Recently I was on my retirement property north of Terrace, BC. Beautiful place but it is very remote and there really aren't any services there. The "town" has one small store, no cellphone service, no taxi, no restaurant, no gas station, no telephone lines. Best of all it has no traffic, no road noise, and none of the daily hustle you have in the city.
I told my wife that I feel like a different person when I'm up there. There is no schedule, no clock, and nothing that needs to be done at a certain time. I get up when I want, rest when I want and work when I want. Why do I feel like a different person? Mostly because a lot of things that are important in the city just aren't important in the countryside.
However, that also means that I'm really aware of how important knowing the people around you is.
Now in the city everything I need is one phone call or one app away.
Hungry? Have food delivered in 20 minutes
Need something? Amazon will deliver it by the next morning.
Groceries? 4 grocery stores within a short drive (or even walk) away.
Something broken? Call someone and they will be out in a day or two to fix it.
Now it is expensive but everything I need is quick and available.
Guess what? That means that I don't really need to know who my neighbors are. I meet up with friends when I want to. I hide out from everyone in my home most of the time. I go to work to make money. I follow my hobbies when I'm not working.
Neighbors? I never really notice them unless they are making life annoying by being annoying of nosy.
I've lived in the same house for over 22 years now. Hard to believe. I've had the same neighbors for at least 10 years. Have I been to their house? The neighbor on my right: once. The neighbor on my left: never. Do I know their names? No. Have I talked to them? A little to say good morning, or good day, maybe say "nice Christmas display" when they decorate for Christmas. A wave if I see them on the street or at the park. Generally though--they do their thing and I do mine.
But what if I go to the countryside?
Everything changes when I'm on my rural property. One time I locked myself out of my house (long story) and it was the middle of winter. I was able to get back into the house eventually ... but... it was a life or death situation. It is a sobering realization that the people who live "nearby" matter. A lot.
In that way I've taken the time to know my neighbors. Paul and Patty on one side and Ben and Marlene on the other. There is also Jeff and Debbie but they are only up there seasonally. We have visited both of their homes numerous times, shared food, and shared stories. One neighbor helped me get my driveway put in and let me use his property while work was being done. The other has helped me develop the property in many ways and even made my outhouse and well using his heavy machinery. Together we got our wells tested so see how good out water is.
In my city home? No idea what my neighbors name is.
The biggest difference is that in a small rural community people need each other. Sometimes for a favor, sometimes for communication, sometimes for food or work, sometimes for...well, it doesn't matter...you just know your neighbor is important. So we treat each other accordingly
Of course that doesn't mean we always get along or have the same opinion. Still... if something happened I know I could ask them for help and if I wasn't unreasonable I'm very sure they would give it. If they asked me for help? Of course, same thing.
Sometimes that makes for situations that would be laughable in the city though.
Here is a little story from my last trip, would it happen where you live?
In the morning I talked with my neighbor Ben. We were discussing a bunch of different stuff before I headed back to the city. Had a great conversation and he took off back home. About an hour later I get a call from his wife. "Is Ben there?". I truthfully told her "Nope. He headed back home". Then she asked for a favor. "Could you drive over to our house and tell Ben that Cindy needs to get in touch with him?". Now I don't know Cindy and it is 1.6km to his house.
What did I do? I hopped in my car, drove over, said hello to his dogs, and passed along the message. Didn't know why Cindy needed to talk to him. Didn't ask. Didn't matter. If it was important enough for his wife to ask a favor it was important enough for me to do.
Something like that just isn't going to happen in the city. People are too busy. People are too insular. People also have cellular service and really good ways to contact other people.
Which is kind of a little bit sad. I'm actually more connected to others when I'm far away from everything than when I am surrounded by people on all sides.
Kind of interesting to think about.
Thanks for reading my response to the Hive Learners prompt about knowing your neighbors. If you have comments, questions or just want to say HI... I always love feedback.
