Shall I introduce myself as a new neighbour?

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Dear all, we have bought a new house in London and are thinking about introducing ourselves to our neighbours. Normally we would go around and say hello but in a COVID world I'm thinking wouldn't it be better to just post a note through their doors introducing ourselves? What shall we write in the note? Also, we are planning to apply for a planning permission to extend our kitchen - shall we mention that in an introductory message or not? What do you think oh wise ladies? 🙏🏻

When we moved into our house, our neighbour called round to say hello and bring us cake 😄 We had new neighbours last year and popped round with a bottle of bubbly so they could celebrate the move. We’re friends with both sets of neighbours to the extent that we’ll stop for a long chat when we see them.

Would be an odd thing to do in my area, we are close to a city centre and have a mix of long term residents and short term residents.

I would rather meet you naturally in the street than have an introduction on the doorstep.

I'm in London and in the current Covid climate I would wait to bump into them, rather than go round. Chances are it'll happen sooner rather than later and will seem more natural rather than a forced introduction.

Our neighbours knocked on our door when we were new.

I took my new neighbours a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine when they moved in. We’ve lived here a long time and our immediate neighbours change rarely. They were lovely and said the gesture made them feel they would be happy here.

It depends entirely on where you are. When we moved to our village, our neighbour presented us with a home made fruit loaf and a card as we were moving in. She didn't hang about but it was a "welcome to the village, we look after each other here and you can knock anytime you like". Perfect! We don't speak much to be honest but if I ever needed anything I would be straight over no problem and expect the same

I will never do so again. I did in our last house and whilst both sides were okay initially they were the worst people I have ever met.

Best to remember that the replies to any question like this will be influenced by the higher than average numbers of introverts and people with social anxiety on MN. It’s quite common to see MNers claim that they never open their door to anyone they aren’t expecting.

Don’t worry about what other people think. If you feel comfortable dropping round briefly then do so.

Unless a house was recently re-furbished I'd be half expecting a plan to extend or do building works .
So being made aware when it's happening would be useful.

I always have a nosey on RightMove and think " Oh yes , side extension there /, garden there /, loft extension" on local houses

You don't know these people

That is the whole point! OP is talking about going to introduce themselves.

Like supadupapupascupa said - you are just showing your faces and saying hello. You aren't committing to some life long friendship, just putting a friendly face in their mind so you all know you can call on each other should it ever be needed, or, you can mention something that might otherwise potentially turn into a dispute, in a low key way and it can be all sorted before anyone gets angry or annoyed.

Good point though ThanksItHasPockets

@ThanksItHasPockets

Best to remember that the replies to any question like this will be influenced by the higher than average numbers of introverts and people with social anxiety on MN. It’s quite common to see MNers claim that they never open their door to anyone they aren’t expecting.

Don’t worry about what other people think. If you feel comfortable dropping round briefly then do so.

Not sure I agree about 'higher than average' - just think you hear from all sorts of people on here whereas in real life people who are quiet tend to be... quiet.

I would, OP. I'd give them a chance to greet you first but at some point in the first week if it hasn't happened I'd knock on. Might as well break the ice! Don't mention the extension, unless it happens to come up naturally.

Our neighbours put a little note let card through our door which I thought was lovely. I'm not in London though xx

@ThanksItHasPockets I think more people are comfortable saying that they are anxious or introverted anonymously.

In real life people just get on with it because it's expected of us and we don't really want to be dismissed with PA little comments about how we are clearly making it up.

Our new neighbours knocked to introduce themselves and bought us a box of cupcakes! I thought it was really nice of them. If you're worried about Covid, you could always knock and stand a little way back from the door and wear a mask.

Every place I have moved to (many) it has been the existing residents who have come and knocked on our door to introduce themselves. I am shy and wouldn't necessarily seek out the contact but I always found it nice and welcoming.

I wouldn't.

@BackforGood

You don't know these people

That is the whole point! OP is talking about going to introduce themselves.

Like supadupapupascupa said - you are just showing your faces and saying hello. You aren't committing to some life long friendship, just putting a friendly face in their mind so you all know you can call on each other should it ever be needed, or, you can mention something that might otherwise potentially turn into a dispute, in a low key way and it can be all sorted before anyone gets angry or annoyed.

Good point though ThanksItHasPockets

You're not getting the point. You can't presume how anyone would feel. Haven't you watched neighbours from hell? Seriously 😨😱

I do get the point.
I get the point that - if you have people who are really horrific anyway, then they are going to be so whether you've introduced yourself or not but an awful lot of situation that could escalate into 'disputes' can often be resolved amicably if you are on friendly enough terms with your neighbours in the first place. Just chatting through something with a friendly face usually leads to a much more amicable resolution of any situation rather than seething resentment or anonymous notes or calling 101 or whatever else is so frequently suggested on here.