone I see. If they're in the car, I wave. Its been an effort; I live in the mid-west and they're not as friendly here as my neighbors in New Jersey or Texas. But the response has mostly been positive and with it being a new neighborhood, many people have followed suit. We've had a get together each fall the two years I've been here, with this year's turnout being bigger than the one we had last year.

It really has helped. It's nice to know who your neighbors are and its really really nice to have people say call by name when they say hello. There really isn't a need to have a cause or candidate to reach out for. Just be willing to be friends and its amazing how things change and grow.

It does depend a lot on where you live. In my semi-bohemian area with a lot of established homeowners, tending toward small Cape Cod type homes, people seem more willing to be friendly than say the suburbs I grew up in. It might be a side effect of basically being in your neighbor's pocket. And like Lori mentioned, there are lots of homes with actual porches on them in this area. With our smallish front lawns it's easy to speak to someone walking a dog. I am a sucker for a cute puppy.

As an aside, I love AT even though my home is nearly 700 square feet so I have more square footage than most people who participate here. I moved from a house more than twice the size of this one, and I'm loving the Small is Beautiful life, and the tips I find on AT!

Thanks for sharing this. As a fairly shy, recent re-transplant from Brooklyn to the Bay Area who's originally from a country where people really do talk to their neighbors, I've been missing NYC and bemoaning the lack of a cohesive community here. I found NYC friendly and interactive compared to Oakland, which surprised me. Maybe it's population density--you have to interact, so you do. Kudos for getting off line and out there and taking the risk to reach out to your neighbors. I'm inspired.

@Vanessa -- Let's just say I'm fired up and ready to go ;)

Another native NYer here to say we're sooo easy to talk to. We like to bullshit. Sometimes I try to strike up a conversation on the subway and I always know the non NYers. They're the ones who look at me like I'm a nut.

Nothing like a civic cause to introduce you to your neighbors. I participated in the fight against the proposed stadium on the west sice, and I really got to know my neighbors. It gave me a sense of pride in my neighborhood and made me fall in love with my home again. And I'm now friendly with the neighbors which is the added bonus that I didn't expect.

Shannon,
Me too.
:) Vanessa