Ever heard your neighbour’s front door open at the same time as you and suddenly found yourself busy doing something else? You’re not alone. Our new research suggests that lots of us find even a quick hello to a neighbour surprisingly awkward. 

We surveyed 1,500 Brits to find out why saying hello to our neighbours feels so hard, and nearly a third admit they’re too awkward to talk to their neighbours. In fact, one in 10 even put off leaving the house to avoid a doorstep chat. That doesn’t necessarily make us unfriendly though, and some people just prefer to show their kindness in favours, like taking in a parcel or bringing in a bin when a neighbour isn’t home.  

Why Are We So Awkward Around Our Neighbours? 

Three in five of us believe there's a point when it becomes too late to introduce ourselves to a new neighbour. The average cut-off? Seven weeks. After that, it's polite nods across the driveway for the foreseeable future.

If you’ve been living next door to someone for over seven weeks and have yet to introduce yourself, why not post a card through their letterbox instead? It avoids the awkwardness of a first meeting in person, and 1 in 10 Brits say that they would happily do the same, so a low-key introduction might be all that’s needed to break the ice. 

Who finds it hardest to make the first move?

• Flat dwellers: 14% have deliberately delayed leaving home to avoid a neighbour, and 13% have skipped introducing themselves out of awkwardness. One in nine have never spoken to the people next door, compared with 5% in other types of home.

• 25–34-year-olds: Nearly twice as likely as over-55s to avoid knocking, and 15% would prefer to introduce themselves with a card.

• Southern cities: 33% report finding interactions with their neighbours awkward, versus just 23% in the north.

How Well Do We Really Know Next Door?

One in five of us can't name a single neighbour (21% of men, 18% of women), rising to more than 1 in 4 for flat dwellers. There are some noticeable differences between cities as well:

Best at knowing at least one neighbour by name:

• Belfast (93%)

• Liverpool (88%)

• Sheffield (87%)

• Norwich (86%)

• Glasgow (85%)

(Percentage of respondents who said they knew all or at least one neighbours’ name)

At the other end of the scale, here are the cities that don’t know any of their neighbours’ names:

• Nottingham (28%)

• Plymouth (24%)

• Bristol (23%)

• Cardiff (23%)

• Southampton (21%)

(Percentage of respondents who said they didn’t know any of their neighbours’ names)

And for some of us, it goes beyond knowing a name. Around 7% of Brits have never exchanged a single word with their neighbours, with 35-44 years being the biggest culprits (10%). 

Why do we find talking to our neighbours awkward?

Psychologists say we're poor at predicting how conversations will go. We fear coming across as awkward or running out of things to say, yet research on the "liking gap" shows people usually enjoy talking to us more than we expect. The doorstep dread is mostly in our own heads.

Awkward, But Never Unkind

Feeling too awkward or shy doesn’t necessarily make us bad neighbours. Our research suggests that Brits are often more comfortable to help out in practical ways than make small talk. 

What counts as good neighbour etiquette? We put a list of everyday neighbourly favours to the test, asking Brits which ones they’d class as essential and which they’d think of as a bonus. Accepting a parcel or bringing a neighbour’s bin back up the drive are both common acts of kindness we carry out. But fewer people consider these things essential to being a good neighbour. 

For example, 63% of us have taken in a parcel for a neighbour, though only around 3 in 10 would call it essential. Taking in a neighbour’s bins or swapping phone numbers show the same pattern, while more personal gestures, like inviting a neighbour round or posting a welcome card have only been done by 1 in 5 people.

Hosting is a different story. While 78% would be happy to take in a parcel for a neighbour, only 44% would be happy to invite them over for a drink or dinner.  Welcome cards, spare keys and gifts sit just above it, each with around 4 in 10 preferring to pass. In short, we'll help out, but we're not always keen to have them in.

Is a Housewarming Gift Essential?

For most of us, no. Around 1 in 6 say a gift is essential when welcoming new neighbours. On the over side, 6 in 10 Brits see gifts as a nice touch rather than an expectation.

Even so, half would happily give a new neighbour a gift, and more than 1 in 5 already have. Liverpool stands out for its generosity. Some 59% of Liverpudlians are willing to give a new neighbour a welcome gift and more than 1 in 4 count it as part of being a good neighbour. 

Whether you've just moved in, or you've left it a bit later than seven weeks, a card could be an easier way to introduce yourself.  Shop our new home cards and introduce yourself without the awkward knock at the door. 

Survey carried out by Censuswide in September 2026, with 1,500 UK respondents aged 18 and over.