5 Ways to Get to Know Your Neighbors During Quarantine

Let’s be honest. Getting to know your neighbors can feel unnatural and awkward under normal circumstances. How on earth are we supposed to get to know them in the middle of a global pandemic?

The last several months has meant loneliness and isolation for so many. We need our neighbors now more than ever – and they need us.

So, here are five simple, socially distanced ways to get to know your neighbors.

1. Host a “Front Porch Friday.” Invite your neighbors to bring a lawn chair and join you on the front porch (or lawn, or driveway) for an evening of conversation. Consider investing in a pack of conversation starting cards, such as Table Topics.

2. Start a book club. Pick a fun book and invite your neighbors to read it with you over the next month. Plan a date and time to discuss it – either through Zoom or outdoors where you can maintain a safe distance.

3. Plan a movie night. All you need is a mini projector (less than $100 on Amazon) that connects to your computer a phone and a plain white sheet. Hang the sheet on your garage door, aim the projector at the sheet, and – ta da! – you’ve got an outdoor theater. Invite your neighbors to bring their own snacks and join you on the driveway for a movie.

4. Host a cookout. Move your grill to the driveway and invite your neighbors over. Have them bring whatever they want to grill (so as to avoid multiple people handling the food) and enjoy an afternoon or evening cookout.

5. Have a Zoom dinner. It may be a little difficult to invite people into your home right now. But that doesn’t have to stop you from having a meal delivered to a neighbor! Offer to DoorDash or GrubHub them a meal and ask them to join you for dinner over Zoom.

There are countless ways to get to know your neighbors – even in the middle of a crazy time like this. So, this week, put one of these suggestions into practice, or come up with a creative way of your own! We'd love to hear how you're engaging your neighbors in the comments below.

For more ideas, church out The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon and The Simplest Way to Change the World by Dustin Willis and Brandon Clements.