Outdooring Blogs

What makes a good neighbor?

Wherever we go or stay, we want decent neighbors. Neighbors can make life easier or miserable. I know we all had awesome and horrible neighbors at some point in our life. We must deal with neighbors every place we go. Let’s break it down and define what exactly is a neighbor; a neighbor is someone (or a group of people) that lives, stays or is placed near you. So, what makes a good neighbor? A good neighbor will have good neighborly etiquette. Neighborly etiquette goes both ways respect and treat others as you would like to be treated.

Good neighbor etiquette.

Good neighbor etiquette starts off by respecting your neighbors. Respecting your neighbors doesn’t just mean being nice to them. Although we should be friendly, and we can always give a wave or say hello as we see them. We do not have to be best friends or even friends with them. Just be kind to keep good neighborly peace. When we have guests over visiting, we should always be mindful of all the neighbors around us. Make sure our guest is not being an inconvenience to our neighbors such as blocking their driveway or their parking spot. We must watch our noise level too. Being too loud and disruptive to our neighbors can bring tension between you and your neighbors. That doesn’t mean you cannot have a party and have fun. If you know in advance that you will have a large party where you may be loud and up late into the night, we want to be mindful to our neighbors. We may want to give them a heads up of the party so they can prepare for it. They will also let you know if this will be a problem or not. If we know our neighbors work early in the morning, we want to respect their sleep time and not get too loud as it gets later into the night.

Good camping neighbor etiquette.

Good camping neighbor etiquette is the same as being a good neighbor but a little more etiquette. When thinking about camping remember some neighbors will be in tents, campers and RVs. Tents are made up of nylon and screen for the wall meaning sound travels right through it. Campers and RVs will be a little more soundproof than a tent due to walls being made of fiberglass or aluminum, insulation and some wood paneling. Even though they are more soundproof the noise will still travel right through. Most campgrounds have quiet time (reduce noise level) from 10 pm to 7 am. During this time, we want to watch our noise level. There’s nothing to cancel our noise out, for example traffic, stores, factories, city noise. Another huge etiquette is never walking through campground sites except your own. Everyone pays to rent their little spot; we do not walk through people’s backyards back at home. It’s not only disrespectful to cut through a campsite but campers tend to have many hazards at their sites. Some of these hazards can be electrical cords, water lines, dog lines, or the dog itself. Not all dogs are friendly and can get protective if you sneak up on it. You might think it safe to cut through someone’s site at night because they are sleeping, and they will never know. Then you trip on a dog line, you fall and hurt yourself. One thing most people who camp does not think about at night is lights from their sites. Tents have very thin material, and your campsite lights can disturb someone who is trying to sleep. One of the last things, yet the most important, is vehicle speed. Unlike a subdivision that has sidewalks, campgrounds do not. Campgrounds are full of kids and adults walking, riding their bikes or on their golf carts. Going slowly through a campground in your vehicle is a must! Most posted speed limits are 5 to 10 MPH (8 to 16 KMH). You never know if someone doesn’t hear or see you and you do not see them at first, you do not want to hit someone. Remember to respect your neighbors as you want to be respected.

Resolving conflict.

Most people do not like confrontation of an issue. If you do not respectfully confront your neighbors with the issues you are having from them, they will never know. If an issue does arise, you do not need to be mean or disrespectful about it. Be polite and calmly state the issues you are having. Talk it out and maybe they didn’t realize they were being bad neighbors or having bad neighborly etiquette. If your neighbor starts getting defensive or uncooperative just drop the issue. Take the issue to either the city campground, or area you are residing. Not all issue can be resolved right away, so may take some time.

Being neighborly!

Remember being neighborly is being a good neighbor. Think about the things that annoy you from a neighbor. Do not be that neighbor. Be a good, respectful neighbor and think of how to be a better neighbor. Respecting them as a person but their property is a must.

What are some things your neighbors do that you hate or annoys you?

For questions or comments post below.