Street Party neighbourhood

[Danini]

Currently I don't know any of my neighbours, I'm in zone 4, west London.
I'd like to move to an area where I would get to know other families with children, or at least my closest neighbours.
Wherever I see a street having a street party I think that I would love that sense of community. I go on Rightmove and check available properties but they are always big Victorian houses way above my budget. Is sense of community stronger in affluent areas?

Not necessarily.

Crime might be reduced which helps things, and you might not get the same problems as you might on a Council estate, but it doesn't mean the sense of community is better.

My friend lived in an area that was fairly affluent, and she got on with a few people, but there was also an unpleasant neighbourhood Whatsapp which was used by people to grumble and curtain twitch with others at anything that looked remotely out of the norm.

I’ve found the opposite, but it obviously depends on neighbours, people are very different so one street may have more sociable people and the next street may not.

It depends on what your sense of community is. I love where I live, know neighbours on both sides and a few doors down either side too - when the weather is nice we visit one another's patios which look out on to a marina and have a jar or two. I would hate a street party, mainly because most relate to royalty which is something I am strongly against, but also because it wouldn't fit the tone of where we live. I think you need to define your sense of community.

I grew up on a council estate and it had a great sense of community. Fond memories of being in an out of friend’s homes and bbqs in the summer.
I now live in a more affluent area and people barely say hello! Although I’ve made the effort to chat to my next door neighbours.

I have mixed feelings about this. Have you considered organising one? As soon as one person starts then there are usually loads of other people who get involved and wonder why no one has done it before!

Completely get your point, however our street has a lot of through traffic and is very long, so feels like an impossible thing to do :( My neighbours barely say hi, and just keep to themselves. Maybe it's a city thing.

We have street parties where we live. The council gives permission to block off the road.

We live pretty near the local primary school, so lots of families know each other from the school gates. We also have a residents’ association. Those could be things you look for, that probably don’t feature on Rightmove but are indications of that sort of community.

I live in zone 6, a mixed but not affluent area. 450k will get you a 3 bed semi. It's a small cul-de-sac. I'd lived here for a few years before covid but only knew a couple of neighbours by then. A neighbour put through notes to everyone about a socially distanced gathering for 'VE day 2020, which was nice. Then we arranged a street party for the jubilee and I started a WhatsApp group to make it easier. Since then we've all become quite close and we're quite a mix of ages etc. We've had quite a few get togethers now, we brought a tv outside and watched the Euro final together last week. The kids all play together and there's always someone on hand if you need them. I absolutely love it, although I get it's some people's worst nightmare!

We had new neighbours back in January and I hadn't even seen them but they came out for the Euros and my sons have played with theirs every day since!

I'm not mad keen on my area but I'd really struggle to leave my street.

I moved from between zone 1-2 and now live in a village 2hrs out. Neighbours are welcoming and friendly and I'm so glad I moved. I recall a jubilee or some celebration soon after I moved, and was actually a bit sad that our quiet, cul-de-sac, lane hadn't organised anything. I understand OP. Other streets had flags, a street part etc, but ours didn't. I do agree, maybe have a house warming and invite some neighbours and do your own thing.

I have lived in 4 streets in London that have had regular street parties. Pretty average sort of streets. But all had a few community minded school mums, a few ‘creative’ types.
All had a good sense of community.

We live in SE London and have a street party once a year.

It's always been a very sociable street with an active WhatsApp group, stemming from the lockdown days.

I feel very lucky as I know most of my neighbours and know I could call on any number of them in an emergency.

We used to have street parties where I live. It's a new build type estate so it was a great way to get to know those who live around you, and we've made some good friends because of the parties. We did this a couple of times a year, pretty much everyone joined in. Then one day someone new to the street complained about a gathering, going as far as to report to the Council (nothing they could do, we weren't doing anything wrong). And that was that.

Where in W London zone 4 are you OP?

I also live in W London zone 4, in Richmond. Street parties not unusual here in the summer!

It seems to be a relatively stable community ie people have lived here a long time or are likely too (settled with kids) - which I think makes more of a community as people invest time in each other.

Our street has a WhatsApp group which seems to create opportunities for connection which otherwise might be missed - parents inviting others with kids of play dates, people helping to walk dogs, rehoming furniture etc. And of course the usual passive aggressive missives about parking and bin etiquette!

I think you have to invest quite a lot of effort to build those relationships and become part of the community, but it’s quite nice once you do.

We live in zone 4 and have this for special events and a local pub that if you walk past and a few neighbours are in people stop for a drink BUT...not all roads are like this near here and we were not to know when we moved if ours was or not. It also does meant putting in a bit of effort to help organise.

There's been a few street parties/social get together since we moved in. I think it we're a long cul-de-sac, so we easily get together at the top end without closing street.

I suspect its more social on a quieter road/shared drives as your in closer proximity and if you see a neighbour out over road and just potter over if it's evident it'll be more than an 'hello'.

I'd actually assume the opposite, people tend to be nicer and more genuine in not so affluent areas. I say this as someone who now lives in an affluent area, lots of entitled people who (badly) park their huge SUVs everywhere blocking others. They are generally nice, but also tend to think more about themselves, as that kind of example illustrates!

I live in Zone 3. The sense of community is partly fostered by the fact there in a primary on the street, so many local kids go there. Plus there's a woman who's good at galvinising people to do things like plant up weedy areas (around trees, entrance to cul de sacs). There's an Indian temple at one end which is very active and has a couple parades every year which are wonderful to watch. We have a street WhatsApp.
We did indeed hold a street party for the Kings coronation.
I didn't know any of this before I moved though. I have found London friendlier than when I lived outside it though.

We live in a cul de sac of 9 houses. 4 of the neighbours have lived here for years.
When we moved here we invited everyone for tea on a Saturday afternoon.
Every Christmas we have all the neighbours round one evening.
Nobody else has get togethers but we’re all friendly and supportive of each other.
I feel we’ve done our bit for neighbourly relationships. 😂

Ooh OP have you looked at ginnel gardens? I don't know if this is a possibility for the type of housing which is near you, but basically some alleyways behind rows of houses are being turned by residents into gardens and they sound brilliant for knitting a community together. See the lovely Cloud Gardener do a tour of one here.

I'm not sure the existence of street parties is connected to a sense of community though. Where we did live there was a street party for royal events, organised by someone very enthusiastic about those, but no sense of community at all otherwise. You'd barely see anyone day to day and there wasn't a central focus. Residents were a real mix of ages and there were few other children, for instance.

When we moved we invited our nearest neighbours round for coffee early on. They dropped in and out all morning. It was really nice and led to the creation of a WhatsApp group where we help each other out. There is a separate WhatsApp group for parents where we organise play dates and hand on outgrown toys and clothes. It feels like being part of a really lovely community. We've never had a street party though .

Having a local focus helps as you invariably bump into people and chat to them - play area, school, post office, even bus stop(!) - all makes a difference.