When thinking about where I want to live I consider how the neighborhood will be. Will there be children for my child to play with, parks to walk to, and neighbors to chat with? I don’t think this is too far from normal questions and hopes of most people.
But trying to make this be a reality is not very easy, since it seems most places I have lived the neighbors stay in their own house/apartment and keep to themselves. They don’t chat; there is no sharing sugar or other household items. I wish there was a better sense of community in the area where I live; one where we shared things like lawn mowers, leaf blowers, rakes, items from our garden, advice/tips, etc. more often. It seems it would be more sustainable since not every household would have each type of appliance. I also feel this sense of community would leave people happier in life. How nice would it be to know your neighbor and trust them? I actually had this experience growing up, but not since I moved away from that house.
My husband was raking leaves this past weekend and our neighbor offered him a leaf blower to borrow. I feel this should happen more often. Why does every single person need a leaf blower? An item that is only used a month or twice a year does not needed to be purchased by every person. It is a waste of many resources: resources for the actual product and financial resources buying the product. This is true for many other household items that are “must haves”. I feel that if neighbors are not willing to share there should be almost co-op type stores that allow for this type of sharing. I am sure there are businesses that rent out products but I feel it should be more community based. Maybe that is too big of a wish.
