Be The Neighbor With The Active Porch Swing

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When I first moved to the USA I discovered the joy of sitting on the front porch swing while sipping sweet tea and watching the world go by.

Sometimes that world would stop and sit on the porch with me and chat. Oh wait a minute I didn’t get my porch swing until our second home. In our first it was my neighbor’s porch swing I kept sitting on.

That neighbor taught me a good deal about how to make your new town a home and it starts with getting to know the families on your street.

Find out their names, the names of their kids and of their pets. Find out where the work and what they like to do in their spare time.

How do you begin? You start with introducing yourself. If you are really brave you might knock on their door with a freshly baked loaf of bread in your hand like my one neighbor did or you can wait until they are outside working on their yard and then take minute to go over and introduce yourself.

Use the tips I shared in the becoming friend worthy section and do not overwhelm them with you entire life story the first time you meet them. Make sure you are welcoming, by waving to them when you see them out. Be helpful when ever possible in little ways like helping them carry in big boxes from their car, and in big ways like mowing their entire yard and bringing them over homemade chicken soup when you know their house has been attacked by the flu.

In these actions, you are building relationship, and you might find those tiny seeds will grow into a firm foundation of a friendship that withstands almost anything.

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This post is part of the New Town to Hometown series. Use the links below to dig into the series.

Introduction: My Story

Part One: Becoming Friend Worthy