When I was a kid, my criteria for knowing who was a good neighbor was twofold:
1) Do they have a pool
2) Will they let me use it
If the answer to both questions was yes, best neighbors ever. And it’s not that I no longer value those things. But I have come a long way in my more nuanced appreciation of what makes a truly good neighbor.
Which is why I’m just sitting here crying about all these posts on Reddit.
14. The gift
The kind that really just keeps on giving in our hearts.
I (27m) mentioned that I am out of work and my elderly neighbor left this on my doorstep. from pics
13. Have a rose
Note that a lot of these posts are from 2020.
90-year-old neighbor on strict quarantine put out a table of roses from his garden in wood vases he made by hand from MadeMeSmile
12. The house fire
It’s not really the money, it’s the thought that counts.
We lost everything in a house Fire two days ago. Our little neighbor did a lemonade stand to raise money for us and the firemen who tried to save our house came by to support it. from pics
11. To the rescue!
He’s like one of those St. Bernards with brandy on his neck!
10. A whole lotta wholesome
And delicious to boot.
9. A work of art
I may not know much, but I know what I like.
8. Mr. C
They make quite a great little group there.
These young guys saved their elderly neighbor Mr. C from a house fire
7. The plastic sack
Wow! Truly impressive to me that anyone can plan that far ahead!
Our elderly neighbour passed away recently. His daughter popped round a few moments ago clutching a large plastic sack. In the sack were all the Christmas presents he’d bought for *our* daughter for the next thirteen years. ? pic.twitter.com/6CjiZ99Cor
— Owen Williams ??????? (@OwsWills) December 17, 2018
6. I’m going to miss you
And I, you.
I’m moving tomorrow and the old black lady the lives next to me just said “I’m going to miss you. I used to stay up every night when you would go out with your friends and I wouldn’t go to sleep until i heard your door close and i knew you made it home safe “ ???
— Stacey Marie (@Thatgirl_Stacey) June 22, 2019
5. The get-together
Every little bit helps.
The neighbors of a deaf 3-year-old got together, hired an instructor and are now fully immersed in an American Sign Language class — just so they can communicate with her https://t.co/Fz2jbcG9Dl pic.twitter.com/O2ABQCDbFe
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 21, 2019
4. We don’t leave people behind
Nor should any of us.
damn my neighbor who I’d never met just busted serious ass to help me get my car out the snow so I could get my kids to school and was like ‘I’m from Kenya, we don’t just leave our neighbor to struggle.’
people are just great sometimes.
— Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) February 12, 2018
3. Every day
“…but you can leave the carrot cake.”
I've been feeding the old man next door for about a month now. I ring him before I make dinner so I know to make extra. I just called to let him know what I'm making tonight: Broccoli Parmesan Farfalle and Lime-Frosted Carrot Cake. 'I look forward to this every day' he said.
— Anthony O'Shaughnessy (@anthonyshock) April 20, 2020
2. A fond retirement
Click the tweet for a full thread, it’s nice.
THREAD: Floyd Martin retires after nearly 35 years as a mailman tomorrow. I went with him on his route today. pic.twitter.com/qZhUVY7Sz8
— Jennifer Brett (@Jennifer__Brett) May 22, 2019
1. The complaint
A bit of understanding goes a long way.
My neighbor complained about my kids being too loud (they were) I bought her flowers and a card telling her that they aren’t used to living in an apartment yet. She left me some alphabet cookies with a sweet card saying we will adjust together and that was beautiful as hell.
— Aziza Velveeta (@CuredByTheBLood) April 27, 2021
I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying.
Do you have any good neighbor stories?
Share them with us in the comments.