The neighbor who’s waved every morning for ten years is a relationship too. Not every bond needs deep talks.

Low-intensity connection still counts. Ten years of nodding at the same person on the same pavement builds something real, even though you have never discussed anything, because what it provides is the sense of being recognised in the place you live. A town full of those is what makes somewhere feel like home. Depth is not the measure here; repetition is.

Keep the small ties rather than dismissing them: wave back, learn one name, say hello to the person at the shop you see weekly. None of it requires a conversation you do not want. It just requires not pretending you have not seen them.