When we started our house hunt for our first home six years ago, our check-list was mostly focused on the physical house. We had a list of everything we wanted and needed. We didn’t want a fixer-upper because newlyweds + grad school + busy jobs + home renovation didn’t quite seem like the ideal combo for wedded bliss. We had a specific budget, we liked open floor plans and we knew we would eventually have kids so we needed an extra bedroom or two. Everyone told us a good school district would be important to us some day, too. So we found the one and were home owners – yah!
What we didn’t know then to put on our house hunt check-list was the way the neighborhood feels. Is it a community? Do they take care of each other? Can you forget about your dog on the front porch and your neighbors will remind you she’s there? Do they look after one another? Do they like to have FUN? Without knowing it we picked a neighborhood where these were all a big YES.
Here’s a few of the things that the mom’s of our neighborhood agree make it such a special community:
Events
We have so many fun annual and seasonal events! There’s an annual kids bike race, Halloween family party, kite festival, holiday book exchange/donation drive and kid’s entrepreneur fair. And there’s always the sporadic — “let’s meet at the park for pizza, birthday cupcakes,” throughout the year.
We’re lucky to have a park with a playground and a good amount of green space smack dab in the middle of our neighborhood, which makes for the perfect, convenient meet-up spot. One mom described our park perfectly: “it’s like the Cheers version of our toddler hangout.” Amazing. Everybody knows our names.
Support for the New Mom or Mom in a Bind
I’ve never seen a group rally around a new mama or mom in a bind like my neighbors! From taking meals to new moms, swapping baby clothes, handing down baby swings/outdoor gear/swaddles, commiserating about late nights or potty training or sharing wellness tips, the community definitely takes care of one another. One time, a neighbor even gave me a ride to Barre3 because my car was dead and I had prepaid for a class (#priorities).
A Talented Town
OK so we’re not really our own town, but basically. We could be with the wide array of talents we possess. We’ve got a photographer, a baker, a trainer, lots of techies and even a food stylist. It’s pretty fabulous to be able to lean on and share our talents with one another.
Moms Only Facebook Group
Our neighborhood is a smaller pocket of a big, master-planned community. Our main neighborhood Facebook group has upwards of almost 5,000 neighbors in it. It can be hard to filter through the noise: complaints about fast drivers, dog poop pick-up culprits and traffic woes (reference Suburban Neighborhood Facebook Group Bingo below). Our pocket has our own, moms/women only Facebook group that only has about 100 in it. It makes it easier to navigate, find what you need within walking distance and stay hyper-local.
There’s so much more that makes a community a community than the list above. But it’s hard to put into words, you know? What do you love most about your neighborhood?
