Men top poll for neighbourly relations
Chatting over the garden fence and introducing oneself to the new neighbours, a trait traditionally attributed to women, takes a new turn as a recent survey reveals that men are more sociable and more concerned about the new neighbours than their other halves.
Rather than twitching through curtains, figures show that men are more likely to pop round to the neighbours when they first move in as opposed to women who would rather pop the kettle on and get stuck in to unpacking the boxes immediately to make their house a home.
The survey conducted amongst 2,196 respondents on behalf of Persimmon Homes, the UK’s third largest housebuilder, found that one in every six men across the country worry whether their new neighbours will be friendly and are the first to act to build good relations as opposed to only 10 per cent of women.
Dominic Harman, Group Communications Director of Persimmon Homes, comments: “The survey highlighted some interesting facts amongst which, it shows that community and good neighbour relations are key issues, particularly amongst men.
“It demonstrates that sociability and location are very important to homeowners, with one out of eight respondents surveyed expressing that they would rather change the neighbours than have a new kitchen!
“The survey certainly changes the perception that men aren’t interested in the folks next door and could be shedding new light on which sex really is the neighbourhood gossip or socialiser.”
Londeners come out on top of the sociability stakes with nearly 20% saying that the first thing they do when they move in is either invite friends and family round or introduce themselves to the neighbours compared to only seven per cent in Wales and as little as six per cent of respondents in the South West!
Dominic adds: “It’s so important to feel comfortable about where you live and next to people that you get on with and that’s why on many developments across the country we host ‘Meet the Neighbour’ events to bring people together to aid the settling in process.”
The survey also confirmed that the great British tradition of putting the kettle on when you first move in hasn’t died with over a third of people making this their first action.
However, the biggest buzz about moving into a new house is starting your own design signature from scratch with a quarter of Brits believing that a coordinated colour scheme is the most important ‘personal stamp’ in their new home.
And, just over 50 per cent of women say that storage is an important feature when buying a new home as opposed to 46 per cent of men who would rather have a garage – which begs the question could it be said that the garage is a replacement to the traditional garden shed for men’s own personal space?
Regardless of age, the garden remains the top most important feature when buying a new home (74 per cent) followed by parking, a modern kitchen and storage. Men are more concerned with maintenance issues associated with buying an older property and so rate this as a major benefit over anything else when buying new, whereas women like the design advantages new build brings.
Dominic continues: “Buying a new home has many benefits and we pride ourselves on building communities not just homes as it is important that people feel happy and secure in the location they live with all the amenities they need either onsite or close-by. The survey is an important part of listening to people’s views, taking these onboard so we can continue to design and build homes that meet our customers expectations and needs.”