Knowing your neighbors

It's another beautiful day in sunny Arizona, what a busy week it's been! While helping a family friend move into their new home this weekend, I was reminded of the many moves we made while serving in the Army. One of the things that sticks out most is all the new neighbors we met each time we arrived at a new place. 

Meeting new neighbors can be a little awkward. All too often in this digital age it seems almost alien to make contact with the people next door, but it is a great opportunity to make new friends. Befriending your neighbors has a lot of benefits.  From being able to borrow a mower to asking them to collect your paper and mail if you go out of town but forgot to stop delivery, neighbors can be a great help.  One of our neighbors across the street has a teenage son (Nick) who routinely feeds Sarge whenever we have to leave for a few days.  We get the peace of mind in knowing Sarge is being looked after, and Nick gets to make some money.  It’s a classic win-win!

It is also good for safety reasons.  Every year there are dozens of stories of neighbors calling police when they noticed suspicious behavior outside a home, stopping thefts.  Neighbors have often saved a life when they’ve called the police to check on an elderly neighbor or noticed a small child wandering the street in their neighborhood.

In the end, knowing your neighbors and becoming active in your neighborhood has more benefits than you might think. You may end up surprised at how close you and your neighbors could be. 

As always if you're interested in making some new neighbors please contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/