We’ve come to discover that we live in a very unique neighborhood when it comes to country of origin. Last night, we were invited to partake in a Hungarian feast with foods impossible to pronounce, with the exception of goulash. The family escaped the Russian occupation in World War II, while the son at age four, our neighbor, waited many years to reunite with his parents in America. We’ve also tasted many new Italian, Greek, and Armenian dishes since moving to Florida. 

We’ve cultivated a whole new group of friends here in Venice, after nearly two years from leaving Portland. It’s been the result of neighborhood meet and greets, block parties, get-acquainted dinners, Borrego Boyz luncheons, and folks we’ve met at the dog park, fitness classes, and clubs. They’ve come primarily from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. We all moved in about the same time, each “hungry” to meet our new neighbors. I can’t think of another time in my life, with the exception of high school and college, where I’ve met so many people in such a short period of time. I’ve even found a DNA cousin in the mix. 

A group of us are headed to the St, Pete Indycar race this weekend, while we met other neighbors for Stottlemyer’s BBQ in nearby Sarasota this past Saturday. Friends from Ft. Wayne visited this past weekend, and we’ve always referred to each other as a “neighbor,” even though we never lived on the same block. Most of these new friends do indeed live on the same street in similar homes with the same maintenance issues. In addition, we all experienced  the windy aftereffects from Hurricane Ian, although the damage to each home varied drastically. Our house was fortunately on the lucky side of the street.

There have been many pitch-in opportunities at our various get-togethers. For example, we’ve had an Indy 500 party and celebrated the Chinese New Year at our house. We’ve tried out a neighbor’s new pizza oven, danced for dinner in several lanai settings, feasted in each other’s driveways and dining rooms, plus hauled our crockpots from one house to another and brought-in 2023 together with a progressive dinner at several stops along the block. No one had to worry about driving home under the influence – it was a short walk for each of us. Many surprise meetups will certainly pop up in the future, but last night, we were all hungry for Hungary.