Moving into a new neighborhood can be challenging in a lot of ways, especially when you feel lonely and different from most of your neighbors! You might think that your neighbors won't want to talk to you because you are new to the neighborhood, you look different than they do, or because you come from a different walk of life than they do.

But don't make these judgments too quickly! Many city dwellers love getting to know the people in their neighborhood and really love getting to know people whose life experiences are different than their own. However, there are times when creating these connections can be difficult and when neighbors see things from different perspectives.

Noisy and problematic neighbors are one of the most difficult issues to solve. First off both parties are tenants. Both have rights. These problems range from neighbors selling drugs to throwing an occasional party. It is frustrating for the neighbor who is being disrupted. Our role as hotline counselors is to listen to the complaints and try to help the tenant to remedy the situation. At times the caller's expectation of the neighbor may not be fair or legitimate.

People are always talking about working with neighbors to "improve the neighborhood for everyone". But how do you actually do that? Well, joining your neighborhood association is certainly one way.

"Being neighborly sounds nice, but how do you actually do it, especially if you're busy or like your privacy?"

To help answer this question, the Neighbors Project has created a series of step-by-step guides on a wide variety of neighborly topics. This guide gives you tips on what you can do to help keep your block clean.