Groups > Discuss, Debate and Deliberate

Some friends have recently moved to a tiny village where everyone owns their property, and it has a proper community; they’re being invited round for drinks with the neighbours, have had several offers to look after their cat while they’re away, someone has even given them some garden furniture!

We currently live in the suburbs, a couple of miles from a big city. A lot of the houses in our close are rental properties and the tenants don’t seem interested in being even the slightest bit friendly. The neighbours that we are friendly with all own their homes.

Is this the norm? Do you find that tenants are generally more likely to keep themselves to themselves? Do house owners make more of an effort to get along with their neighbours? What’s the community like where you live?

Simone x

Hhhhmmm, I live in a village, one of my neighbours are tenants, a young couple only married a year with no children and they work full time so very different to us.
We chat to them but don’t ‘know’ them socially, maybe we’ll invite them for drinks at Christmas.

We have a very good social life here, mainly linked to school, before the girls we had a fab childless social life, but between them being born and school, we virtually had none.

For me it’s not about who owns their home, but more so who we’d get on with, do they fit with us and do we fit with them?
I wouldn’t judge someone of the basis of them owning their home nor would I decide how far a friendship would go on that basis, with house prices at the moment, it’s very difficult to get on the property ladder.

I always try and be friendly if I can. The community here is fab, but it’s generally a school one and not very localised as in direct neighbours.

I think it’s like anywhere – down to the people. Round here it’s a mix of home owners and rented. I find people are equally friendly. I have noticed that some of the people renting are more likely to move around more – DD’s school has a very high level of mobility (e.g 8 children out of her year group of 60 left the school last year and almost equal numbers started) and I think pretty much all the children moving out of the school were living in rented places. I guess if you are only living somewhere short term you are less likely to want to build relationships with neighbours etc.

I think it’s the people, I think small villages are generally more community minded than the burbs/city anyway! The street I live on is half HA half owned, and I wouldn’t say there’s any more/less mixing than anywhere else, and def no snobbery between the owned against the HA tennnants!
I am fairly, keep myself to myself anyway, the only people I really talk to are my next door neighbour, (our children are similar age and go to same school, so play together a lot) and her mum who lives the other side of the street, I’m on smile and say Hi terms with a few other neighbours, but that’s it really! The guy who lives below me is evil, so I barely even make eye contact with him!!
Nat

There’s definitely a difference here with the tenants, they won’t make eye contact or anything. One couple have been here about four years and have only ever spoken to us once and that was when I took a parcel round which I’d taken in for them.

Maybe they’re just a bunch of miserable bu**ers around here, lol.

S x

Lol Simone x

I live in a street that half owned and half rental and tbh I only speak to a couple of neighbours. One of my next door neighbours doesn’t talk to me and gives me ‘evils’ everytime I see them, I avoid eye contact with them. On the other side they are fab, we stand ant chat to each other and there are a couple more further round in the street who are really friendly, one is rented and the other is owned. I don’t know many people in the street and sometimes that’s the best way. I live in a big town and we don’t have the community spirit x

Linda x

I’m a tenant in a street that is probably half owned and half rented. We don’t really talk to many of our neighbours, I mean, I say hi to them and have had a chat with our neighbour from upstairs in the garden but that’s about it. I don’t know why, people just seem to keep themselves to themselves where we are! It is London though, so to be expected!

I’m hoping that when we move next year that we go to a street with a bit more community feel!

Why do people keep themselves to themselves so much nowadays? Is it just me or do things feel very different to how they were years ago?

S x

I can’t speak for the other people, but for me, it’s cos I’m painfully shy!! It takes me ages to get up the nerve to speak to people! I’ve been in my current flat for 6.5 years now, and only really started talking to the neighbours about a year ago!!

We live on a street where the majority of houses are owned, but 4 are rented by families.

My street is fab and I know all of my neighbours well. The kids all play together, we have regular BBQs and parties and we all help each other out.

There is no difference between those who own their homes and those who rent them. Its just a friendly street in general.But then we are up North…lol

K x

Kelly – can I move to your street? lol

S x