Endless quarrels about incorrect parking and barking dogs, but also a place where you can get a recipe for treatment, will someone recommend a good pediatrician, and maybe even sell an unused drill? The discussion forums of housing estates constitute an interesting reading on the everyday life of their inhabitants.
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– In the countryside, when you have a problem with your neighbor’s behavior, you go to him and tell him directly. Sometimes a brawl will come out of it, sometimes a binge, at least the problem is solved – he laughs Luke, administrator of one of the local forums in Gdańsk. – It’s not that easy in the city. Often you have no idea which apartment is loud music or whose car has just blocked your parking space. Hence the forums and housing estate groups that act as a notice board and improve communication between the neighbors.
Dogs, noises and parking spaces
Housing estate groups are often a place to drop frustration. A quick interview among my friends from the editorial office convinced me that points inflammatory processes are the same, regardless of their location. What do we argue the most?
They occupy the first place on the podium disputes over incorrect parking.
– The “parking lot” skirmishes are the most colorful. They are divided into two factions: holders of parking spaces and those who do not. In their discussions, there are only two arguments: “you had to buy a place and park like a human” and “what if I parked in a forbidden way. Who does it bother? Petera resident of one of the new housing estates in Gdańsk.
Those parking in violation of the regulations are likely to find their way to the photo gallery on the local forum. Probably there will also be someone who will inform the municipal police about this fact.
The second place deserves undoubtedly dog owners and their opponents. Dogs (or rather their owners) expose themselves to residents for many reasons: they do not clean the faeces, allow you to pee on benches, take the dogs to the neighborhood lawns and allow barking at night. Disputes with dog lovers include housing estate classic and although it is hard not to admit that the indignant ones are right, you have to accept the fact that dogs on the estates are and will be, so searching for compromises is the most advisable.
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They came in third place disputes about noise. Children in playgrounds make noise, young people sitting on the benches make noise, neighbors arranging events and those whose renovation lasts forever and at any time make noise. Life in a block of flats is inherently related to noise.
Small ads
In housing estate groups, we can also find a lot of all sorts of advertisements. We often meet with requests from Fr. providing a parking space for several hours or announcements about its sale or rent.
The corner also works well: I will sell, buy, borrow, return, exchange – from large-size furniture to small items. Small sales are also organized by children who get rid of old toys.
– In my estate group there is a lady who collects everything that is free. If someone posts a post that he has a baby rocker, dog food, paper towels, used food containers or baby food to hand over, then after a few seconds the lady asks where to go to collect things. It is sometimes attacked by others willing to accept something for free, he says Katie from Gdynia.
Neighborly help
In the past, to borrow salt from neighbors, you would go door-to-door with a polite question. Today, this is the function of groups and forums. “Our friends stopped by and we ran out of lime for our drinks, can anyone help?” – says the entry posted on the forum after 22. Limes are on the fourth floor. Just like an onion for broth or a large preserving pot. Neighborly exchanges flourish, thanks to which new friendships also develop.
Pets can also count on help from the neighborhood.
– There is a lady at my estate who acts as an informal animal protector. If there is a post in the group that a cat or a dog is wandering around the estate that has probably escaped someone, the lady rushes quickly to catch, feed, water and nurture it until the owner is found – says Patrick from Sopot.
“Someone on the second floor left a cat on the balcony on a hot day,” she recalls Marta, a resident of one of the new housing estates in Gdańsk. – The neighbors quickly organized a rescue operation, managed to deliver the cat a bowl of water and, of course, call the guard who pulled the kitten away.
The neighbors also take part in collections for various purposes, recommend pubs and services, and save in difficult situations, such as walking a dog or printing documents.
Maybe it is a sign of the times that neighborly contacts moved to the Internet, or maybe it is just a necessity? After all, in buildings with several dozen apartments, looking for a neighbor with a free lime by 22 would be absurd and rude. And so, unusual requests for help often result in new acquaintances, and no one will remember the arguments about the dog poo in a few days. Until the next post.
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