Although we don't really socialize with our neighbors we do know them, say "hello" when we see them and do sometimes chat with the neighbors on either side of us. It probably helps that there are no fences in our hood. The couple we have known the longest - we let each other know when the other household is going to be gone and who to expect will be over watching the place/pets, when we'll back... and we each other's phone nos. It makes us feel much more secure knowing that even if we're gone, there is a nosy set of eyes looking at our place.