To wonder why people seem to often know their neighbours less well now?

Yes, I understand. They aren't the only ones on the street who have or have had young children and work full time though.

People drive more than walking so don’t bump into neighbours in the street in passing and don’t let their kids play out so they don’t meet other kids in the street which is how the parents meet etc.

I'm a sahm. I love one neighbour but I knew them before we were neighbours. Another I like but don't really chat to but if I needed help I'd feel comfortable asking.

The people opposite are unfriendly and blank us. The people to our rear are actively horrible.

In my case it's because the only people who talk to me are Scouts and Guides. Was cutting the front hedge with MIL and a neighbour of mine said hello to her but looked the other way when he came to me.

I wonder whether the growth of supermarkets might also be a factor?

no more bumping into people at the greengrocers. No more getting to the shops on the morning because they close at lunchtime or aren’t open on Sundays.

We can all stop off at Tesco on the way home from work. Or get it all delivered. We’re simply not out and about as much previous generations.

less time

Not amongst my mum and her neighbours.

No, I am meaning they have their hands full with young children and work perhaps. I find this to be the case where I live anyway. Some have more time to themselves than others.

I think friendly neighbours still exist, esp if you have shared interests like kids or gardening.
Not for me though....one side doesnt speak english and the other is an unstable drug addict!🙄

I know loads of mine

Live in a village and have kids in local school but chat over the fence to older neighbours too.

The men weren't sharing the load at home so they wouldn't have been as exhausted either, although I don't remember my dad/grandad doing as much chatting with the neighbours anyway.
I think children's activities will be a part of it, and the way they socialise in general. When I was little I was playing out on the street with local children and parents would be popping out to check on us. I don't see many children playing on the streets now. I do wonder if that has led to increased antisocial behaviour too, we learned how to act in public when we were little and parents and neighbours were monitoring from a distance. Teens now start socialising when they get to high school with friends from different areas and no parent in sight, they've missed out on the earlier stage of playing out alone.

I think a lot of it probably is that all the adults are working and so people aren't home as much. That's not a critique of women working its just a side effect of it. Also there just seem to be less young kids about at anyone time when I grew up 8 out of 11 houses had young families in them now in the same street there is only 2 houses with young families. In my street there is only one house with young families and lots of older or childfree couples.

When you have lots of young kids in the street they are out playing in and out of each others homes the parents more likely to chat. Men used to work on their cars out front and chat that way, now I rarely see anyone work on their own car except to give it a clean.

I suppose on a personal level I don't really want to get overly involved with my neighbours, I prefer a bit of privacy and space. I have family close by and that is enough intrusion and interaction for me.

And also agree with another poster. Once I stop doing the school run since I work from
home I won’t be seen out much at all. Like a recluse.

The back garden sure but unless you are going to really shout over the fence that isn’t going to work either. I don’t do the front garden dh does.

I've a neighbour like this. Her kids attend an out of catchment primary so are driven in. She does drop off and pick up on her days (shared custody) so stays indoors all day in between drop off and pick up time.

Weird.

I made friends with the neighbours once.

I have never repeated that mistake.

They were perfectly nice, but so full on. They didn't catch on to indirect hints or direct demands at all. Home stopped being a place to relax, I was tense waiting for the knock or face at the window at any moment.

Couldn't even enjoy any quiet in the garden. The second they saw me out there they shot out and started yapping, not stopping until I went back in home.

I'm not antisocial, but life is so busy that I just need some quiet time sometimes. I'll never put that at risk again. A polite hello, morning or very vague comment is the most I will give neighbours now.

It's honestly really nice. Everyone is really friendly too - when I'm out walking the dog, people will stop and chat about everything and anything. People sit in their front gardens and chat all the time in the summer months too.

The disadvantage is that if anything happens, the whole town knows in about an hour lol.

Im 40 and I grew up not really knowing my neighbours. My grandparents didn't really know theirs either!

All my grandparents were born around 1915.

They had no interest in their neighbours.

However I do, and am friends with quite a few of mine ☺️

In my case, I'm only getting to know the neighbours now that I'm retired. I've been in the same house for 40 years...

I've always known my next-door neighbour, but that's about it. At one point I was working full time and spending a great deal of time driving over to my parents' house to support them.

My late husband retired a good while before I did and seemed to know everyone.