My First Three Months At Nextdoor

Three months ago, I sat down at my desk for the first time as the Country Manager for Nextdoor Australia. I was already using the platform as a regular member: asking my neighbours for help finding a tradie to fix my deck, wondering where to find Christmas lights to show my kids, and searching for advice on the best fish and chips shop in my area (among many other things!). Even though I first moved to Australia 16 years ago, my neighbours advice was invaluable.

But, it wasn’t until I sat down as an employee at Nextdoor, that I got to experience the many heartwarming stories from other suburbs.

We launched a campaign to Celebrate Your Neighbour ahead of Neighbour Day (March 31) and were flooded with member stories from every corner of the country. It was immensely difficult to choose the winners, but we ended up with seven superstars.

Joanne in Salter Point, WA hosts free movie nights in her front yard.

Jeannie in Southport, QLD dedicates endless amounts of time to the community garden.

Daniel in Seacombe Heights, SA is always lending a helping hand.

It was a tie in NSW, where we met Amy in Glenmore Park and Tass in Kurraba Point, two neighbours known for bringing the community together.

And we also had a tie in VIC, where Phillip in Bentleigh East is the star of the South Oakleigh Club and Robert in Heathcote for forming FoodShare.

And that was just the beginning.

Every day there are countless member stories of people paying it forward. One woman needed a walker and had two free ones on her doorstep in less than thirty minutes after posting on Nextdoor. Another had a broken computer and couldn’t figure out how to fix it until a neighbour came to her rescue.

Reading our members’ stories restores my faith in humanity… faith that is easy to lose when using the big social media platforms or watching the daily news.

Each week, I meet with some of our Leads around the country; members of our platform who volunteer to step up and run their community on Nextdoor.

From George in Cranebrook, NSW and Dale in Mona Vale, NSW to Sara in Point Cook, VIC and Joel in Alphington, VIC, each and every member I meet with has more incredible stories.

In just a few months, Nextdoor Australia has grown so much, that 52% of Sydney neighbourhoods are using Nextdoor, 50% in Melbourne, and 70% in Perth! Communities from Tasmania up to Alice Springs are on Nextdoor, with Brisbane and Adelaide suburbs growing quickly.

And a big shout out to our biggest neighbourhood in Australia, Alphington VIC which has 710 members!

Here’s a look at our current top 20 Neighbourhoods on Nextdoor by size :

Alphington, VIC
The Vines, WA
Wannanup, WA
Brabham, WA
Narre Warren North, VIC
Grange, QLD
Buderim, QLD
Cranbourne West, VIC
Hawthorne, VIC
Gooseberry Hill, WA
Auchenflower, QLD
Murarrie, QLD
Fig Tree Pocket, QLD
Riverview, NSW
Balgowlah Heights, NSW
Rivett, ACT
Rowville, VIC
Gisborne, VIC
Cherrybrook, NSW
Beaconsfield, VIC

As the TODAY show highlighted just last week, Australians are flocking to Nextdoor to organise community events and local catch ups. 1 in 4 Aussies say they are lonely every week, and our members are finding a safe and trusted way to form true, meaningful connections.