The perception of discrimination or lack of friendlness is not limit to renters. We live in a gated community with no renters where average home values hover well over 1M even today. I submit the following alternative possibilities.

(1) They are very busy people. A large number of my neighbors own their business or hold upper management positions. This typically requires 60+ hours workweek that sometimes include weekends. They are tired and simply lack the energy to cultivate new friends. Any downtime is usually spent with existing friends or family. We feel this way sometimes.

(2) Some are networkers always looking to build their up social capital and invest with any friends (or neighbors) whom they perceive to have liquidity. We’ve been approached at least 4 times in the 1st year of living here to participate in some type of (business or real estate) investment. Based on previous experiences, our rule is to never never invest with friends or family because if it fails, bad feelings develop and family relationships and friendships are ruined forever. We just tell everyone we have no money to invest and they have all slowly gone away. They are still cordial, but nowhere near as friendly as they use to be. As a renter, you are no doubt perceived to be unable to help them build their empire.

(3) The gossip mill runeth over spewing venom. Send your wife to the neighborhood Bunco meeting and have her recon the topics of discussion. She will probably report back that the alpha hens cackle endlessly about every other neighbor with topics ranging from boob jobs to your unsightly landscape design. My wife stopped attending after a few of these events, and now she is perceived as unsocial. The same applies to meeting new neighbors in that she is guarded until she has a sense of your discretion or ability to control gossip.