We have noticed that people who have homes in resort areas tend to focus on entertaining their guests and having fun. Resort communities can be naturally transactional since they experience a high turnover of guests. AirBnb, VRBO and their peers exacerbate this trend while bringing in ever-changing people, sometimes to the detriment of community.
It can take a while, but If you look for it, you can sometimes see the threads of a neighborhood. We have owned our summer home in New Milford since 2014 and love to entertain people from other parts of our lives. But we also have slowly built relationships with the people in the neighborhood around us. Our community of Candlewood Springs is blessed to have an active volunteer board, a shared beach area, and some very nice people.
Last night, we helped expand the fabric of the community, ever so slightly, by hosting cocktails and dinner for a few of our neighbors. Some of whom have never even met each other before. We have socialized in the past a bit with Cheryl, Melinda, Eileen and John who live across the street from us. We were extremely happy to also host Joanne and John from a few doors down for the first time and introduce them to others in “The Springs.”
The conversation was easy – Cheryl and Joanne discovered instantly someone they knew in common from Somers. John grew up in Northport and spent his childhood on boats. We learned more about each neighbor’s background. The cocktails flowed freely (I made mojitos for the first time) and the food, of course was delicious.
As dinner was being served, John and Joanne said their goodbyes and we switched the background music to jazz. We immediately discovered a common passion. As a Miles Davis song came on, we learned that John’s father Bill Barber was considered the very first jazz tubist, and played with Miles Davis, and on several Broadway musicals.
I am looking forward to to sharing some jazz in NYC in the future!