I have a 2 year old son and we will be shortly moving to a different part of the state. The homes that we have been looking at are in neighborhoods that are pretty spread out between houses and the streets are without sidewalks. The area is somewhat rural. I am used to living nextdoor to neighbors that you can get to know and be cordial with during the day. I am worried that I will feel isolated and concerned that it will be tough for my son to meet other kids as he grows up. Moms - any advice from people living in more spread out regions?
Actually, I've found the inverse to be true: The smaller the town/ more spread out people are the deeper and more frequent the relationships are with neighbors.
It always ticks me off moving from rural to urban how DISTANT people are and how superficial the relationships are in the suburbs and urban areas. (I move a lot)
Try finding and joining a mom's club or seek out kid-friendly activities around you, or toddler classes with your son or go to parks where you can meet other moms.
Im with Riley. I grew moving between several small towns, and every time we moved we would have neighbors showing up to introduce themselves, inviting us over, and generally being good neighbors. I moved to a medium-ish town (sidewalks, neighbors in close proximity but not quite "the city") when I first came to Texas, and only 2 neighbors were very friendly... Now Im living in a pretty busy area in an apartment complex, so I have neighbors up, down, and sideways and NONE of them ever introduced themselves! When I tried to introduce myself to them, they had a "what do you want?" attitude. blegh. Im sure I just live in a crappy apartment complex, but still... the more urban I have gotten the less friendly my neighbors are. Gonna move back to a small town first chance I get!
We're in the military and move around a lot. We're moving again at the end of the year when hubby retires, so we'll be going through this again soon.
The first thing you'll want to do is go online and see if there's any chat groups or similar in the area where you'll be living, on YahooGroups. You can meet people through online email groups there.
Next, check your local township/city/county web sites online and see if they have emails to sign up for so you can be aware of community events.
See if the area fire stations has community events or even monthly dinners at the station. You can quickly hear of things through word of mouth and meet a few people in the process. You'll start learning which parks are the best and where people go to get together.
Check the Meet-Up site to find groups who meet up with their kids or just the adults to do things in the area. There should be an area MOMS or MOPS group online as well, or any other online playgroups that are sometimes on Yahoo as well.
Check your area churches for events.
Sign your son up for tumbling classes or similar to get to know others.
If there's a mall nearby, see if they have a monthly kids group that meets up where you can connect with other families and learn more about the area.
Check your area Community Center, YMCA/YWCA, Boys & Girls Club, etc, for events and ways to meet others.
Check your area elementary schools for fundraising events too. They usually hold little carnivals to raise money and it's fun for the little kids. The schools may have an email sign up or snail mail sign up as well to keep informed.
The possiblities are endless!
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
events and chat within 2 hour radius
First of all, make sure that you have a positive attitude. The more you can look forward to your new setting, the more excited your son will be. Check the local library to see if they have a children's story time or other way to get together. Do you want your son to try any new activities, e.g. swim lessons, tumbling, etc. where you can meet people? We joined a play group that was already established, but I am currently trying to get a book club going (for some adult time + motivation to get back to books). If you can't find something that meets your needs, consider creating it. One of the local private schools in our area has a program for toddlers and pre-schoolers as a way to recruit new students - we have met several families that way. Even be open to meeting people in the grocery store, post office, or anywhere else - ask other moms about what they do for fun and many older people seem to have even more connections ;) You can also check to see if any local charities have volunteer events that are family-friendly. If things don't start out strong, don't get discouraged, just be more creative...
* Btw, I truly believe the neighborhood will be what you make of it. We live in a suburban area where we've met several families who live nearby. However, most of the families that we "play" with are folks we met through other connections...
Hi, V.:
Find a different neighborhood that will meet your needs.
Good luck. D.
