The Importance of a strong neighborhood and community during bad economic times

In good economic times or bad, one important ally to have on your side are your neighbors. What comes to mind when you think of the phrase "good neighbor"? Maybe some of you will think of Fred Rogers, and the wonderful world of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. God knows I would've killed to have a make believe land next to me growing up! Maybe others will think of State Farm Insurance and their slogan "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is there". I've been a State Farm insurance customer all of my life, as are my parents. I think that is because I was taught that is truly important to care for and value your neighbors and hope that in return they will care for and value you.

There are many ways in which you can become good friends and allies to the people who live in your neighborhood. I am going to share my experiences with my neighbors and how getting to know them has not only helped me to grow as a person, but helped me to become more stable during tough times.

Firstly, it's great to have a neighbor you can talk to. My neighbor Margot and I can more often than not be caught having a chatting session over our divider fence. I can bitch about work, she can bitch about.... whatever. We can trade recipes, gossip about the goings on in the neighborhood and discuss ways to improve our surroundings.

The great thing about getting to know Margot, her husband Bill, and their son is that we each have talents that the other could use. For example, I am a fairly decent baby sitter... and I'm often found at home alone during the evenings. Bill and Margot are both massage therapists. It's great to be able to trade babysitting for massages! Not only does it give them the freedom of being able to go out and get away from time to time, but it allows me to have a great massage and work a lot of stress out of my body.

Another set of  neighbors in our 'hood are Dave and Sara. Dave is a landscaper, so  it's easy enough to trade him stuff in order for him to keep our gardens looking great. Sara stays at home a lot of the time and is able to be a great watch out for us to make sure all of our homes are safe from strangers.

Joe works on cars. Ana is a piano teacher. Adam's familiar with real estate... the list goes on and on.

My point is.... why spend your hard earned money to go out and hire people you don't know? Why not get to know the people in your neighborhood, find out ways in which you can contribute to their lives, and see if there are ways in which they can contribute to yours. If we all open up a little, being neighborly can mean a lot more than sharing a cup of sugar. We should share our talents and our abilities as much as we can with the people in our community. Even if they can't "pay" you back right away, you know where they live.