60 Neighbor Quotes Celebrating The Folks Next Door

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood to check out some neighbor quotes!

Who we live next to impacts our quality of life.

Neighbors come in all forms, and hopefully you’re lucky enough to have been blessed with some good ones.

These quotes about neighbors celebrate the folks next door. 

So come get to know your neighborhood with our neighbor quotes below! 

How many people know their neighbors?

On average, surveys suggest that most people know just some of their neighbors. 

Here are some interesting facts about neighbors in America: 

• Most neighborly communication happens in person and not via text or call. 
• Two-thirds of Americans are comfortable leaving emergency keys with neighbors. 
• Social events among neighbors are rare.

Current data suggest that rural residents are more likely than people in suburban and urban areas to know all or most of their neighbors, but they aren’t more likely to interact with them. 

Ironically, living further away from others increases the likelihood that neighbors know one another. 

Those who live in apartment buildings are the least likely to know their neighbors. 

Of all groups, it turns out that young Millenials are the group who say they know at least 11 or more neighbors by name. 

Please, be my neighbor, and check out these neighbor quotes!

Short neighbor quotes

These wise neighbor quotes get right to the point. 

1. “I am a mirror to my neighbor.” — Mother Angelica

2. “Good fences make good neighbors.” — Robert Frost

3. “The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor.” — Horace

4. “Being a good neighbor is an art which makes life richer.” — Gladys Taber

5. “If your neighbor’s reality changes, yours will change as well.” — Diego Luna

6. “If your neighbor has wind chimes, you have wind chimes.” — Nitya Prakash

7. “Your own safety is at stake when your neighbor’s wall is ablaze.” — Horace

8. “When one neighbor helps another, we strengthen our communities.” — Jennifer Pahlka

9. “Good neighbors always spy on you to make sure you are doing well.” — Pawan Mishra

10. We cannot afford to fight our neighbor, even if we disagree on many things.” — Haider al-Abadi

Neighbor quotes that make you think

As the world becomes more globalized, it ironically results in people knowing less about those who live next door or on their streets.

11. “Love your neighbor, yet pull not down your hedge.” — English Proverb

12. “Few of us could bear to have ourselves for neighbors.” — Mignon McLaughlin

13. “All human beings are my neighbors. We share the same planet.” — Ana Monnar

14. “A bad neighbor is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing.” — Hesiod

15. “Don’t throw stones at your neighbors if your own windows are glass.” — Benjamin Franklin

16. “Books can be the people we never get to meet, ancestors or far neighbors.” — Elizabeth Knox

17. “If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.” — Lou Holtz

18. “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?” — Jane Austen 

19. “A good neighbor is a fellow who smiles at you over the back fence, but doesn’t climb over it.” — Arthur Baer 

20. “Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that’s not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbor.” — Joe Manchin

Insightful neighbor quotes

You might be surprised that many Americans admit they do not know most of their neighbors.

21. “Even the devil’s eyes can’t be as sharp as the neighbors.” — Heinrich Boll

22. “If you want to annoy your neighbors, tell the truth about them.” — Pietro Aretino

23. “You can be a good neighbor only if you have good neighbors.” — Howard E. Koch

24. “People are almost always better than their neighbors think they are.” — George Eliot

25. “A little among neighbors is worth more than riches in a wilderness.” — Welsh Proverb

26. “And good neighbors make a huge difference in the quality of life.” — Robert Fulghum

27. “We make our friends; we make our enemies, but God makes our next door neighbor.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton

28. “How much time he saves who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks.” — Marcus Aurelius

29. “Love thy neighbor; and if he happens to be tall, debonair, and devastating, it will be that much easier.” — Mae West

30. “In contentment and joy are found the height and perfection of all love towards our neighbor.” — William Ames

You will also enjoy our article on Good Neighbor Day.

Quotes about what makes a good neighbor

For some, a neighbor means a friend who can be relied on if we need to borrow a cup of sugar or have our house looked after away.

