Ways to Welcome New Neighbors: 7 Hospitality Tips

Filipinos are known in the world for our mabuhay culture and signature hospitality. It is so natural for us to want to be of service to other people, especially to our foreign guests. We always want to give our visitors the best experience when they come to our country for the plethora of tourist destinations found in our beautiful islands.

But Filipinos do not gesture hospitality only to their foreign visitors, but also to fellow Filipinos at the community level. This includes accepting new neighbors with a warm reception, as though they're a part of a large family and finally arriving home after years of working overseas. The only difference is that these new neighbors are coming home to a completely different neighborhood - a vastly unfamiliar territory.

If you just had your new neighbors who moved in pretty recently and you genuinely want them to feel welcome in their new environment, it's not too late to give them the reception of the welcoming Filipinos that we collectively are.

If you need a guide on how you could welcome your new neighbors from the community you live in, Lumina Homes will be glad to provide you with helpful tips to best make use of Filipino hospitality.

7 Hospitality Tips to Welcome Your New Neighbors

The way to a happy, contented life with fewer worries is to be in a harmonious relationship with all the people around you. This includes your immediate family members, friends, colleagues, and yes, your neighbors within the community.

Welcome your new neighbors to their new environment through these hospitality tips below!

1. Properly introduce yourself

The first step in making your new neighbor feel welcome is to introduce yourself properly. This does not have to happen right off the bat, or during the time when your new neighbor is still busy with the hassle of moving in.

After a day or two, you can introduce yourself with a simple greeting of hello from a distance. If they reciprocated your warm reception with equal enthusiasm, that's when you know you could foster a friendship with your new neighbor and even knock on your neighbor's house to say a quick hi and welcome.

2. Initiate a conversation

While a simple hello is the bare minimum of a welcoming gesture, it's when you initiate a conversation with your new neighbor that an actual relationship could be built over time. Politely and with a smile, ask them where they came from prior to moving in, how they feel about their new place, and anything else that could get you all to know each other better.

3. Hand them a gift basket

When graced with a visitor, Filipinos would insist on giving their visitors something to eat and drink before they leave. In fact, the host would even insist that the visitors stay the night and sleep in the house if it becomes too late to drive or commute. This speaks about how we naturally feel obliged to give our visitors a comfortable experience while in the house or vicinity.

The same vastly applies to your new neighbor! Hand them a welcome gift basket of fruits or fresh vegetables. It is surely a kind gesture that will be met with gratitude by your new neighbors, who will likely become your new friends once you get to know each other more.

If you want to be extra, there are many gift basket themes for designing your basket. With the New Year up and coming, you might want to stuff your gift basket with 12 round-shaped fruits as a gesture of wishing your neighbors luck as they start a new life in a completely new neighborhood.

4. Offer assistance

Another worthy-of-emulation example of Filipino culture is the spirit of Bayanihan. All Filipinos grew familiar with this - an entire community helping each other to transfer a bahay kubo (nipa hut) to another location. It's no different with a new neighbor coming in with a truck full of their furniture, appliances, and other belongings.

If you see them struggling to singlehandedly carry a piece of heavy equipment, do not hesitate to come knocking on your neighbor's door and offer assistance. If other old neighbors see you doing it, it will create a domino effect, and others will feel obliged to help as well. This is a great way to foster a harmonious relationship with all your neighbors, including the newcomers.

5. Share important neighborhood information

There is a great likelihood that your new neighbors are clueless and have scarce knowledge about the community. What they probably know so far is that the community they chose is so conducive to a relaxing atmosphere, and that it is conveniently close to establishments, businesses, and institutions. There is plenty of neighborhood information that you can share with them.

This includes the day for trash pickup, emergency numbers for fire and medical services, and local authorities to report a theft and other crimes. In addition, you can also share information about which internet service providers have the best connectivity levels in your community. These are seemingly little gestures of kindness that, if practiced collectively with their new neighbors, can make a difference. You can also introduce your new neighbors to local groups, local organizations, local charities, local businesses, and local services that they should be aware of.

6. Throw a dinner party

If you have a penchant for parties and celebrations, hosting a block party within the community will be the height of hospitality to welcome new neighbors. By extension, you get to gather all your neighbors to relax for a night with good food, drinks, and a karaoke session as the infamous Filipino way of celebrating milestones and occasions.

7. Respect if they refuse assistance

Not all community newcomers want to be assisted. And that's perfectly alright, too, if they want to live in peace. After all, moving in could be such a hassle, and some people just don't want to be bothered. Or quite simply, not all people have a penchant for engaging in small talk or are introverted. Still, you can keep your friendly aura by saying hi or smiling when you and your new neighbors cross paths. Sometimes, hospitality is not always a warm welcome involving a lengthy chitchat, but also respecting one's privacy.

Become a Lumina Homeowner by 2023 and Experience its Friendly Community!

It is always nice to come home to a community where the people are friendly, accommodating, and simply kind and showing empathy to one another. Become a part of the ever-growing Lumina community soon!

Suppose you are on the residential hunt for an affordable house and lot for sale early next year. In that case, Lumina Homes is an excellent choice if you want to accomplish the twin goals of affordable housing with quality features.

Affordable house and lot through Lumina Homes are complete with perks and amenities. You also never have to worry about traveling far to go to vital establishments since Lumina communities are in proximity to an array of essential establishments, including schools for your kids, places of worship, grocery stores, marketplaces, transport terminals, LGU offices, and more.

Make your real estate investment inquiry with us today and claim ownership of your Lumina house and lot in the Philippines by early 2023!