We moved right before Christmas last year from an older neighborhood where the houses are smaller and closer together … to a newer one where the front doors are farther apart.

Although I love my new neighborhood, I do miss the proximity of the houses where I used to live. I felt more connected to my old neighbors. I would see them more frequently and we developed relationships talking about our projects, our trees, the critters (i.e. our resident raccoons) etc.

About 6 weeks ago, I received a postcard in the mail – from an unknown new neighbor. It was an invitation to join a neighborhood group – but this one was different. It wasn’t a get-together at someone’s house. It was a virtual invitation to join an online platform called “Nextdoor.”

I thought about it for a few days – was it a scam?

But then I decided to sign up and I have been pleasantly surprised.

Right after I logged in for the first time, several neighbors welcomed me.

And then different posts started to pop up.

I invited a neighbor to join and she posted looking for a babysitter. And lo and behold, she received a reply.

Then someone posted an interest in starting a Ladies Bunco group and 16 people replied – sounds like enough to form a group to me!

And then there was a free trampoline that had a new home in 24 hours.

I have been pretty impressed with the whole thing and from their postings, my neighbors have been too.

I am a new advocate for this private social network. It’s time to enter the new age – I can still wave to my neighbors while I also check what’s going on through Nextdoor.

If you want to see if there is a neighborhood already set up close to you, click here.

Or you can think about setting one up yourself. It’s a great way to get and stay connected.

Jeanette