How is your neighborhood?

[DarkStar]

I live in a University town of about 115,000 in the Southeast. My neighborhood is only a few blocks from the University. It's perfect for me, since I'm in Grad School here. I can walk to work/classes. In the other direction, I can walk to my credit union, an organic grocery store, a drug store, a bike shop, two coffee shops, and several restaurants. My neighbors are mixed students and older people who work at the University. And they're friendly, for the most part. Rent is reasonable. I miss having a garden, but I can put my collection of flowers, vegetables, and herbs in pots on the lawn in front of the building and the landlord doesn't care.

Public transportation could be better in this town. I can take the bus downtown, or to shopping, but it's a hassle. Still, I drive very little now that I've moved to this neighborhood. There's an awesome Farmer's Market on Saturday and Wednesday, lots of music and other cultural stuff, great bookstores, restaurants, and a beautiful Botanical Garden a couple of miles away where I love to walk. The town is fairly diverse. I really like my neighborhood and my town. This is the first time I've lived in-town and I wasn't sure I would like it. But I'm really content here. I'm not sure I'd want to live in this neighborhood forever - I really do miss having a garden, and no way I can afford a house in the neighborhood. But I could see staying in this town for the rest of my life.

[catherine]

PS... One of my driving principles is reflected in the title of this book, which I highly recommend:
Creating a World That Works for All, by Sharif Abdullah.

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-World.../dp/1576750620

It is what I hope to accomplish on my little corner of the world...

You guys have to quit recommending books! My gazingus pin in action here with one-click purchase power for my Kindle! I just downloaded this book, redfox. it looks awesome.

Your story was very poignant as well.

[redfox]

Gurl, the library!!! Though I share your gazingus pin, so lotsa sympathy... Let me know what you think of the book!

[Mrs-M]

Our neighbourhood (and community) is super-great! Safe, kid/family friendly, and just the right size. We're no more than about 10 minutes away from whatever, and are graced with world-class recreation.

[iris lily]

I don't think Iris Lily's neighborhood is real. It's a movie set, a Potemkin village, or maybe a Photoshop mock-up. It's just too gorgeous. And so tidy! (No wonder you love it there...)

haha, those photos are of course showing the best bits, but these days there aren't any boarded up houses here so the 'hood looks the best it ever has in modern times.

[iris lily]

redfox, I do so wish that the HOPE VI project two blocks from me had the wide range of culture that yours has. Instead, we've got ghetto culture with a few Somalis or Ethiopians tossed in. It's the usual drugs, mayhem, killings that come with ghetto life and I feel sorry for the immigrants there. I suppose they are better off there than being in the place from which they came, but not by much. This version of The Housing Authority has been unable to stamp out typical crime as has every other Housing Authority bureaucratic regime. They are useless.

A community kitchen might be wonderful with all of those ethnic cooks in your area, egad, sell me tickets to dinner, I'd go every night!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

I have an ongoing love/hate relationship with my town. I have lived here so many years that I feel "comfortable", it is safe except for some petty stuff, and it's nice when walking outside to have neighbors wave or speak because I have known most of them for so long. Almost anywhere is in walking distance, but what is there to walk to? We are one of the sad, dying little towns, (although it hasn't had much life in a l-o-n-g time), with not even a small cafe to walk to for a cup of coffee. On the outskirts of town there are several of the fast food places like McDonald's, Hardees, Sonic, etc. But as for in town itself my favorite things are: the library, the city park, and oddly enough the cemetery. The cemetery is quiet and peaceful, a good place to walk with hills to give a bit of a work out. That's it for the love side. On the hate side - no farmers market, a well paid mayor and city council that doesn't seem to consider any progress other than industry is needed. I regularly tell them that yes, we need jobs but also we need a place to spend the money we make or it will continue to just go to the next town. I have talked to them about recycling, (DH & I load ours up and drive it to the next town); a wildflower meadow somewhere in the park instead of the mowers going constantly, (even in this drought); incentive for small businesses to open in town, etc. No action on anything. Very frustrating when we have to drive to the next town to us which is a university town with lots to offer, when we want to do anything. Thankfully it is only about 20-25 miles away, but still with gas prices it is not always convenient. So, yes love the low crime and knowing so many of the people, hate the lack of things that make a town an community. A couple of other things I need to mention: there is no sense of community here (and I am not saying this lightly), and one thing we do have is LOTS of public housing. We have people who have come from many other areas and states to enjoy our public housing! At risk of sounding judgmental that fact has greatly increased our population of non-working, non-tax paying residents. I know that not every person who lives in public housing should be subject to this label - I worked with two hard working single moms who lived in public housing and I was constantly encouraging them to move since they were paying almost as much, (because they did work), as they would have in a privately owned apartment. Our population ( around 2000) has remained almost constant for many, many years, so with the influx of the public housing residents, that tells you there has to be an almost equal outflow. Sadly, this is our young, educated people who have to go elsewhere. Some vent/rant here I guess. But, you asked!

