Do people need a reason to SAH?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-1999
Do people need a reason to SAH?
1244
Sun, 07-18-2010 - 9:28am

This theme was touched upon in another thread and I wanted to discuss it further.

Pages

Avatar for rollmops2009
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2009
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 6:55am
A googling Mrs. Kravitz.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell
Avatar for rollmops2009
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2009
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 6:57am
Perhaps, not the case around here, lol. I think though that Americans generally find it perfectly natural to ask about another person's occupation and place of employment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 6:59am

"LOL, interviewing? nah...i don't see what's so terribly uncomfortably about this: door bell rings, hi we're your neighbors across the street and mention of how long they've lived there, who they are, what they do. leading to who else lives on the block, that the couple in the cul de sac are engineers and have rented for more than ten years."

Ok, definitely cultural. I would consider that a strangely large amount of over-sharing on the part of the neighbor, especially during a first meeting, and feel very uncomfortable. I'd also be very disturbed if I knew that a neighbor was sharing personal information about me with another neighbor I've never met.

"..i don't know, i still have little kids so we're around, i consider that being friendly, i don't close my blinds. "

What does having little kids or keeping the blinds open have to do with learning about one's neighbors? How is it "friendly" to have kids? No one closes the blinds around here, but then most people are actually polite enough not to stare into other people's homes, so having the blinds open would not lead to learning more about one's neighbors...unless, of course, one were being extremely rude and staring into the windows in order to learn more about one's neighbors.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:01am

I can kind of imagine that, but surely salary/financial info is not typically casually shared? At least, I don't remember that ever happening, nor are my family in the habit of that level of sharing.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:03am
It is cultural/regional. I have lived in my house for over 10 years and don't know that much about all of our neighbors. I know enough for a thumbnail sketch. But we can never *really* know what goes on in our neighbors house.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:07am
Not here. only the ranges. Just like the Federal salaries. The ranges are posted, but not the individual's specific rate.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:09am

I agree. I have to admit that I'm still scratching my head over the idea that if one knows the occupation, woh/sah status, financial status, rent/own status etc. one can say that one knows one's neighbors. None of the above really tells me all that much about who they are.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-24-2008
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:10am
I agree it's cultural. I grew up in a place where good fences made good neighbors. We lived there most of the childhood and we knew the neighbor next door, and the couple across the street, but very little about anyone else. When I bought my first house, which was in a totally different part of the country, we knew everyone within the first week. The neighbor across the street brought me cookies our second day and then pumped me for as much information as she could. A few months later she invited me to a cookie exchange where she pumped me to find out my religion and whether my dd was baptized. Once she found out I wasn't the same religion as her I never heard from her again. Most other neighbors were just normal friendly but there were no fences, and anytime you were outside was an opportunity for neighbors to socialize. I've never lived in a place like that since, but I did kind of like the atmosphere of the neighborhood in general.

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."


John W. Gardner





Photobucket





Ten Rules for Being Human



Photobucket





"The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding."
Malcolm Gladwell Blink

Avatar for rollmops2009
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2009
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:14am
Yes, you do have a point there. Although I guess if someone were rude enough to ask, some people might cough up the info.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2009
Wed, 09-08-2010 - 7:14am
Ir its cultural then it is a part I missed out on. I don't even know that information on most of my neighbors and I have lived her 12 years. One exception, my next door neighbor works for the cable company so is known in the neighborhood as "The Cable Guy".

Pages