Neighbourhood Facebook/Whatsapp groups?

[neighboursgallorr]

My next door neighbour has created a neighbourhood What’sApp/ Facebook page and asked me yesterday if I would like to join.

My neighbour is OK but she is very nosy, intrusive and is the neighbourhood gossip which really puts me off her. She talks about everyone’s business.

I was a member of one previously at an old address and sometimes it turned quite nasty, and I am a private person anyway and like to keep myself to myself.

I was just wondering everyone’s take on them?

Occasionally useful, mostly not. I'm in a school one and just mute it unless I need info.

We have one, sometimes it's useful, sometimes it gets heated. I'm still on it, so I guess the pros outweigh the cons.

You don't have to join it if you don't want to.

Occasionally useful, mostly not.

This. Mostly it is a place for people to bitch and moan.

Ours street WhatsApp group is lit. We share useful news about the area, organise communal street planting, put out open invitations to the pub, and share all the household odds and ends you only need occasionally like giant ladders, chainsaws, and catering size jam pans.

We’re a pleasant bunch, though, and there’s never any snarking or back talking. If somebody messages something which seems a bit too gossipy the stock phrase anyone can post is "If that were a movie, I'd be sure to buy a ticket!" and that’s the cue to reel it back. I don’t think I’d be so keen to join a WhatsApp group knowing it was likely to just end up as a bitchfest - but ultimately, you can join and lurk and always just remove yourself if you don’t like it.

Ours was great when the boiler went and I needed a plumber. The rest of the time it’s:

dog poo on pavement photos
complaints about kids playing
frantic noseyness concerning emergency services sightings
suspicious vans and people knocking on doors
cats gone missing
mattresses ‘needing gone by tomorrow’ for £50 collection only

up to you whether it’s worth wading through this durge to find an available tradesperson.

Our small estate has one. I do have it on mute. It can be useful at times if your water has gone, you can check the group to see if its just your house or if its affecting the whole estate.

Ours tends to be in the style of giveaways, tradesperson recommendations, lost cats and road closures. Not gossipy at all.

I haven't seen a FB page for my road - or maybe they just haven't invited me 😆- but I did have Nextdoor for a while but that was mainly full of lost cats and noise issues from the main road. I came off it mainly due to the site constantly asking me to issue invitations to join to other neighbours and various other annoying cobblers requests.

Our WhatsApp group is mostly helpful. Full of useful information about the area etc. Sometimes gets a bit snippy but it's easy to not get involved in that. Overall I find it helpful. I was on the Nextdoor app for a while and that was a cesspit of people complaining about fireworks and dog mess and keyboard warriors having a go at each other. Definitely one to avoid.

I wouldn’t join a neighbours whatsapp group, that sounds awful. I joined the town facebook group, handy to know what’s going on and to ask for recommendations. The rest of the time it’s people complaining about what teenagers are up to, asking why the post office is closed and moaning about the bins.

Ours is quite good for getting recommendations for tradesmen who actually turn up when they say they will. We had one Moaning Myrtle who was always bitching about something petty, the best one was that she didn't want her neighbour to have a bird feeder in his garden in case it caused birds to crap on her new very expensive garden furniture. Thankfully she's moved away.

FB fine, WhatsApp no way would I join. Then they all have your number!

I created a WhatsApp group for the 5 houses on our shared driveway. It’s literally only ever used for letting others know if they’re going to be away, asking for the bins to be put out, that kind of thing. I’m not aware of any Facebook or WhatsApp groups for the whole street, but they can be useful.

I don’t have notifications turned on, so I only look at it periodically, but it’s useful for advance notifications of roadworks or water outages, checking whether other people have suddenly lost internet, lost pets, keys found on the road, someone who’s left their headlights on etc. Plus occasional tradesmen or cleaner requests and recommendations. No gossip or heatedness, though apparently a previous iteration had someone who posted his own poetry.

I join them so I know what is gping on in the area, thetr are endless found and lost pets that never seem to match up but they have been useful for some things, I am too busy for any dramas if any is there

Oh hell no 😅

Yeah she has hinted that she would like to be invited round and vice versa etc as my youngest DC is roughly the same age as her DC.

Having said that she was letting her 1 year old play with an 8 year old in her back garden (she was quite close friends with her) and when the 8 year old smashed a ball at the 1 year old she went beserk at the kid and since then they no longer speak.

I definitely don’t want to be in that situation, I think even joining her Facebook group will just open up a can of worms for things like that.

Absolutely awful groups. On one hand good to be in, out of morbid curiosity. On other hand, people like me get drawn into things and can't help but make a tit out of themselves. Probably satisfying someone else's morbid curiosity. The circle is thus complete.

Our WhatsApp group is lovely. Lots of sharing useful info, offering free stuff (rejected cat food mostly and outgrown toys) and generally being helpful.