Mormon Neighbors--the best neighbors for families?

[_Who Knows]

As I think back on this, it almost seems to follow a WoW thing. I'm a clean cut guy that you could very easily mistake as a Mormon. In fact, most people think I am.

Those that have lamented about being treated poorly are those who drink and smoke.

I'm not sure it's necessarily a WoW thing, but you may be on to something as far as the 'clean-cut' thing goes. I'm also a 'clean-cut' guy - i have the standard Mormon missionary haircut, i shave every day, i wear business casual to work, etc.

Maybe if i grew a pony-tail and a beard and wore wife-beaters, the way my neighbors treat me and my family would change? But that might also be true whether i'm living in utah county, or chicago, Mormon or not...

[_moksha]

I have some very kind Mormons in the neighborhood. While Mormons are not as friendly as non-mormons, they warm up a bit after seeing your face in Church over a several year span. None of the neighbors are into selling Amway, crack or doing drive-by shootings.

[_krose]

This is actually my biggest complaint about my Sandy, Utah, neighborhood.

I live surrounded by LDS neighbors (I know because I see them walking towards the chapel over my back fence every Sunday). We have lived here for nearly 20 years, but the only people we know are the family next door, because we chat over the fence and have discovered that they are University of Utah grads and fans like us. (We have come to know a few other families over the years because they had kids that ours played with when they were small, but they all moved away to find bigger homes as their families expanded past 6 or 7.)

I don't believe my neighbors are necessarily unfriendly; they'll wave and say "hello" as they pass by. I just think the church provides all the social interaction they need or want, so there is no incentive to get acquainted with others in the neighborhood. I'm sure we would be friends with all of them if we saw them in church on Sundays.

I often 'imagine,' a la John Lennon, how great it would be if all those LDS chapels every few blocks were actually community centers where ALL of us could meet together and have a party every weekend, instead of being exclusionary centers of worship.