Email a copy of 'Being a Good Neighbor in the American Redoubt, by 11Z' to a friend
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A good neighbor is a great blessing.
Be the good neighbor you wish to have. Wonderful reminder and so simply stated.
From Robert Heinlein (I forget at the moment which book), “an armed society is a polite society”.
Perhaps it was “Time Enough for Love”. Lazarus Long had a great philosophy.
Solid advice, I would add as a sub category to gossip, to remain neutral in other neighbors problems that they need to work out. Taking sides can place yourself into a social “click”. A Jeffersonian philosophy is best here, do not become embroiled in other’s (foreign) conflict.
Clique-social group,click is a sound
Thanks for chipping in with some sound and often overlooked advice.
Being a good neighbor is understanding the next guy down the road does not worship your dog. Keep them under control and quiet unless there is trouble brewing.
Dogs… In decades of rural living (in 3 states) 4 major incidents with neighbors come to mind, ALL involving dogs. 2 incidents over continuous barking at night. 1 over a neighbor’s dog coming onto our property and attacking our dog. 1 over a neighbor’s dog strewing our rubbish. Only 1 of the 4 dog owners apologized and took responsibility to ensure that it never happened again.
And while we were not involved, the anguish and strife over dogs killing neighbors’ chickens, goats, wild birds and animals on the neighbor’s property is too much to bear. Again, most of the dogs owners did not respond responsibly.
The vast majority of dog owners lived there long before their new neighbors moved in. I’ve see more resentment than respect for new neighbors. It’s as if seniority gives them a bye from acting like equals.
Many nuggets of wisdom here.
It is my experience people do not typically move to acreage to be socially active so baby steps are important for both neighbors.
Our grandparents had it right when they used to say “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. Our true stripes come out when things get tough. Establishing that relationship prior to a test makes a lot of sense.
Supporting local business is important too. Local gun shops, restaurants, grocery and hardware stores in our community are under a lot of pressure from national chain stores.
Thank you for the great reminders.
Baby steps, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Thank you.
The real trick is to be a good neighbor even to a bad neighbor. To maintain your belief and actions in the face of those who act as though they believe the exact opposite. It is still the right thing to do but just more difficult.
Great article. We would all be wise to do that regardless of where we live
Enjoyed the article very much. Well done.
Excellent article. Living in a small community it is very important to help each other.
We have had 3 days of heavy snow, and now the power is out. But all the neighbors are out with their snowblowers and shovels trying to keep the road open.
Always check on your elderly neighbors to see if they need help, food, and too keep warm.
Winter is not over
Excellent tip, especially now that families are spread so far and wide. Some elderly people may not have anyone to check. Thank you.
Many a city slicker who move to the country doesnt understand how far noise carries.
Good reminder. Thanks.
A friend once told me the secret to being accepted in a small town is , first time in town go to the chamber of commerce and introduce yourself, once you move there join the American legion ( if you are eligible ) and the Volunteer fire department. in most small towns the city fathers belong to these organization and it’s a good way to make friends and be accepted. I have not moved to a small and tried it but it sounds reasonable. Also if you are moving to get away from some attitudes or biases DO NOT bring those attitudes with you and if you love all the things you left you should have stayed there.
11Z wrote a Norman Rockwell piece there, it’s a mighty fine article. Good writing and articles like this is why I come here.
As a side note. Your interactions with the locals will make a name for yourself , good or bad. So, be friendly and if there is a small restaurant be sure and be polite with the workers and tip fairly. They are not your slaves but just folks trying to make a living. It’s truly amazing how rude or curt some people are to those in the service arena. Also try and learn the culture. If you came from the city ” to get away from it all” don’t try and recreate what you’re used to or criticize how people do things in your new place. It comes off as being a snob. Observe, listen and learn.
I know the people in the small towns near me work very hard and have seen how discouraged they become with non-locals when our visitors are rude, mocking or even insulting with tips of just a few cents after being given excellent service. The friendliness and open acceptance by people of the American Redoubt is a joy that is great to be a part of. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks for this article. Helps a young man like myself to remember that I can’t find everything I need online. People skills will always matter.
Familiarity breeds contempt! So does making assumptions.
1. ALWAYS, always, always put the fence up before the animals arrive. Always. We’ve seen this both ways, by first underestimating how quickly our new hens would cross the road (into the neighbor’s mulch) when the fence wasn’t finished, having many animals killed by the neighbor dogs, and chasing down horses that the idiot neighbors thought would “just stay” in their unfenced pasture.
2. LISTEN to the folks who already live where you are, even if you don’t agree. We had a new neighbor come in and start target shooting. That would be fine, except the houses are closer than what is recommended for using firearms, even if he does live on 17 acres (it’s a narrow piece). We told him it wasn’t recommended to shoot, but he didn’t listen. I don’t mind that he is a good 2nd Amendment guy, I mind that someone might call the cops on him because they know the houses are too close; then we have a microscope on our whole area due to an ass who ‘knew better.” (And law enforcement pays no attention us now because they have no reason.)
3. If possible, relocate to somewhere you have family ties, no matter how distant. Then go to the county courthouse and do some genealogy. In one day, when I was trying to get marriage certificates on grandparents and parents, I visited three county clerk offices, and it turned out I knew someone — or they knew my family — in each one. Instant connections, instant cred. And it was a nice feeling.
