Love Thy Neighbor: Meet Nine Essential Austin Neighborhoods

In the hierarchy of life’s relationships, neighbors are in that space between family and friends. By virtue of geography, they are our neighbors; with luck and what we do with our mutual proximity, we can happily slide them into the lifelong friends category.

Neighbors see us in our more intimate and, sometimes, less savory life moments: Shuffling garbage cans to the curb in the bathrobe, hustling kids to school and games, picking up dog food byproducts. They are the invisible observers of life’s highs and lows: Tiffs with our partners, our kids’ meltdowns, the work shuffle, gentle and extreme nightlife, sleepovers (of all kinds) and the real measure of our humaneness—how we interact with uncooperative lawn equipment. It makes those neighbors golden who still want to have a beer or glass of vino with us over the fence.

We explore nine Austin neighborhoods and their occupants’ relationships with each other. Through the lens of our talented photographer Dagny Piasecki, we showcase some rich stories of neighbors who share much more than their streets. Here’s a look at them, and what makes their little pieces of Austin terra firma so special.

_{Read more from the Neighborhoods Issue | June 2016}