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| Connecting with Your Neighbors is Easy |
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| Written by ARAcontent | |
| Sunday, 11 November 2007 | |
 (ARA) – Remember when you were growing up and you knew everyone in your neighborhood? Your neighbors were your friends and functioned as an extended family. Sometime between then and now, neighborhoods lost the sense of community that used to make them so special. Even though the modern family leads a hectic life, there are ways to connect with your neighbors that are quick and easy.
“Being in the real estate business, we see trends come and go,” says Jeff Tomlin, vice president of strategy and business development at Point2 Technologies, one of the world's largest online marketing and lead management software providers for real estate professionals, serving over 155,000 brokers and agents in 85 countries. “A neighborhood is a top priority for many people when looking for a home, but once they move, they don’t utilize everything it can offer. With a little effort and the right tools, you can still create long-lasting relationships and a better community.” Step 1) Community Groups Many neighborhoods and communities have groups that meet regularly, such as a local crime watch group, garden club or children’s play group. These groups help to connect neighbors with similar interests. There’s no better way to meet your neighbors, plus you can help improve the community. If you don’t know where to start, call your local city hall or community center to see what is available. If there isn’t anything and you’re ambitious, start your own group. Choose your focus and visit your neighbors to introduce yourself and gauge their interest. You might end up starting the new neighborhood book club or newsletter. Step 2) Use Technology Believe it or not, technology can bring you closer to your neighbors. For example, Facebook is the Internet’s fastest growing social networking community. Point2’s Neighborhoods application on Facebook shows who lives close to you, what they’re up to, and what is happening in your community. Local event information can be posted and you can see what others in your area have published that you might not know about. By using a massive and proprietary neighborhood database of over 50,000 neighborhoods, this technology makes it easy to meet your neighbors and stay in touch. Facebook users can download the application and choose the state, city and neighborhood they live in. If your neighborhood isn’t listed, simply click on a link and add it to the database. With over 500,000 users and growing 10,000 every day, you can easily find out who lives close to you. And it's the only online social networking community where real estate professionals can automatically upload their property listings, so you can conveniently view homes for sale in your area and easily share that information with family or friends who might be interested. Step 3) Events Many communities hold a number of events to encourage its citizens to spend time together. Be sure to mark these on your calendar and check them out. Many seasonal events include ice cream socials, county fairs and city festivals. Gather your family and spend the afternoon enjoying a community gathering. You might see someone from your street that you can say “hello” to, or your children might recognize someone they know from school. To really get in touch with your neighbors, plan your own event. Maybe you could host a potluck barbeque and have your neighbors over for some food and good conversation. Or by working with the city, maybe you can have a neighborhood night out and close off your street so everyone can mingle. Seasonal ideas apply here as well. Try having a neighborhood egg hunt, or a spooky Halloween haunted house inside your garage. Step 4) A Simple Hello The easiest and most simple way to meet your neighbors is with a friendly hello. When you’re out walking the dog or driving home from work, most people will welcome the introduction and interaction. You’ll likely be surprised that they also wanted to get to know you, but didn’t know where to start. You might just make some new friends that will last a lifetime. Facebook users who wish to upload the Neighborhoods application can do so at http://apps.facebook.com/neighborhoods/. Real estate professionals can easily sign up to include their listings on Facebook and many other consumer real estate search sites, for free, by visiting www.point2nls.com. Courtesy of ARAcontent |
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