The secret to health and happiness
Home » Blog » Sarah Heeringa » The secret to health and happinessWish you knew your neighbours better? Get started this weekend with
Neighbours Day, Saturday 17
October.
WIN! Add a comment and be in to win one of five groovy t-shirts
Being neighbourly is one of the best things we can do for our own and our family's wellbeing, wealth and happiness.
Living in a friendly connected neighbourhood can bring us loads of benefits—for our health, our state of mind, and our quality of life. Like the old Chinese saying puts it, “Distant relatives are not better than next-door neighbours.”
It’s a virtuous circle. The more comfortable we feel in the area where we live, the more active we’re likely to be in it. The more people are out and about in the neighbourhood, the safer our streets are for our kids during the day and the better the security at night. The more we’re tending our verges and front gardens, walking the dog and cycling to school and shops instead of roaring about in cars, the healthy we all are and the quieter, tidier and less polluted our streets become.
Increased neighbourliness contributes to a better quality of life and a greater sense of pride in where you live. It means having people nearby to call on for babysitting, carpooling and to feed the cat when you’re away. It can even improve property values.
Get a little neighbourly and win!
Start by getting to know some of your neighbours this weekend with Neighbours Day 2009, a new day being launched on Saturday 17 October by Lifewise. Add your comments and suggestions below and go in to win one of five groovy t-shirts.
There are loads of easy things to try:
- Say hello to five people in your street this weekend.
- Bake a batch of cupcakes and invite your neighbours and their children over.
- Mow the grass verge all the way across your neighbour’s frontage as well as yours.
- Offer to take your neighbour’s dog for a walk.
Check out the website for more ideas on how to connect with others on your street.
Want to know more? Read the latest issue of Good magazine, on sale now, for 21 ways to spruce up your street.
TURNING STREETS INTO NEIGHBOURHOODS
Want to know your neighbours better? You’re not alone. Eighty-one percent of Aucklanders are interested in getting to know their neighbours better, according to recent research by Colmar Brunton.
A recent BBC survey found that 22% of English people feel their neighbourhood has become less friendly in the past five years and other surveys suggest that between 4% and 8% didn’t know their neighbours at all. But these trends can be reversed, just by taking a few simple actions.
Lifewise is not organising a big event for Neighbours Day, rather its promoting the importance of neighbours, inspiring people to take the first steps and working with other groups to encourage people to get involved. The UK, Europe and Australia are now all promoting neighbourliness through initiatives like Neighbours Day.
With the support of lots of organisations across Tamaki Makaurau, Lifewise is taking the lead and encouraging all Aucklanders to mark a day on their calendar to knock on doors or lean over the fence and get to know their neighbours better. Saturday 17 October will be Auckland’s first official Neighbours Day, a celebration of neighbourliness and what Lifewise hopes will herald the creation of more supportive, healthy and connected neighbourhoods across Auckland.
"We decided to build on the success of our work in the community and encourage all Aucklanders to start with one action on one day to foster friendships in their street,” says Lifewise Community Services General Manager John McCarthy. “Strong connections between neighbours create opportunities to make our neighbourhoods healthier, safer and more fun places to live.”
The philosophy of Neighbours Day is simple: the creation of a special day to recognise the folks we live next door can help strengthen and connect neighbourhoods across the city. Things like sharing a cuppa or hosting a neighbourhood barbie are easy ways to get the ball rolling. Kiwis are renowned for their hospitality, so this day is just another opportunity to spark some great neighbourhood connections.
Wed October 14, 2009 @ 03:59 PM
