I personally feel the qualities that make a good neighbor depends on whether you live in an apartment versus a house. If I live in an apartment I definitely don't want super loud neighbors but in a house I don't think noise is as noticeable. While living in an apartment I know I'm not staying there forever so I'm not as concerned about making friends with my neighbors but when I buy a house I plan to stay in for years to come then I definitely want to make sure I have a good relationship with my neighbors. So what makes a good neighbor then? According to a new poll from The Harris Poll on behalf of neighborhoods.com, 79% of Americans 25 years and older say the top quality of a good neighbor is being "friendly to other neighbors." I like that! I think we could all use to be a bit more friendly in general so I'm glad people are on board with that. Here are some other qualities that make you a good neighbor:
- 73% said maintaining a clean yard is important - This one I totally agree with. It's not ideal when you're driving through a neighborhood and all the landscaping is beautiful and then there's that one house that looks like the lawn hasn't been mowed in weeks.
- 62% said a nice house - I think this one goes hand in hand with the yard above.
- 56% said being quiet - I'm on board with this one as well.
- 56% said friendly to pets is necessary - I don't have any pets so I can't relate to this one but we've all heard the stories where neighbors didn't get along because of pets!
- 54% said doing things for other neighbors is a top quality - This one also goes along with being friendly. It's nice when there's a crazy snowstorm and your neighbor helps plow your driveway when you just have a shovel. Or if you're having people over and they offer up their driveway for extra parking. Those types of things go a long way.
What's interesting according to this poll is the fact that older people had different ideas on what makes a good neighbor. I don't think we're surprised to learn that they prefer neighbors who do things for other neighbors, who keep to themselves and those who host and are involved in community events. You can read more from the article I found in Yahoo! Finance.
Photo: Getty