This will shock you - according to Pew Research the average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. Turns out I am NOT the only gypsy out there! I'm normal! But it also turns out I don't know my neighbors very well or very much. Although I do know at least nine families around our area, I should know more and that's why I am celebrating Love Thy Neighborday on April 27th.
Here's what I learned reading the Life Edited newsletter today:
The average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. One out of six Americans move once a year. This high mobility may have turned the institution of neighborly relationships from marriage to long-term dating or even brief fling. This situation was verified by a Pew Study that found fewer than half of Americans know most or all of their neighbors.
Neighbors are good (at least the ones that don’t blast music at 2am). They feed our cats, lend us ladders and cups of sugar and provide easy companionship. A strong tie with a neighbor is worth 1000 Facebook friends on the black market. But it’s tough to love our neighbors when we don’t even know them.
And you can actually, officially, sign up and celebrate the day in style at http://www.good.is/neighboring or you can just wing it and talk to your neighbors.
So if you live by the Dempster Street CTA stop in Evanston, I look forward to meeting you on April 27th, neighbor!
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Thank you for reading my blog Evanston Newbie, a blog devoted to covering my family's move from El Paso, TX, to Evanston, IL, in 2011. We arrived in June 2011 and several people have pointed out that I am no longer a "newbie" and should start some other blog. But I disagree and want to keep the "newbie" status for a while longer, maybe five years and for several reasons. #1 - there are many Evanston families who have lived here for generations since the town incorporated in the late 1800s, so in comparison to them, I am very much a "newbie". #2 - I firmly believe this blog is a good branding tool for the city of Evanston and it's the least I can do to thank our new town for being so AWESOME! If you have any questions or need to get in touch with my about this blog, Evanston, or anything else you can email me at thelisadshow@gmail.com.
I have been living in Evanston almost 8 years and an older resident recently told me I would not be considered a true Evanstonian until I reach at least 25 years... has anyone ever heard this?
ReplyDeleteHi! Considering some people have lived here for several generations, it's very possible the newbie status sticks for a loooooon time. Although I've never heard of the 25 year mark, I will look into it and get back to you. Thanks for reading my blog!
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