{"id":615,"date":"2026-07-06T11:38:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2026-07-06T11:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T11:38:34","slug":"the-people-next-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=615","title":{"rendered":"The people next door"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yoo-hoo! Anyone home? <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Not everyone has a community, but nearly all of us have neighbors \u2014 which is why having good relationships with the people who live near you really matters.<\/p>\n

Read more Your Ring camera isn\u2019t stopping crime. But it might be making you paranoid.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Unfortunately, Americans aren\u2019t doing great in this regard. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, only 26 percent of adults in the US say they know all or most of their neighbors, down from 31 percent in 2018. The good news is that overall trust is pretty high: 90 percent of adults say they trust some, most, or all of the people in their neighborhood. But the people who are most likely to know and <\/em>trust their neighbors are generally older, higher-income white Americans living in rural or suburban areas who attend religious services regularly, which leaves a lot of us out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So, there\u2019s good reason to try to get these numbers up: As multiple experts told Vox, knowing your neighbors is critical for everyone\u2019s mental and physical health. Having a strong local community can quite literally be lifesaving, something that isn\u2019t theoretical in a moment when extreme weather events are increasingly common, and ICE raids have left many folks extremely vulnerable when they are at home. It\u2019s also just nice! These low-stakes, casual connections can be incredibly easy, pleasant, and affirming. Done right, it can make living in close proximity to others feel like a classic sitcom.<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s inside the one bill Trump most desperately wants to become law<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Of course, neighbor connections aren\u2019t all hunky-dory; when things go wrong, they can really<\/em> go wrong. Because these relationships are so connected to our private domains (and, thus, our sense of privacy, security, and identity), conflicts can escalate quickly and get very weird. Learning to navigate them with grace and empathy is especially important when technology makes it easier for us to see and make contact with the people next door \u2014 for better or for worse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This week, Even Better is exploring the many ways we relate to the people who live in close proximity to us and how we can turn neighbors into friends (or, at least, better ensure they don\u2019t become enemies). We\u2019ll dig into what doorbell camera surveillance is doing to our collective psyche; explore the art of the often-hostile, often-futile neighbor note; share ways to actually get to know your neighbors; and more. We hope this collection of stories inspires you to give a friendly wave, introduce yourself, ask to borrow a cup of sugar, or otherwise reach out. Knock-knock!<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more The moral case for being less online<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s how to build stronger neighborhood relationships and navigate the challenges of living next door.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe people next door - American Living Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=615\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The people next door - American Living Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s how to build stronger neighborhood relationships and navigate the challenges of living next door.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=615\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Living Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-06T11:38:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b970e3bc484fe2e26860a4380d70de8\"},\"headline\":\"The people next door\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T11:38:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/75c51e47da5a846a206a744169673fa4.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=615\",\"name\":\"The people next door - 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