I think people should ToT in their own neighborhood - not because of difference in socioeconomics, or keeping people out, or being lazy and not wanting to hand out more candy - but b/c doing things like this in a neighborhood is what brings the neighbors together as a community. What MAKES it a nice neighborhood is the fact that the neighbors get together to do stuff and know one another.
When you leave, to go use somebody else's neighborhood, you're passing up the chance to make your own place better
1000% THIS
I brought the kids home from the hospital fo a 1962 brick ranch on a rural road that I spent 10 yrs completely renovating. 2 acres and no sidewalks. (When invited) we took them to friends houses in their neighborhoods for ToT but mostly trunk or treat at church because I'm all about community.
When we moved here we stepped out the door and walked and hit all our neighbors houses and got to know everyone in our section of hood. For 10 yrs I've known everyone in a 1/4 mile of us. I'm "that guy" with the tractor in a neighborhood who scrapes the road when it snows, or the one with the impact when you need a mower blade removed, or damn near the only person who can figure out how to get the spare back under a Chrysler minivan after AAA changed a tire for your wife, kinda neighbor. (Yeah, accountants and doctors and such are my neighbors)
Once my youngest decided she was too old to dress up, we stayed home and gave out candy. But in the last 5 yrs we went from MAYBE 100 ToT to well over 1000. And that's just our street. We dont live on the main drag either. Since we have 1 acre lots in our section most skip our road because it's too far between houses.
In fact, only 1 house on our entire street still has school age kids living there. So we're now the old people section
I'm not at all trying to keep anyone out/down, in fact I do more outreach and charitable work both locally and in other countries than anyone will ever know. But when an opportunity to fellowship and grow as a community turns into simply how much candy can your kid score in one night....you've lost touch with what having a community is all about. I mean, these "parents" never get out of the cars....hell they hardly even slow DOWN to let their kids exit the always open minivan side doors as they roll from house to house
(I type this as I lay on a fold out couch in a new neighbors RV at the CTB Fun Caravan)
