Moving on from Halls: Being a good neighbour

Being a good neighbour is important no matter where you live! Building good relationships with the people living around you helps create a sense of community and can make your living experience a much more positive one.

Liverpool is home to four universities and as a result there is lots of student housing across the city. Areas such as Kensington Fields, Smithdown Road, Picton and Greenbank are not only home to lots of students, but also families, young professionals and elderly people which means that you’ll be fully integrated into the local, residential community.

Moving into a house with your pals is an exciting time and it’s really important that you feel comfortable in your living space. There’s lots of fun things to think about when settling into a house, from how to decorate your room to your first meal together. As well as this, it’s important that you think about how you and your housemates will be a part of the local community. Taking small steps to be a good neighbour can help you and your housemates settle in quickly and have a happy, healthy relationship with your neighbours.

Here’s some quick tips to help you and your housemates be the best neighbours possible...

• Get to know your neighbours – whether you say a quick hello when passing by or knock onto next door to introduce yourself, this is a great way to familiarise yourself with the area and who is living close by. A small gesture like this can go a really long way.
  

• Be considerate of who lives in the area - you might move into your student house and find that you are living next door to an elderly person on one side and a family on another. As you can imagine, all three homes are likely to have different lifestyles so do take this into consideration!
  

• Respect your neighbours by being mindful of noise levels. Remember that noise can carry easily e.g. chatting in yards, walking down the street, playing music loudly and slamming doors are all considered as noise nuisance. Excessive noise past 11pm can be considered as antisocial and can have serious consequences.
  

• Dispose of your household’s waste appropriately –  each household is responsible for taking care of their waste. This means that you should dispose of your waste in the correct bins and put them out to be emptied regularly to ensure that rubbish does not build up in the street. This will help maintain a clean, waste-free space for all residents to live in.
  

• Remember that you are a representative of the University of Liverpool. The University set out guidelines on appropriate behaviour, misconduct and discipline and this can be found here. 
  

Everyone in the community has a responsibility to be a good neighbour and respectful of one another. Before moving into community, we recommend you watch the VLOGs below (for more top tips!) and read the guidance which will give you further information on living in the community.

If you are experiencing noise issues and other anti social behaviour, you can find details of where to report this contained in Student Community Guide here!