Creating A Social Community One Person At A Time

You are so lucky to live in such a community. Here in Southern California, neighbors mind their own business and rarely interact. So I tend to create my own communities around group activities such as at the gym. Voting this Up and Interesting.

The good ole days were not all good. What was good was what you are saying here neighborhood were good places..neighbors looked out for one another and for each others children. When someone in the neighborhood needed help everyone came.

I agree with you we can get that feeling back....nothing change unless a small group of committed people raise their ban together and raise their voices.

Hi Bill (an others): I have to share my experiences living in the NE Neighborhood for almost 19 years now. This past year, we moved from about 2 blocks from the bakery to over by Friendly Grove Park. As a lifetime walker, I have enjoyed countless hours of year-round walking this wonderful space; enjoying the change of the seasons and the changes in people's houses, yards, pets and their Christmas decorations outside. My husband and I have had the pleasure of reuniting neighbors with lost pets, going to the annual potluck, the fireworks at Roosevelt (the best kept secret that will now go away due to the recent vote) and numerous garage sales. This is just a few of the reasons we wanted to stay in the neighborhood because it feels like a neighborhood. We are just getting to know a few of our newest neighbors and still stop and say hi to our past neighbors. During the recent ice storm, we checked on each other to see who needed help. While there will always be folks who want to keep to themselves, I find it comforting to know my neighbors looked out for us 24/7 and we did the same. It doesn't take being nosy to do this, just a true caring for each others well-being. We are on the planet together. It is amazing how far a smile and a hello can go in this neighborhood. It is up to each one of us to continue making this the best place to live; it doesn't take a mound of financial resources, just a small gesture of kindness to recognize each other. I am proud to call the NE neighborhood my home.

Bill,

Thanks for your article.

There's so much that I agree with, but wanted to comment on the editorial about neighbourhood fear. I just moved into the Upper Eastside neighbourhood (the ripped up place across the street from the dog park, which is now undergoing some serious renovation, inside and out).

I do wonder about American culture in general and the neighbourhood I live in specifically whether the fear of crime is reality, or simply perception cultivated by the media we've all spent so many years of our lives ingesting (for context, I grew up in England, where the culture of fear is stoked far, far less than it is here in the States). I love Olympia for its diversity and acceptance of alternative lifestyles. Sure, there's a lot of deadbeats and semi-professional beggars, but do I ever really feel any fear? No, not really. I've taken homeless guys medicine and given my leftover pizza (cherished leftovers though they were) to dudes in the street asking for change. Never did I feel any fear.

Being a parent of an 8 year old boy, honestly, the biggest thing I'm afraid of is sexual predators. I'm on the sheriff's email list and get the notifications, so I'm acutely aware of who is a registered sex offender in the neighbourhood and roughly how far they are from my home. But even then, I wonder how much of my fear is legitimate versus purely perceptual. Do those notices arm me with useful information, or simply with a sense of paranoia? When I look out my window, when I walk around the neighbourhood, when I take the dog for a run in the dog park, I meet nothing but thoroughly good people. And that's how I choose to view the immediate world around me. I don't watch TV; I don't read local news media for the most part; I base my perception of my immediate world based on my experience of it. And my experience of Olympia as an overall neighbourhood, and the upper eastside in particular, has been, with the exception of a crusty neighbour here and there, really awesome. Oly is simply different. My neighbours across the street have run their own their own construction company and have been so giving in their insights on how we could remodel the beaten up old 1920 house we just bought; another neighbour is a professional hippie who works at Evergreen, and whom within minutes of meeting I was openly discussing the removal of fences and planning a more open-architecture neighbourhood with. Like-minded people, all wanting to work together to get to know their neighbours better. Most of us have kids, or plan to have kids, and we almost all recognize that the modern American society of social isolation is a totally bullshit way to leave. We've all done it, we (almost) all know it's bullshit, and we (almost) all want to change; change back to how things used to be as a community, and change forward to how things could be as a new community in the future.

For our part, we're trying to create something akin to "The Commons" that Jonathan Rowe wrote about in his now decade-old article:

http://dorjeworks.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/dorje-w...

