I have seen a lot of neighbors come and go from the house next door. It is a rental, so most of the people who move in eventually move out after a year or two. Usually I do not pay much attention to who is living in the house.

As a family, we make an effort to be nice and neighborly. We always introduce ourselves. Sometimes people are friendly. Sometimes they keep to themselves. I am so used to it now, I did not think much about it. When I was younger I cared even less. Most of the people who cycled through the house were older, so I did not relate. To me, they all were a bit boring and I was uninterested in what they were doing.

That all changed when the Hearns moved in.

At first it seemed like it was just going to be another rotating family. The house usually sits empty when one renter leaves and another one takes their place. While I was young and in my own world, I still paid enough attention to notice this pattern. The packing up, followed by moving trucks in the driveway. The owner of the home coming by and having a few repairs done.

I usually liked the transition and the empty house next door. My room is on the side of the house that faces the rental, and the quiet was always welcome. When I was little, I even remember thinking it would be nice if the house stayed empty. Quiet and extra space in the backyard was my desire. I had no idea I would learn so much from the people who were about to arrive.

When our new neighbors finally arrived, they seemingly looked normal. They appeared to be just like all the average upper middle class families that have always been in that house. A well put together mother and father got out of the front seats and in the back a boy around my age and another boy who seemed much younger. The first thing that I noticed about these people was that they had very little possessions.

Once I looked more carefully at what they had brought to place inside of their new house, I noticed that the car that they had been driving did not have a permanent license plate. Since I was a naive kid at the time, I assumed that due to the new car and what seems like a sudden move to a temporary residence as well as not bringing many possessions with them, I naively thought maybe they had to leave their old home suddenly and had not had time to fully pack.

Without knowing it yet, these people would have a great impact on my life.

My family and I happened to be outside when they were moving some things in. Trying to be polite, my father said hello. The mother in the family responded with a hello of her own. This seemingly normal interaction suddenly took a surprising turn upon hearing the mother speak. She had a very strong English accent. As we met the father and the boys, we realized they all had the same strong accent. It was like Harry Potter moving in next door.

At that moment we realized that everyone in this little family had very strong British accents. We played it cool, but as we went inside to our own house, our whole family realized that these people might have a deeper story than everyone who had lived in that house previously.

The next day, my father went over to their house to properly introduce himself, albeit with the selfish act of trying to figure out more about them. My dad, who is not a very social person, was over talking to them for what the rest of my family members and I agreed was a long time.

Once my dad returned from next door, he was instantly bombarded with questions. The first question that he had to answer was where were they from. He then confirmed that they were, indeed, from the United Kingdom. At this point in my life, I had not yet traveled outside the United States, so English neighbors seemed very exotic. I also wondered if I would be able to relate to the boys. One was around my age, but what does a boy from England and a boy from Georgia have in common?

My dad mentioned that, although they had barely assimilated to the new environment, they still made an effort to talk with him and answer all of his questions. As my dad was telling me about some of the things he asked them, the question that stood out to me the most was “What brings you to America?”

I do not know what I was expecting, but their enthusiasm and passion for the United States was overflowing from the start. Business had brought them to our country, but the father explained that he jumped at the chance to work temporarily in the United States because of all the opportunities here, the great aspects of American life (that we often take for granted) and the energy that our country has. They had visited the United States and mentioned that they also wanted to live in a place where you can experience so many different places and cultures. They also liked the idea of having a fresh start and they thought that there would be no better place to do it than in the United States.

They wanted the American Dream.

As we got to know them, the aspect of the Hearn family jumping fully into American culture was their embrace of the things I did not think much about. They loved our big cars and got two of them. Even though it was hot, they loved our weather. The boys were constantly outside and willing to play with me. They loved the food and often made jokes about becoming fat, but they could not get enough of the variety we have here and the things that are less common in the United Kingdom like Mexican food and Barbeque.

Even a holiday like Halloween, which was so commonplace to me, was a shock to their system. They could not get over how much people decorated or all the different costumes and, of course, all the candy. Even though I was young, it hit me how fortunate I am that all these things they loved were part of my typical suburban American childhood.

In the end, they only stayed two years. The father’s work took them back to their home in England. But while they were here, I appreciated all that I learned from them.

The family assimilated as much as possible. The boys went to local public school and dressed like typical Americans. They never lost their accents but did pick up on our local slang. They were very active in our neighborhood and local community. They traveled to all the famous U.S. destinations while they were here like New York City, Washington, D.C. and the Grand Canyon. Every trip and every day was exciting to them and gave me a fresh perspective on my home and my country.

Up until this moment and interaction, I seemed to take all of what made America special for granted. Something as simple as going to the mall or a grocery store and having all the different options seemed so simple to me. I did not realize that not everyone had these same opportunities.

My next door neighbor changing every year or two also showed me how diverse and different even my little neighborhood could be. Having all these opportunities and being able to start a life regardless of where you came from or how much privilege you have showed why America is so special. The diversity in America creates a very special place.

While I have never experienced everything that my neighbors had experienced during their time, large numbers of people have gone through the same experience and process. There are thousands of unique experiences that people in America go through every day. Regardless of where you come from, even what language you speak, you can come to this country and contribute right away and build a life.

The Hearns were just one family in one part of Georgia in one part of our country, but they were proof that life in the United States is welcoming, rewarding, thrilling and diverse. We have people from around the world come here and bring the best of their home to mix with our culture that creates a vibrancy that Americans (including me) do not always appreciate.

It took a family from England wanting the American Dream to remind me how lucky we are.