Always get to know your neighbors

Always get to know your neighbors. I do not know why people do not do this. Neighbors watch out for one another’s property and these people live right by you; so why would you not want to know your neighbors better? This question was raised when I moved to northern Idaho.

I had lived 16 years in Utah where your neighborhood was pretty much your family, you went to church and had block parties with these people; so you knew your neighbors very well. I expected northern Idaho to pretty much be this way, but I did know we probably wouldn’t be as close since there wasn’t as much religious participation, as I was used to.

The day we moved in arrived and while unloading we were expecting our neighbors to come over and introduce themselves and maybe even give us some freshly baked cookies. Sadly it did not happen nor the weeks to follow. We were shocked and couldn’t believe this neighbor. How could no one come over and introduce themselves? It just didn’t seem right.

Then finally we met are next door neighbors in the mail by way of an attorney letter, telling us that we were being sued over our fence because it “didn’t seem pleasing to the eye.” Wow! What a way to meet your neighbor. Not only did we meet one neighbor but we meet all of them through the attorney letter and at only an expense of $5,000 dollars. Thankfully we didn’t have to take our fence down and we got to meet our neighbors out of it.

We lived there for three years and hardly ever talked to our neighbors. When we it came time to moved no one came and wished us goodbye. We then moved Idaho Falls. When we were moving in all the neighbors came out and introduced themselves, bearing sweet tasting gifts. It was like Utah all over again. My neighbors became my family again.

Looking back on this I wondered why the neighbors in northern Idaho were not friendly. I wondered if it was because it was an upper class neighbor where everyone only cared for themselves or if it was the lack of religious participation. I ruled out the upper class neighborhood because that is where I lived and where I moved to. I came to the conclusion that it was the religion that caused the unfriendliness. I was used to seeing my whole neighborhood out and about on Sunday while I went to church. No one went to any kind of church there and because of that no one had heard, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Remember always get to know your neighbors.