Whether you live in an apartment or condo complex, a housing sub-division, or a traditional neighborhood, you likely may have a neighborhood association on some level. Becoming a part of your neighborhood association has many benefits to you as an individual. They are a group of individuals that genuinely care about the neighborhood you are a part of, and becoming a part of that genuinely caring group brings a lot of tangible benefits to both you and your neighborhood. Below are the top five reasons to become a part of your neighborhood association. Remember, if you don’t have one, there’s always an opportunity to start putting the word out about getting a group together to form one!

Help Accomplish Neighborhood Goals on a Large-Scale Basis

A group of people who live in the same neighborhood all gathering together to better their neighborhood will inevitably make the neighborhood a better place. Every person wants to prevent crime and make sure the streets aren’t dirty, people generally take these on as singular tasks such as putting in a home security system. When people come together with a sense of unity through a neighborhood association, these things can be accomplished a much wider-scale basis than an individual home, making the entire community safer. 

You Become a Decision Maker

Being a part of your neighborhood association allows you to become an integral part of the decision-making process for major actions that can affect your community. Being a decision-maker empowers you to not just sit back and be a solo homeowner in your neighborhood, but to actually have a say-so in the changes that are made.

Gain Leadership Skills

A side effect of being a member of your neighborhood association is that you learn or polish (depending on your existing level) your leadership skills. You have the ability to present motions to the rest of the association, move into leadership roles within the association and become more comfortable speaking to a group of people. Depending on the size of your association, this can be a major benefit to you as an individual that can translate into elements of your career in a positive way. 

Get to Know your Neighbors

Of course, as a member of your neighborhood association, you will get to know your neighbors on a more intimate level than simply waving hello as you jog by when they are outside. Knowing your neighbors well can bring you major benefits. You will have people to turn to if you’re out of town to watch your home, neighbors you can rely on to let your dog out if you need to work late, and potentially even set up playdates with neighbors who have kids of similar ages to your own. 

Improve your Neighborhood

Finally, and most importantly, you gain the opportunity to improve your neighborhood. No neighborhood is perfect. There are always improvements you likely wish would be made. Whether it’s something as simple as freshening up the landscaping, to bringing about major change like installing a community walking trail.