Anonymous
I have hard time with this issue myself. I live in a semi rural area. Most houses around here are on 5 or more acres, mostly wood. I have been here for 16 years and my relationship with the neighbors is limited to bringing back their dogs when they wonder around or waving to each other when we drive around. Partly it is due to the way the area is, partly to me not being exactly social.
What I am doing is observing, gathering intelligence as some guys like to call it. The family that change car every year and has 3 tv dishes on their roof probably is not much into prepping. The guy that works on his old cars all the time and keeps him running probably has some skills. The lady with a well kept garden probably knows a thing or two about growing plants. The other guy who post on the local newsletter praising the local politician for getting in our way in all possible ways, is a total loss. You get the idea.
So, even if I do not really know my neighbors personally, at least I have some understanding of who they are. Plus, I have a feeling that when SHTF a lot of the people who think are prepared will find out otherwise and will fold quickly while other will raise up to the situation. It might be that the group you’ll have around will be very different than the one you imagine.