I grew up that way.

My father barbequed in a parking lot in front of our garage at least once a week for years. The garage was in front of a 4 storey building with 30+ apartments in it. When a neighbor passed he greeted them had a chat and invited them to join frequently if not all the time. 80% of them never joined, 10% very rarely and just 10% regularly.

We also had people eating with us this way who just had garage in the same line or ran local shops and such. He really tried his best to be part of the community but not many people wanted to join. Most people we had were working class, some intellectuals but all around the same economic background.

It was great to grow up that way! It is interesting to reflect on it, how it was in Eastern Europe in the 90s.