远亲不如近邻

yuǎn qīn bù rú jìn lín

A relative afar is less use than a close neighbor (idiom). Take whatever help is on hand, even from strangers.

远

yuǎn

far

亲

qīn

parent

不

bù

no; not so

如

rú

as

近

jìn

near

邻

lín

variant of 鄰|邻[lin2]