I don't know if you've experienced smaller town living - but many people in our area take for granted that living in a "small town" automatically insulates them from the evils of the world. As nice as that thought may be it's not true. Just this morning I started out on my morning walk with my dog only to discover various paperwork, notes, business cards, and "ID" on my front lawn. My first thought was of my son - who I thought may have lost the contents of his wallet as he hurriedly left our home after changing from the prom dance to catch up with his group at the after prom party. But, that wasn't the case. The random cards actually belonged to my neighbor, and upon dropping them off at their house I learned that her handbag had been stolen from their car. Unfortunately the purse had been left in their unlocked car overnight in their garage. Her purse had been taken, contents quickly shuffled through and discarded (I found the rest of her belongings minus the billfold in our backyard). It's an unfortunate lesson in that as comfortable and safe as we may feel in our homes, it's never a good idea to leave valuables (keys, handbags, money, credit cards, ID) in our vehicles - locked or unlocked.
Many of you may scratch your heads at that implausible thought, but I can assure you that many people in our area do not lock the doors to their homes (even when they're not at home), they leave their car keys in the car (and sometimes in the ignition), and they trust their neighbors. Most of that trust is well placed, but occasionally we learn that while our town is small, it may still offer opportunities to people who seek to abuse that trust. Me? I grew up in a large metropolitan community and I have a very suspicious nature - so I tick-tock double lock most everything, and while I appreciate my trusting neighbors - I do urge them to take precautions.
It's great when neighbors can work together to make their neighborhoods secure and safe places to be. Get to know your neighbors and make it a priority to create safe communities. We all win when we work together.
Lynn Johnson, CRS, GRI, MBA
Broker Owner
Coldwell Banker Home Connection
Owatonna, MN 55060
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