Berlin: Because of that, the bad neighbors: According to their own words, 70 percent of Germans have a good or even very good relationship with the people in their immediate vicinity. “The situation is good, we talk from time to time,” said 60 percent of the nearest neighbors. The German press agency in Berlin commissioned the poll by the YouGov polling institute.
Some distance to the neighbors is important to most people in Germany. When asked how they generally describe the situation in their neighborhood, only six percent say: “The situation is very good – we also spend free time together.” And only four percent answer “very good – we go in and out of each other”. One in ten would even go on vacation or go to the sauna with their closest neighbors (eleven percent). For 60 percent of the respondents, however, both are absolutely out of the question.
Occasional purchases
Another frequently mentioned taboo: “Talk to my closest neighbors about my problems” – for 38 percent that is impossible. A small group of four percent of Germans says that they never greet their nearest neighbors. Around one in three says that they at least occasionally water the flowers for their closest neighbors, take care of an animal or do similar favors (31 percent). “I help with repairs or help in the garden,” says 27 percent, “I bring a card, flowers or a gift over for birthdays or holidays,” says 24 percent. Occasional shopping for the neighbors? Do 17 percent. Bring something cooked or a cake over from time to time? 15 percent do that.
A total of eleven percent of those surveyed do not see their neighborhood relationship as rosy at all: “The situation is bad – we are distant,” said seven percent. “Very bad – we have arguments now and then” or even “We are at odds”, say two percent of the respondents. According to their assessment, around one in seven adults in Germany has a non-relationship with their neighbors: “We don’t know each other at all,” say 15 percent about themselves and the people on the right or left.
Too loud noises are the number one annoyance in the neighborhood. When asked: “What is bothering you about your closest neighbors?” 16 percent answer with “noise”. Ten percent are most upset about not observing rest periods. Eight percent are annoyed by loud music from the apartment of their closest neighbors. The fact that they feel watched by the people next door is cause for annoyance for ten percent of those surveyed. However, 57 percent say: “I don’t mind my closest neighbors.”
Fewer contacts because of Corona
Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, one in three Germans (34 percent) has noticed less from their closest neighbors. “I have less contact,” says 24 percent of those surveyed. Another ten percent of people speak of “much less contact with their closest neighbors”. Older people are experiencing the consequences of the crisis in their immediate neighborhood more than younger people: 41 percent of people over 55 reports that they currently have less or even less contact with their closest neighbors. Only 25 percent of those under the age of 25 say so.
Despite the fear of viruses, the vast majority of the respondents did not reduce the contact with people behind the neighboring doors: “I have the same amount of contact as before the Corona crisis,” says 56 percent of the respondents. Four percent even have more contact with neighbors than before the Corona crisis.
