Arizona Block Walls...the Bane of Community Relationships

One of the things I noticed most about Arizona neighborhoods when I moved here from Wisconsin, was the lack of community. People here drive into their garages, put the door down and you never see them again. Want to say hello to your neighbor from your backyard? Grab a chair or a ladder to stand on to peek over your block wall. I proclaim ARIZONA BLOCK WALLS as the "bane of community relationships".

Granted. I speak from the Midwest mindset. Oh, sometimes there were fences between our properties back home in Wisconsin, but they were usually the short picket type, or chain link...or maybe just some shrubbery divided our backyards. You could barbecue and enjoy a conversation with your neighbors. Yep...you actually spoke with your neighbors! You knew what they did for a living and what their kids names were. Sometimes, you even shared a meal with them <gasp>. I remember feeling highly insulted when one of the neighbors installed a "privacy fence" which was made out of 6 foot tall wood slats. Made me wonder what I'd done to illicit such a fence.

I admit, there were times I really didn't want to talk with my neighbors but....

Then I moved to Arizona and found Arizonans experience no separation anxiety. In fact, they like separation so much they build a serious fence. A big concrete block wall fence to separate them from their neighbors. This means you never have to speak to anyone who lives around you. If you're feeling especially friendly, you can casually wave at your neighbor as you pull into your garage and quickly close the door behind you before you exit your vehicle.

As I show property and look out the back windows of any 2 story home, it looks like a series of State Penitentiary exercise yards. It made we wonder, who started the block wall phenomenon in Arizona? Was it started to keep people out or to keep people in? Do we really need a fortress wall around our backyard and if we do, why not a moat too?

Just wonderin.