Whether you’re researching a neighborhood before you buy or rent an apartment, checking out neighborhood safety for your kids, or just curious, there are more ways to find out who lives nearby. Some of them are fun, and many don’t require much effort at all. You’ll know your neighbors’ ins and outs in no time.
Here’s where to start.
You don’t have to go far to start researching your area. Your neighborhood starts with you, and your next-door neighbor is your next stop.
If you already know your immediate neighbors, try to reconnect with them. Take them something they like and invite them to chat, asking them about the wider neighborhood. They may introduce you to more people.
If you don’t know your neighbors or want to know about people a bit further afield, it’s a good idea to turn up. Take a gift.
Depending on your neighborhood, people may be more or less trusting, so homemade food, once a nice touch, may be met with suspicion. Something tasteful, sealed, but thoughtful is a safer bet.
People are more likely to be open with you if you share first. But don’t be hurt if the door just closes after 17 seconds. You might not even get an open door. Not everyone wants to know their neighbors. If that’s the case, consider it a lesson learned about your neighborhood. Move on and try again.
You can get local numbers from a telephone directory. You may have seen business cards for local people. Or you might have some local contacts you don’t know yet, so you want to do some digging.
Using a reverse business phone number search is a great way to learn more about these people and, thus, your neighborhood. Give Nuwber a phone number to crunch, which will give you great information, such as the holder’s full name, location, age, social media profiles, and more.
If you can find someone on social media, you can learn more about that person. You also learn about their connections, many of whom most likely live in your neighborhood.
When you’ve had enough of being up close and personal, a copy of the local census information will give you a bird’s eye view of the neighborhood. Please type the name of your neighborhood in the search box and select it from the subsequent list.
Try it; you might be surprised. The census can give you immediate and free information on local:
Population
Ages
Genders
Races and origins
Veterans
Foreign born individuals
Housing types
Families and living arrangements
Computer and Internet use
Education levels
Health
Economy
Transportation
Income and Poverty
You can use all these statistics to determine the lowdown in your neighborhood.
People who know about your neighborhood will likely be in the town hall. Remember to be polite and use empathy to get the necessary information. They might not be disposed to help you if they are busy.
Make their lives simpler by being specific about what you want to know. A good cause can sometimes help turn the wheels of bureaucracy.
You could ask for help at the town hall or attend public town hall meetings. Politicians always hold and visit these to get to know their constituents, and you could leverage these meetings, too.
Your nearest town hall is a good place to learn about local events. Call or say hello in person to the organizers of such events. They are likely to know a lot about your neighborhood and may be able to help you learn more about the people who live nearby.
It’s like the town hall but with more books—a treasure trove of information.
In addition to historical records, journals, and newspaper archives, the library's skilled, dedicated staff can provide useful information. This depends on the library, but librarians tend to be underutilized. They might be delighted to help you so they can use their exceptional skills and knowledge.
If being shut indoors with all those books gives you shudders, you might consider throwing a party. If you can’t find out who lives in the neighborhood, bring everyone in the neighborhood to you, right?
Try to know a little bit about your neighborhood first, though. Throwing a noisy street party might annoy a neighborhood of parents with small children, for example. And inviting your neighbors to a beery and meaty barbecue in the shadow of your monster truck might end in (your) tears if you discover your guests are hip vegans hungry from cycling.
When throwing a (100%-legal) street party, try to empathize and cater to a range of people.
In a small village, a school is the community's beating heart. If you have kids in school, maximize this precious resource. Your kids and their friends give you a great way to meet other parents, who are often interconnected via the shared interests of parenting, schooling, and how to get an extra car length ahead in traffic.
If you don’t have kids in school, tread carefully. You might even want to skip this step. Your interest could come across as creepy.
A dedicated app for meeting and staying in touch with your local community is a wonderful modern resource that could help you satisfy your desire to know who lives nearby.
The Nextdoor app comes with a layer of security. You must provide evidence of your street address before becoming a member. Once you are in, you can access information about local people and events. You’ll be able to learn plenty about individuals or groups that live nearby.
Whether you like the up-close-and-personal approach or rather press buttons on a machine, you can learn a lot about your neighborhood. Remember that information exchange is often best when it’s a two-way street. Consider the opportunities to give back to the community you’re learning about. Or just feed your curiosity by nosing around. That’s fun, too!
Please get familiar with your neighborhood and its residents using resources like reverse phone number searches, census information, town hall visits, party planning, school-based parent connections, and neighborhood apps.