31. “A good neighbor-a found treasure.” — Chinese Proverb

32. “Love your neighbor as yourself; but don’t take down the fence.” — Carl Sandburg

33. “It is discouraging to try to be a good neighbor in a bad neighborhood.” — William Castle

34. “I want you to be concerned about your next-door neighbor. Do you know your next-door neighbor?” — Mother Teresa

35. “When was the last time you told a co-worker of family member, or neighbor you loved them? Try it.” — Richie Norton

36. “A good neighbor sometimes cuts your morning up to mince meat of the very smallest talk.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

37. “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” — Benjamin Franklin

38. “It’s very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race.” — Maya Angelou

39. “To hear that your neighbor was worse off than yourself was not an altogether unpleasant experience.” — Lizette Woodworth Reese 

40. “To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality.” — John Locke

The meaning of love your neighbor quotes

The word “neighbor” can stir up strong emotions for some. You do not have to be their best friend, but it’s essential to love your neighbor. 

41. “Won’t you be my neighbor?” — Fred Rogers 

42. “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” — Jesus

43. “Love thy neighbor is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection.” — Thomas S. Monson

44. “He alone loves the Creator perfectly who manifests a pure love for his neighbor.” — Venerable Bede

45. “When we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does, so in appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something truly sacred.” — Fred Rogers

46. “Their neighbors in Penn Villas are strangers, transients — accountants, salesmen, supervisors, adjusters — people whose lives to them are passing can and the shouts of unseen children.” — John Updike, Rabbit Redux

47. “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies, probably because, generally, they are the same people.” — G.K. Chesterton

48.” We all have neighbors. Greet them on the sidewalk or in the elevator, but try not to peer through their windows. Windows are to look out from, not into.” — Alexandra Stoddard

49. “I once asked a hermit in Italy how he could venture to live alone, in a single cottage, on the top of a mountain, a mile from any habitation? He replied that Providence was his next-door neighbor.” — Laurence Sterne

50. “The happiest people I know are people who don’t even think about being happy. They just think about being good neighbors, good people. And then happiness sort of sneaks in the back window while they are busy doing good.” — Harold S. Kushner

Funny neighbor quotes about life and the people close to us

Neighbors have always been and always will be an endless source of comedic comentary.

51. “To do exactly as your neighbors do is the only sensible rule.” — Emily Post

52. “My neighbor has a circular driveway; he can’t get out.” — Steven Wright

53. “Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace.” — Barry McGuire

54. “Where ignorance is bliss, it’s foolish to borrow your neighbor’s newspaper.” — Kin Hubbard

55. “There are many who dare not kill themselves for fear of what the neighbors will say.” — Cyril Connolly

56. “Nothing makes you more tolerant of a neighbor’s noisy party than being there.” — Franklin P. Jones

57. “I grew up in the countryside, in literally the middle of nowhere. We had one neighbor and a lot of sheep.” — Georgia King

58. “I think it was much better when you got on your horse and rode two miles to talk to your neighbor.” — Laura Schlessinger

59. “I grew up where my parents would literally shove me in the car rather than have to say hello to a neighbor.” — Amy Sherman-Palladino

60. “It would be hard to go to your neighbor and say the things people say on the Internet without getting punched out or having your tires slashed.” — Alex Gibney

Our neighbors impact our lives

Our neighbors are part of our lives, and who we live near will significantly impact our quality of life. 

Being proactive about meeting our neighbors will help ease tension, create community, and bridge gaps. 

It is easy to judge people who are different from us, and getting to know our neighbors is an excellent way for us to expand our horizons. 

Neighborly care can go a long way in a world where the Covid-19 virus has created even further boundaries between people. 

You don’t have to be close with your neighbor, but saying hello and being friendly can do wonders for us. 

We can all benefit from loving our neighbor. 

Did you have a favorite neighbor quote or saying?

Do you make an effort to know your neighbors?

Why or why not?

Let us know in the comments section.

We would love to hear from you!