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Our new neighbours in a central German village had a housewarming party, where they invited other neighbours but not us. I wonder if we did something wrong that led them to not invite us. We interacted a bit in the weeks since they moved in (smalltalk on the street) and as far as I know, this interaction went well.

We have been in the village for a year and in the country for five years. We are originally from The Netherlands and France. We talk to the neighbours occasionally and other neighbours had invited us to another party earlier this month. My German is fluent, but with a foreign accent. Some neighbours are natives to the village, whereas others are from other parts of Germany. As far as I know, all are culturally German.

I don't care so much about missing the party, but I worry if the non-invitation is due to something we did or said and is a sign of a poor relationship with the neighbours. How can I find out? Are there some subtle social cues that we could pick up on that would hint that the neighbours might not appreciate something we say or do? I feel asking outright might be awkward and not necessarily yield a direct/honest answer, but if the neighbours have a problem with something we say/do, it would be good to know as we could take action to improve our relation. Likewise, if there is no problem that would be a relief to know. Or maybe we have done nothing wrong, but the neighbours don't like foreigners.

We both have an autism spectrum disorder and are not great at interpersonal skills.

Cultural context: single-family houses in a 2k-inhabitant village in Central Germany (northwestern Bavaria, between Frankfurt and Würzburg).

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  • What interpersonal skill (part of your behavior used during an interaction) are you asking about? There's nothing here about what kind of interaction you are having or what part of your behavior during it you think you need help with.
    – Tinkeringbell
    Commented Aug 25 at 8:41
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    "How to find out why..." looks like an interpersonal strategy, and involve many interpersonal behaviours and ways of communicating with the neighbours. It can be high-level IPS but still on-topic, as OP is asking about communicating with others in a way that their Asperger syndrome may make potentially more difficult.
    – OldPadawan
    Commented Aug 25 at 15:18
  • @Tinkeringbell The skill to pick up on social cues (such as subtle hints that they might not like us much) while avoiding the potentially awkward situation of asking directly. Also the skill to send welcoming vibes to new neighbours; maybe their lack was a reason to be not invited.
    – Anonymous
    Commented Aug 25 at 19:47
  • @Tinkeringbell Does my edit satisfy your concerns, or is something still unclear?
    – Anonymous
    Commented Aug 25 at 22:16
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    @Anonymous: thanks for the clarification. Maybe you want to flag your post for moderator attention and ask to reopen?
    – OldPadawan
    Commented Aug 27 at 12:01

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