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NNO

Make your neighborhood stronger by doing a BBQ

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One of the truths in real estate is that you buy into a neighborhood. You don’t just purchase whatever exists between your parcel lines, but rather a community. Many times it’s easy to forget this though because of how normal it is to drive home, close the garage door as soon as possible, and live an isolated life from neighbors. This is understandable because of the way society is, but over time as a neighborhood becomes a group of parcel islands instead of a united tribe, it makes the community weak and invites crime too.

National Night Out Logo 2013Let me share a simple way to help neighborhoods connect. The first Tuesday in August (8/6/13) is “National Night Out“, which is a fantastic opportunity to mingle with a few neighbors on the front lawn. This is a national event where residents get together across the United States to build community and in the process stand against crime. This is for any neighborhood, whether values are low or high, and it’s for renters and owners alike.

Can you really do this? Each year my household hosts this event for my neighborhood, so I am obviously passionate about it. Since it has been such a rich experience for my family, I wanted to mention it here and encourage anyone reading to consider hosting a potluck this year for your street. Yes, I know life is busy (mine is too). The truth though is each community needs someone to get the ball rolling to help neighbors connect in a small way like this. Let’s face it, nobody really wants to be the initiator, but it’s thankfully not a big thing to pass out some flyers on your street, get a few neighbors on board and go potluck style. In fact, read my 10 tips for hosting a community BBQ to help you get started. The truth is neighborhoods grow stronger when events like this happen because residents have the opportunity to build relationship and communicate about the neighborhood. What if you got the ball rolling this year by hosting a simple BBQ in August? What could happen in your community if residents began to steer the neighborhood to communicate a bit more?

National Night Out BBQ last year

I’m around if you have any questions or simply need some advice for getting neighborhood communication or your BBQ off the ground.

Community Building 101: In case it might be helpful, I wrote a series called “Community Building 101″ a few years ago. If you are tinkering with the idea of how to begin to improve your neighborhood, this short mini-essay series might be relevant. Let me know what you think. Download HERE (pdf).

Question: What is the best experience you’ve ever had when it comes to connecting with neighbors? I’d love to hear below.

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NNO recap & Tips for hosting a community BBQ

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Did you do anything for “National Night Out” on Tuesday? My household hosted a neighborhood BBQ and it was a profound success. We had a fantastic crowd, and it was nice to have visits from four council members, an Alyson Huber representative and Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli too. But most importantly, neighbors were connecting and we really had a good time. I’m so thankful to residents who worked to pull things together last-minute to make this happen. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by good friends in my community.

What makes a neighborhood great? In my opinion, it’s not about big houses or price level per se, but rather a sense of community and connectedness. That’s priceless.

Quick Tips for Hosting a Community BBQ:

  1. Do the BBQ in the front yard.
  2. Ask a few neighbors to do the BBQ with you. Get people on board first before you start publicizing.
  3. Make it your goal to connect with others and simply invite residents into that vision. People like it when they smell authenticity rather than an agenda. On a related note, if you want to see change in your neighborhood, keep the tone positive rather than negative. A positive vision is attractive, but complaining doesn’t work to muster the troops.
  4. Go potluck style. It’s easier that way and more powerful when everyone has something to share and donate.
  5. Knock on doors to pass out flyers. Invite people personally and they’ll have a greater chance of responding. In my experience, 400 flyers placed on doorsteps has far less impact than knocking on 30 doors.
  6. Provide opportunities for neighbors to help with details like canopies, grills, drinks or any other component. Remember too that you don’t have to pull off the ultimate block party with bounce houses and pony rides. Think simple.
  7. Invite council members or the police department to show up and give them a minute to talk with residents.
  8. No guilt or shame if people cannot make it – only grace and goodwill. Nobody likes to eat a guilt sandwich.
  9. If you have an action step, let people know. Maybe there is a neighborhood meeting coming up that people could sign up for. Or maybe you are putting together a phone tree, neighborhood email list or e-Group that would be perfect to help propel the community forward. You don’t need an action step of course, but if you have something, bring it.   
  10. Thank people for their contributions and recognize the work of others to pull off the event – whether big or small.

Do you have any tips to add? What do you think makes a neighborhood great? I’d love to hear your comments and stories.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.