I don’t live in the “redoubt” and have no plans to move there. I am a daily reader of SurvivalBlog and have been for years. I appreciate many of the articles and commentary here. Something about this article rubs me wrong, it seems the author is lecturing others on how he/she thinks life should be in his/her neighborhood. Well, I have news for this writer; unless you own all of the property around you, you really don’t get to tell a new neighbor how to live. Carrying a weapon openly seems to be an intentional tactic to intimidate and it certainly wouldn’t be appreciated by me, nor would I be impressed. I am a mature man of age and completely understand rules of etiquette and respect for others. I adhere to these common sense ideas and don’t need any lectures from a neighborhood busybody .
Actually read the article and you’ll see that he said open carry was common in the area he was talking about. I guess you missed this sentence from the article:
“In my part of the world men and women carry openly or concealed, and it’s as common as wearing a ball cap.” So, obviously, it’s a good thing you have no plans to move there.
The author is not lecturing, but responding to a request made by some readers in the comments on Survivalblog recently requesting an article on being a good neighbor. At least the timing of the article makes me think so.
If you have a different idea of what makes a good neighbor, you are also free to write your own article and submit it.
I’m sorry that you were offended by my article. I reread it with your criticisms in mind and respectfully disagree with your assertions. A lecture isn’t the intent, it’s culturally how we are. There has been a mass of new people coming into the area recently that fail to understand what we inherently know.
If you were to come into the area even for a visit you would be welcomed until you proved that you are a nuisance. Even so, I’m not aware of anyone in my area of paradise that tells anyone else how to live on their own property with the exception of the government. This is done with ordinances that are applicable because at some point someone had the idea that they didn’t have to be a good neighbor (noise ordinances). You can be upset with your local government or like us you can keep a close eye and hold them accountable.
A mature man also knows that the manner in which somebody carries a weapon (or any other tool) on or around his or her own property can be done in a number of ways. To assume it’s only an attempt to intimidate is not culturally realistic in the American Redoubt and is a tell that you are not familiar with the area. I’m sure it’s a different story in your neck of the woods and that can’t be applied here which is the essence of the article.
Thanks for your comment.
I baked cookies, scones, etc. for fire, police dept, mayors office and irrigation district when we first moved to the redoubt. I still do occasionally and they know me and where I live. I did the same for the nearest neighbors. Such a small investment but worth getting to know others in our small community. Everyone loves to share their knowledge if you have questions on hiking, fishing, hunting, best places to buy this or that. I love our small “neighborhood” (closest is 1/2 mile away).
Thanks for sharing such an excellent example. Overwhelmingly the whole country is covered by young volunteer firefighters and they work for little or nothing in compensation.
Neighbors who think they have open access to your land are the second worst behind those that have uncontrolled dogs. I lost a quasi-good relationship with my neighbor because he constantly crossed property lines with bogus excuses. I finally had to deal with it in a way where he’d never do it again. Getting – and being a respectful neighbor is priceless.
It goes both ways! Who was there first makes no difference in the real world. My BOL came with a good amount of land and some locals hated it as I do not allow free hunting on my property. It took years and a few arrests, but most got over it.
Open carrying without an obvious reason, can convey the wrong message. Too much like adolescent boys showing off and trying to look like men.
I agree however in my situation it’s not realistic to depend on the Deputies to protect life and property from both Human and animal 24/7/365. It’s even less so if things drastically change for the worse.
Women out here also carry and it’s interesting to note the comment singled out the men as “adolescent boys’.
I point out that we’ve been at war for a very long time and there is a huge population of combat experienced men and women who have returned to civilian life. You can’t always gauge that kind of experience by age or outward appearance alone. A good and experienced gun owner can read a person’s body language and habits well enough (and should if carrying concealed or openly in my opinion). Much like an experienced driver can anticipate and avoid a wreck.
Thanks for your comment.
Generally speaking, when you need a gun, you need it NOW! An assailant is not going to wait for you to run home and get it out of the safe. In some parts of the country, they take their own safety very seriously and do not like to leave it to the whim of another who may not have the same urgency…. And in these areas, some being very remote. The response time for law men may be too long for anything but an ambulance ride or a body bag.
I personally don’t care for open carry precisely for this reason but I do not become alarmed or fearful when I see one on the hip of a fellow citizen.
A quick tale:
A young couple bought the overgrown wooded lot next to mine a few months ago. I, waiting for the right opportunity, hadn’t yet spoke to them because they were obviously very busy making a home out of a virtual jungle. One day, a “bad guy” stole a truck with a boat in tow from town and led police on a chase that came right down my road and ended in a crash (dead end road). The bad guy bailed out and ran into the thick woods eluding capture. The cops surrounded the area and decided to wait him out. They went to every home and warned residents of the potential danger. Early the next morning I heard the new neighbors clearing trees and brush with various noise makers. I decided to go say “hi” and made my way through the woods over to our shared fence line. There were at least a dozen adults. Some swinging chainsaws, some dragging brush and some still, mowing, weed eating and preparing lunch. EVERY one openly carrying a black polymer pistol !
I heard one of the men say “there he is!” I said “no, I’m your neighbor!” I commented on everyone’s obvious attire and turned to expose my own in a nonchalant way.
I ended up helping them for a couple hours and having lunch with them as well.
Great bunch of folks and I couldn’t be happier with my new friends !
The sheriff finally did catch the thief a day later. Walking down the road acting like he was from the area. He wasn’t….. you need a vehicle to get out here jack !