When you move into a new neighborhood, it makes sense that you’d want to get to know the people who live in the apartments or houses around you. It’s not always easy to break the ice, which is why one Florida couple has posted a sign in their front yard advertising free beer in a bid to make friends on their street. Not a bad idea, to be fair!
- The pandemic has made connecting with people even harder. Amanda and Thomas Evans moved from Fort Myers to Cape Coral just before COVID-19 hit the state last year, but the pandemic picking up steam meant that pretty much everyone started avoiding others and staying to themselves. According to ABC 7, this situation meant the Evanses found themselves feeling pretty isolated.
- The couple did meet a few people in the area when out with their dog. As Amanda explained, walking their dog around meant they sorta ran into some of their neighbors by default, but that wasn’t enough. “It was definitely hard to meet neighbors. Luckily, we have a rescue dog that we walk around the block every day, so we met some people in passing,” she recalled. “Typically, you would bring people cookies or pie or invite them over for dinner, but we weren’t sure about how people were feeling.”
- Then they came up with the best idea ever. Realizing that all the normal ways of making nice with their new neighbors were out the window, they brainstormed and came up with something better. They printed out flyers to give out to everyone in the area that read: “Hi, we’re new to the neighborhood and would like to meet our lovely neighbors. We will be in our driveway with drinks, ready to meet any neighbors who would like to stop by. We can’t wait to meet you.”
- The “free beer” sign really pulled people in. In addition to giving out the flyers, they even announced their intention to give out free booze in their front yard. “It’s always funny to see a sign on the table that says free beer, just to get people to stop and turn their head and drive by and say what did that sign just say,” Anthony told ABC 7. “We had a few people do a double-take, free beer is a pretty easy way to get people to show up.”
- Funny enough, their idea worked. Needless to say, they have plenty of friends in their neighborhood now! I might have to keep that idea in mind!