We're working on building an "ecovillage", for lack of a better description at the moment, across the street from the dog park (not wanting to post our address on the internet, obviously, but anybody who's local will be able to identity where we are). Community involvement in this is key for us. We welcome any and all to stop by to just say hi or to pitch in and help with our little vision of helping create the vision of "The Commons".

Thanks again for the article. As you said: Never underestimate the power of a determined group of citizens. I couldn't agree more. Don't let fear, which is often perception instead of reality, be a barrier to allowing that idea to flourish. :)

Another great article Bill, The description of how people can work together to accomplish what the govt will not is so true. I have said for many years what we nee is more citizens standing up and taking responsibility for their lives again.

I was part of my neighborhood association too, and it is amazing how much you can accomplish when you can band together. Many people were afraid of joining because they were worried we would start dictating color schemes, etc. Nope, our goal was just to keep the crime out and make it a better neighborhood. We simply didn't have enough volunteers to keep it going.

Sounds like we grew up in the same time frame. Enjoyed your hub.

Great hub Bill. I grew up in a neighborhood like this in rural Pennsylvania. Unfortunatley things are not like this anymore. I raised my sons in a poor rural community in SC and it was unsettling. I will not raise my young daughter there because it is just unreal. Great thought provoking hub! It takes a village. :)

I can remember when we slept with our windows up ( The night air was wonderful ) The kids played in the park without fear. Everyone sat out on their porches at night with no thought of a mugger. Those were the good old days..Great hub..Enjoyed reading..

I have lived in my neighborhood since 1974 and when I was little, I played with the neighbor kids and had a great time. Now that I'm grown, I never talk to the neighbors and with the ones I have now, I rather keep to myself! There's not much crime, but one neighbor and her family have shouting matches and another neighbor has parties ever night where everyone invited can't speak unless they utter a curse word every other word!

I hope that the neighborhood project in Olympia is a wonderful success!

What an inspiring example of community spirit! Thanks for showing us that the good old days can be right now. Love it!

Thank you for a positive hub that shows people making a difference within their own neighborhood. I enjoy your writings.

bill....I enjoyed this hub immensely. However, being of the Loner/Hermit breed, I am not a neighbor-needing type of gal. Anytime I have had neighbors, they've been nice, friendly people (casual, a wave here and there) so I have been fortunate.

For the past 10 years, I've been where I have only a distant neighbor to my west, and a house across the 4-Lane highway.....pretty far...and only wooded area behind me and a CREEK on my east.. (There's that CREEK again). I love it this way. The fewer neighbors, the more I like it. Nosy neighbors, busy-bodies and people who "DROP-BY" are on my short list!!

I do think it is important for young families (small children) to be in a friendly, helpful & safe neighborhood. The children have playmates and the parents can all keep the kids within eye and ear shot. However, I do not foster neighbors getting too chummy or buddy-buddy. It seems this is where issues can arise and the next thing you know, everyone is building privacy fences around their homes and shutting people out....telling everyone at the grocery store that their neighbor "is an asshole." lol UP ++

Another gem told in your own natural style; you always give me that feeling that you are sat by my side telling me your stories.

It sounds as if you are living the life you want now with that wonderful dream to work towards.

The community spirit sounds so heartwarming and is so nice to know that these values still thrive.

I was going to share a little of the community spirit that thrives right here where we live but no I won't because I think it's too much for a comment and will make a good hub;so that one may be next on the list.

See now then ;I keep telling you how inspiring your work is !!! ha ha!

Thank you again and here's to so many more hubs for us both to share on here.

Take care and enjoy your day.

Eddy.

Hi Bill - our area is similar. We do not have a good neighborhood watch (ok except for the lady that lives in our cul du sac - she sees all! Lol. I think you've depicted many areas in the US. I do not see neighborhood cohesion where I live - in my subdivision it's each man for himself. Weirdest thing. I've lived here for 7 years and everyone keeps to themselves and waves by the mail box. I do have a cop that lives across the street (directly in front of my house) don't know what his name is but the car keeps people away from our corner. Kinda sad isn't it?

All the moms know who I am and often I watch their children and pick them up from school and drop them at home. Now - I don't know them well at all.