Walkable Towns

[catherine]

I love living in Grand Isle, no doubt about it.

BUT....

We are here for 6 weeks in Ocean Grove, NJ, my favorite NJ town. I've always loved how walkable it is. Here are a couple of examples from the less than 18 hours we've been here.

This morning I woke up and got the coffee out to make and realized we don't have half-and-half (horrors!!). I spent 10 seconds being dejected until I recalled that there is a market just 4 blocks away. So I put on my sneakers and made the 5 minute walk there and back and had my coffee ready in no time.

Also this morning, the first thing on my to-do list is to deposit a check I received up in Grand Isle. I couldn't mobile deposit it, so I've been holding it for a week. So when I googled directions to the closest branch of the bank that has my business account, I again remembered that it's a 10 minute walk from me.

I can walk to the ocean as well as the train station. I can walk to restaurants and the post office. If I ran out of gas, I can walk to the gas station.

There is definitely something wonderful about walkable places. The Walk Score website rates Ocean Grove a Walker's Paradise

Do you live in a Walker's Paradise? Is that important to you?

[Teacher Terry]

Since moving back into town 8 years ago we can walk downtown which is 1.5 miles. The grocery store is much closer and I could walk there in 10 minutes. I love being able to walk places.

[klunick]

Depends on your destination where I live. I live in the boonies. The Chesapeake Bay is about a mile from my house so yes, you can walk if you want to see the water. If you are adventurous, you could walk to the grocery store or Walgreen's but you have to be in good shape. Easily ride your bike there though. There isn't many restaurants nearby so definitely have to drive if you want to eat out.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Somewhat. A supermarket is 1-2 blocks away, as is: a pharmacy, a bank branch, restaurants if one isn't picky about going to a particular restaurant, train station it says 14 minutes, I think it's actually longer though, thrift shop is walkable - few blocks away (but not all shopping is). Post office no. Gas station is walkable. A coffee place (not my fav but it's alright). I think one drives in part because one wants to, one is bored of what is walkable.

I do not by any stretch live in walking distance of work though so I'm not downplaying needing a car here for WORKING if not for anything else. Can't be car free and employable!

[kib]

I live in a ... hmm. I don't know if I'd call it a paradise. Technically speaking I think everything I need to live is within a three block walk of my house, but it's not places I'd ordinarily shop for my basics. E.g. I wouldn't ordinarily buy milk or catfood at the gas station or Walgreens, my idea of eating out is not Wendy's, I haven't found a hair cutter I actually like in walking distance, the bank and hardware store closest are not the ones I favor either. I will say I'm situated within a 2 mile drive of anything I ever buy, and it's nice to have these other places walkable in a pinch, but I do occasionally think how pleasant it would be to live in a Nice neighborhood that had walkable stores.

ETA: I gotta say, while I idealize the idea of walkable, I'm pretty lazy about it. My grocery store is about a mile away, but no, I don't want to take the 20-30 minutes necessary to walk there and then haul all my food home again. I'm not actually a busy person these days and I should get more exercise, but somehow the idea of an hour spent trudging back and forth with a hand cart seems like a huge and unpleasant waste of time. (and I'm a prima donna in this respect. I don't like walking outside if it's cold, or windy, or raining, or baking hot, and the area I have to go into doesn't seem particularly inviting after dark.

And I realized what a privileged position this is, but it's my reality. I can afford a car and I have the means to be a bit fussy.

[iris lilies]

Here in my city neighborhood we have a grocery store also 5 minutes away. As is a coffee shop.

One major criteria for buying a weekend house -now becoming permanent residence— was that I wanted to be able to walk to a coffee shop. In tiny Hermann, two independently owned coffee shops are 20 minutes away, as is a grocery store. This is walking distance. So is the library.

But even better, the winery, one of the country’s oldest, is at the end of my block. It is not a typical winery, it is a gorgeous old victorian 1860’s building. Love that place. If Missouri wine is less than steller, that is ok, I will live with it and drink it in handsome surroundings.

[kib]

IL, funny, I was thinking that if I wanted to be in walking distance of anything, it would be the library. I could spend all day there.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Oh a library is a block away. Yea spoiled, decent sized supermarket a few blocks away from me, but one needs to go to trader joe specifically for something and so ... there's a walkable gym but one doesn't like it .. yea kinda.

[Gardnr]

Nope. I can walk to my haircut just 2 miles. I could walk to the most expensive grocery store around 2.2 miles, but I don't do one-off trips, I stock up. Anything else is 6+ miles. We do have a community library just 1 mile away now in a little planned community. It has turned out to be mostly eateries and high-end retail boutiques. Oh, and the homes are $500k to $1.8 m. It's good to live across the tracks

That said, we live just 10" from a beautiful river where we are and there is a lovely walking path (no bike riding allowed). It's lovely and peaceful. There are several benches to sit and listen to the water AND watch the Bald Eagles fish if there 9-10 am. Some benches are standard, others are huge logs from fallen trees that have been cut to have a seat/low back. Love it!

[iris lilies]

IL, funny, I was thinking that if I wanted to be in walking distance of anything, it would be the library. I could spend all day there.

well, I am unhappy that they are moving the library to a bigger building that ismfurther away, but that is not the main problem for me with this plan.. The problem is that access is from a highway WHERE THERE ARE NO SIDEWALKS. That sucks majorly.