Want to be a 21st century good neighbour? Signing for their deliveries, sharing your Netflix password and checking on their house while they’re on holiday are the best ways to enamour yourself to the people next door, study shows 

• Friendly greeting was the foremost trait in a good neighbour, according to study

In modern times it seems the criteria for being a good neighbour now include signing for deliveries and sharing your Netflix password.

But the most important gestures you can make for those living next door are still the time-honoured traditions of always saying hello and checking on their house when they’re on holiday.

A survey of 2,000 people by retirement community manager McCarthy Stone showed a friendly greeting was the foremost trait in a good neighbour, with 70 per cent valuing it.

Some 60 per cent said looking in on next-door’s home when they’re away was important, while signing for deliveries if they aren’t in (55 per cent) and bringing in empty bins (39 per cent) were also considered neighbourly by respondents.

The survey also revealed that 73 per cent thought of their neighbours as friends while 30 per cent counted them among their closest companions.

The survey revealed that 73 per cent thought of their neighbours as friends while 30 per cent counted them among their closest companions

So perhaps that is why giving out your Netflix password and offering advice on finances and relationships were seen as neighbourly traits, with 5 per cent of respondents highlighting each deed.

Other attributes picked out in the survey included helping to jump start neighbours’ cars (38 per cent), lending milk or sugar when someone runs out (35 per cent) and making a WhatsApp group for the street (14 per cent).

The study found that Britons chat to their next-door neighbours on average ten times per week, with the most popular conversation topic unsurprisingly being the weather (57 per cent).

That was followed by local news (50 per cent), family life (41 per cent), security (28 per cent) and work (25 per cent).

But despite 37 percent believing a good neighbour checks on elderly relatives, three quarters still worry about older people in their community.

A spokesman for McCarthy Stone, which commissioned the poll to coincide with the launch of its new affordable shared ownership offering, said: ‘This research shows that Brits are rallying around their neighbours and sticking together.

‘Companionship and a sense of connection is incredibly important to our mental wellbeing at any age, but especially for older people who may be living on their own, or less mobile than they once were.

‘This is exactly why we wanted to make our retirement communities more accessible to more of the nation’s retirees, through our affordable shared ownership scheme.’

25 SIGNS OF A GOOD NEIGHBOUR: 

1. Always saying hello – 70%

2. Checking your home when you’re on holiday – 60%

3. Signing for your deliveries if you’re not in – 55%

4. Alerting you to potential security issues in the neighbourhood – 43%

5. Bringing your bins in once they’ve been emptied – 39%

6. Helping you jump start your car – 38%

7. Checking on elderly neighbours in bad weather – 37%

8. Lending milk or sugar when you’ve run out – 35%

9. Pre-warning you about any noisy DIY work – 34%

10. Watering your garden, while watering theirs – 33%

11. Pre-warning you about a house party – 32%

12. Putting the bins out for you on bin day – 28%

13. Inviting you round for tea and cake – 25%

14. Pet-sitting – 24%

15. Bringing food when you are sick – 20%

16. Lending tools for DIY or gardening – 20%

17. Inviting you round for a glass of wine – 19%

18. Making a WhatsApp group for the street – 14%

19. Walking your dog – 11%

20. Babysitting your children – 8%

21. Helping you wash your car – 5%

22. Offering financial advice – 5%

23. Offering relationship advice – 5%

24. Giving you their Netflix password – 5%

25. Sharing money-off vouchers – 4%

Source: Read Full Article