What a lovely headline to wake up to!
In case you’ve not scanned over the Nottingham Post website recently, you may have missed the revelation that Nottingham neighbours are (according to a recent study) six times friendlier than the UK average. The survey was taken by a barbecue manufacturer called Weber which isn’t exactly the most certifiable of sources but it’s a lovely sentiment all the same.
David James has long pressed the importance of neighbourly socialising, especially if you are sharing any kind of external grounds with your nearby residents. When issues arise, it’s far easier to approach a neighbour if you are on friendly terms with them. According to this survey, 30% of Nottingham residents say they know their neighbours name which honestly sounds like quite a low percentage. Believe it or not, the UK average is 5%… come on people, get talking!
Despite the staggeringly low number of people who know each other’s names, nearly 75% of you agree that it’s important to at least know who they are, while half of you want to get to know them better. If you think for a second about how the world has changed socially over the last twenty years then maybe it’s no surprise that we aren’t engaging with neighbours. The digital age is one of simultaneous social liberation and alienation, everybody is open online yet we are increasingly insular in our physical social lives.
Thankfully, the younger responses said they are happy to welcome new neighbours than those over 55. Still, what a lovely result and further testament that Nottingham is a delightfully social and welcoming place to live!
