Many of us are familiar with the much-loved Australian soap that is Neighbours. For those that aren’t, it features a close-knit community of people that live on a road called Ramsey Street, as they get on with their lives.

However, switch to real life and many of us don’t have close next-door neighbours as they do in the show. You come out of your home on a sunny day and it’s not suddenly ‘oh hey Harold’, ‘Good morning, Mrs Specks!’ – as you’ll typically see dramatised each morning on screen. Instead, it’s a quiet affair. If you see familiar faces that you suspect live nearby or on the street, you may smile or give a nod but the general aim is to keep it moving.

It’s one of the major problems that has grown with living in urban areas – many people live insular lives. It’s why loneliness rates simply skyrocket within cities, compared to the countryside where populations are likely smaller and more friendly with each other. In fact, what we see through social media is what seems to be a massive spike of distrust of neighbours even – people are installing Ring doorbells in droves, eager to find out which suspicious neighbour has been stealing their property or whatnot.

I was thinking more about this breakdown of the urban neighbourhood in response to hearing the tragic story of Kenneth Battersby and his son, Bronson. In summary, Kenneth living in central England (East Midlands, for my UK readers) had a suspected heart attack late last month and his son, who was only two years old, who suddenly no longer had parental support was forced to fend for himself before eventually dying of starvation days later. They were found by social services earlier this month. Such a tragic story – I really couldn’t believe it. Neighbours reportedly recalled hearing the child crying for his ‘daddy’ So I couldn’t help but wonder, if neighbours checked in on each other more, and had those bonds – would they have perhaps discovered the distressed child earlier?. Only God knows, I guess.

Obviously, I can’t generalise since I’m sure there are some fairly close knit city based neighbourhoods out there. I even see, to help this issue, that local councils or active local residents try to organise events such a street parties or jumble sales, to bring people closer. This post is simply based on my observations and own experience. I’ve lived on my street in London for over twenty years and probably know/ speak to about five people or families out of the thirty-odd properties that surround my house (tragic, I know). I don’t see that changing very much in the future, to be honest but I think what’s important is being open to those conversations, being helpful and cordial where you can with such neighbours so those opportunities to bond can happen.

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Let’s talk! What is your neighbourhood like? Are you close with your neighbours or wish you knew them better? Let me know!

*Photo by Mark Stuckey on Unsplash