It can sometimes be intimidating to move because you are joining a new group of people who are unfamiliar to you. Some things may be the same, and others are a mystery – one woman observed that moving from an urban area to a rural community meant you no longer ignored a car’s honking and were supposed to wave at a neighbor when they drove by.
Simple things like the expected response to a car horn take time to learn. There may be similar changes when the move is fairly local, like living in Plymouth instead of Maple Grove. How do you find out what your neighbors are like?
Join In The Conversation
The simplest way to get to know people in your new community is to start talking to them where they gather. Saint Paul movers have seen the most interactions in groups of similar interests:
- Faith-based – churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.
- Passion-based – book clubs, ecology, bird-watching, etc.
- Career-based – industry networking events, chamber of commerce, etc.
- School-based – PTA, booster clubs, volunteer helper at events
- Community-based – Jaycees, Scouts, Kiwanis, lodges, etc.
How do you find these groups? Look at local directories. Ask the local librarian. Visit the grocery store and the coffee shops and look at the bulletin boards. Many times the residential moving company that brought your household goods to your new home will be able to give you a list of places to start looking. The local chamber of commerce often will have “new resident” packages that include discounts as a welcome to the community.
Be Friendly and Flexible
Remember that lady who had to learn to wave at the sound of a car’s horn? The way she learned this new rule was by getting to know her neighbors and being asked why she ignored their friendly honks. She wasn’t being unfriendly. She was being city-smart. In the country, that city-smart behavior was misunderstood.
Moving to a new community means that some assumptions may be a mistake. Getting to know your neighbors helps both sides correct those mistakes and become friends. Getting involved in your new community is an important factor in settling into your new home. It will take some flexibility to overcome the challenges, but it is absolutely worth the effort.
