Neighborhood Networking

At a recent meeting of the Amberley Women's Forum, the topic of an Amberley Village neighborhood directory was discussed. One resident who had moved here from Terrace Park, told and showed us the great Terrace Park directory that she had kept when she moved to Amberley. It contained lists of babysitters, referrals for roofers, lawn care, mechanics, and other local businesses that had actually been used by residents. If you were looking for someone to check on your house while you were on vacation, it was easy to see who your neighbors were. Rollman Estates used to publish a  neighborhood directory and Brookwood has a neighborhood listing. Wouldn't it be nice, we thought, if Amberley could do this? And wouldn't it be even cooler if it could be done online, without incurring any printing costs?

Shortly after, Peg Conway read an article about a local Cincinnati community that was using an online "closed" networking website to do exactly what we envisioned. It is called "Nextdoor." Verified residents of a community who live within the specified boundaries are invited to join and to invite their neighbors to join. Members can create subgroups within the larger group, such as bookclubs and garden groups. Members can make referrals for local businesses and babysitters. Best of all, it makes it easy to figure out who our neighbors are.  CNet reviewed Nextdoor when it first launched in October 2011 and The New York Times also gave it a positive review in May of 2012.

When you receive your invitation to join Nextdoor, we hope you will join! It is just one more way to keep Amberley residents connnected.  If you don't live in Amberley, you can set up your own Nextdoor community here.