A good neighbor

Un bon voisin

cares for his community.

greets, is friendly, helps when asked.

helps out, is amiable, cares for you

is a friendly face who is there for you when you need them to be, but is not excessively nosy.

is caring but quiet

is considerate and caring without being nosy.

is friendly and kind.

is friendly, kind, and helpful

is friendly.

is helpful & friendly; keeps a clean yard; whose family and visitors are relatively quiet after 9 o'clock at night; is aware of strangers in the neighbourhood; keeps an eye on the neighbourhood children; waters the plants, mows the lawn, picks up the mail and feeds the pets w

is helpful, generous, and not nosy.

is involved in the neighborhood. friendly, talkative, caring

is kind, considerate, and willing to help.

is like a member of your family.

is polite and clean.

is polite, and cordial but doesn't push themselves upon others to be friends

is quiet, clean, and minds his or her own business.

is there for you when asked to help; is not overly intrusive; is friendly.

lends a helping hand.

makes the effort to get to know you and keeps an eye out for your well being and safety.

makes you feel safe

says hello, does not throw their garbage in your yard, help keep the neighborhood comfortable

welcoming, friendly, helpful

will share the last piece of bread and stand by your bed when you are sick.

amical, peu bruyant, sympatique

est accueillant, sympathique, calme

est attentif mais pas curieux

est calme, silencieux, respectueux et discret

est quelqu´un avec qui on s´entend bien, discret, à qui on peut demander sans problème un service

est quelqu´un qui ne te dérange pas et qui te dit bonjour lorsque il te voit.

est serviable quand il faut.

est silencieux et souriant

est sympa, amical, bon dormeur

n'est pas trop bruyant, est poli

ne fait pas de bruit.

ne te réveille pas à quatre heures du matin pour te demander un peu de sel

tranquille, convivial

Discussion

Both the American and French responses to what a good neighbor is seemed to focus on neighbors in residential areas. I'm curious as to how these responses might differ if the neighbor was specified as your neighbor in a college dormitory. There was only one response on the French list that said a good neighbor is somebody you get along with, which I think is probably the most important quality for me. I live in one of three towers in my dorm where there are only 13 students and a family of visiting scholars. It is important that we get along, because we live in close proximity in a smaller hall than many of the other floors. Another thing to note is that with the way the rooming is done in my dorm it is hard to control who your neighbors will be, because everyone picks their room is a set order, one at a time, and you cannot change your mind after you’ve picked. We have a couple designated loud and quiet areas, but no other distinct social areas in the building that you can use to pick your room.

I thought it was interesting that somebody on the French side said that a good neighbor is one who says hello to you when he sees you. I think that, unfortunately, this quality is often overlooked in our American society. Greetings here tend to be brief, whereas when I think of France I think of people embracing each other and exchanging kisses on the cheek. How do you greet different kids of people? How is your greeting different?

On another note, it also seems that the french sides main concern for a good neighbor involved a quiet, non-disturbing person. While it was much more common on the american side to see qualitys that emphasize aiding the community and maintaining the houses appearances.

I think that Americans see neighbors as friends, sometimes almost family, that you can call on when you need help. While French values seem to promote a more formal relationship. Why is this?

Do people in France attempt to welcome their neighbors? Because it is a common practice in the US to greet when someone new arrives to the neighborhood. I do however see that this might be a lot more difficult to do in appartments, especially if people try to be considerate with their neighbors by being quiet and not causing much commotion.