I can certainly appreciate your feelings.

When I was a kid, my parents built a home in a small developed community.

There were 23 houses here when they built the home, there are 61 houses now that I live this community but I can still tell you almost everyone's name.

Our neighborhood has always had a once yearly neighborhood picnic and tried to maintain a sense of commradarie.

These aren't "flip" houses and it isn't a rental neighborhood. Almost every single home is a long time resident.

Many of the neighbors I currently have, I used to go trick or treating at their house and now my kids do too.

I'm always a little sad when one of my "neighbors" (even if they live 2 blocks away) moves.

That is sad, but best for her. Sounds like you will have good new neighbors, though. It's interesting to see a neighborhood change. My Mom still lives in the house we grew up in, and for a while there were no kids left in the hood. Everyone had moved out and were raising their own kids. Now it has shifted back to a neighborhood full of kids. She needs a lot of halloween candy these days, when 10 years ago she didn't.

My mom, a realtor, always said that if people ARE good neighbors, they will most likely HAVE good neighbors.

A stable neighborhood usually goes through 'stages', as families with kids move in; kids grow up; parents age; new families with kids start the cycle all over again.

My neighborhood has never had a lot of kids. Neighbors having kids of similar ages tend to do more together than those that don't. My neighbors are there when needed (as I am for them) but otherwise we all just lead our own lives. I've met most of those nearby but there isn't much socializing going on.

I've had two close neighbors sell their houses and move away in past 5 years and, frankly, I'm sorry it hadn't happened sooner. They weren't on my Top 5 Neighbors list and the new owners of each house are much more friendly.

I have had a lifetime of 'best neighborhoods' and neighbors; sort of learned from military housing perhaps where certain standards were required and since then, maybe a practiced eye for what to expect. Or luck. When we bought, there was a 11 acre field at the end of our street, owned by the school district and I was sure that once the High School was built, we would be ready for Assisted Living and would sell. Surprise, the High School has been such a asset to our neighborhood. It is beautiful, with the playing fields (no stadium, but a track) closest to our street. Beautifully landscaped with trees and sidewalks around the perimeter of the school (exactly one mile) and a large grassy field that has removable soccer nets for soccer....fenced so people can unleash their dogs for supervised play, and potty pick up bags and disposal places at each entry gate. Every day now, people walk our street with their dogs, push strollers, wheelchairs, little ones on tricycles and with skate boards and the High School kids do some Cross country running or PE. It is kinda neat to see them run by....and our part of the school district includes most of the "poorer" and troublesome part of town. Our homes are single story, on large or smaller lots, with wide streets and similar looks. No covenants that I am aware of, but they are what average Americans dream about and in my mind, what middle-class folks deserve and strive for.,

Sorry you are losing your neighbor. That does not happen much where I live, people don't tend to move much out here. I have very nice neighbors. We did have a neighbor pass away a few years ago. His place came up for auction and I bought it. The house is not much but nice acreage and pole barn. Trees and a creek, same creek as goes through our property. I do have plans for it though.

Sue