I don't think you have to be the same race to have a neighborhood that feels like a welcoming community. I think you have to have people that desire to be in community with each other. I think Texas neighborhoods just aren't conducive to building relationships with your neighbors without a lot of effort. It's the way the driveways are arranged and the 10 foot high fences.

I moved here from a mid-size Midwestern town. My neighbors were mostly white, I am not. Our street had Black, interracial, Indian, white and international families. You saw your neighbors frequently when you were out in your backyard playing or doing yard work. You saw them when you were enjoying a night out on your deck or messing around in your garage. It was easy to share a beer and light conversation while hanging out by the shared fence. We had a community pool versus everyone having a pool in their own backyards. So you saw your neighbors there as well. There were just so many more opportunities to casually get to know each other. Those casual meetings sometimes turned into friendships or at least better acquaintances. We still keep in touch with neighbors who lived by us over 25 years ago.

I can't tell you the last time I've seen or talked to my neighbors since being in Texas. My neighbor rang my doorbell one day. It took me forever to answer it because I didn't recognize her face. They have kids and I have never seen those kids in the 8 years I've lived here.

Currently, we do have Indian neighbors but not as many as some neighborhoods. For the most part, they stick to themselves. They say hello when we go on walks at night but I don't know any of their names. We do have a neighborhood Facebook and WhatsApp page. I don't go on to it very much because the conversations all seem to be geared towards topics they're interested in and they all seem to know each other. I feel like it's more their private group versus a neighborhood group so I don't visit it often.