[redfox]

redfox, I do so wish that the HOPE VI project two blocks from me had the wide range of culture that yours has. Instead, we've got ghetto culture with a few Somalis or Ethiopians tossed in. It's the usual drugs, mayhem, killings that come with ghetto life and I feel sorry for the immigrants there. I suppose they are better off there than being in the place from which they came, but not by much. This version of The Housing Authority has been unable to stamp out typical crime as has every other Housing Authority bureaucratic regime. They are useless.

A community kitchen might be wonderful with all of those ethnic cooks in your area, egad, sell me tickets to dinner, I'd go every night!

Iris Lily, I am sorry your HOPE VI community isn't more diverse. I think we got lucky in Seattle for a few reasons; we are a Pacific Rim port city, and have many many cultures here. The school district has 111 languages represented! And, the housing authority took a very progressive approach to the redevelopment process, involving public housing residents in the redesign process. Many moved back in after the redevelopment, so there are some of my neighbors who have been here for 25+ years. They hired a community developer, who started work before the redevelopment, and is still here. She & I have become friends, and I often support her in projects that are designed to bridge the class gap between homeowners & public housing renters. It's been a tough nut to crack...

We also have a strong progressive community of middle class home buyers who see the value in buying in this community. The 60% that are private market purchased homes are owned by mostly young families of many races who have chosen to raise their childn in a mixed income, mixed race neighborhood. It's a very interesting experiment, to be sure! I do have to laugh at outside critics who call it "social engineering", as I view everything humans create as social engineering. Red lining certainly was that.

I am determined to continue the community building process personally, even though there are days when I am bummed about it. I look forward to getting the Community Kitchen up & running, and you darn well better call me if you're ever in Seattle! I so want to meet you. I'd be delighted to host you for a CK meal.

Ok, out to the garden!!

[SteveinMN]

When I moved here, I saw the potential, not the reality.

AS, potential was a big part of why I chose to live where I am now. I live within the city limits of Saint Paul, Minnesota, in one of the oldest neighborhoods that didn't get washed out every spring with Mississippi River flooding. It's hard between downtown Saint Paul and Crocus Hill, an "emerged" neighborhood that boasts some of the most beautiful mansions in Minnesota, dating back to the founding of the city (families like the Weyerhausers and Hills) . When I moved here almost a decade ago, I saw signs that this was the next place to be "discovered" since the neighborhood was between two desirable, higher-priced neighborhoods, almost everything you need is pretty convenient to get to, even without a car, and housing prices were much lower than they were on "the Hill" (there's no way I would have found a three-bedroom rambler on "the Hill" for anywhere near what I paid for my place even though I bought it at the height of the housing bubble).

Downtown Saint Paul still needs some sort of renaissance. It's not a bad neighborhood (though I'd just as soon not be strolling around outside after bar-closing time anywhere in Saint Paul). It's just ... dead. Not much reason to be there after working hours. The hockey arena helped buoy some new businesses not far from us. There is a former brewery nearby (dating back to the 19th century; many of its employees lived in this neighborhood) which eventually became an ethanol plant -- until the stench and management's unwillingness to do much about it closed it down. They keep promising to redevelop it as artists' lofts and entertainment/dining venues and maybe even a museum of breweriana, but so far no one has made much progress and the Great Recession has not helped. The Great Recession did help weed out a few overextended absentee landlords here -- though it meant a fair number of abandoned houses for a few years. Most of those are occupied again, "under new management", as they say.

So the idea that this neighborhood was going to be the next new fancy neighborhood here -- well, it's on hold AFAIC. In the meantime, I've got some really good neighbors (and a couple of clinkers), mature trees, easy access to the places I want to be, I didn't go house-poor to buy what we have, and the first guy out after the winter storm (not always me) still helps snowblow other people's walks and driveways. We do look out for each other, we share the produce from our gardens, we sometimes get to listen to the neighbor's music (or, more usually, their dogs), we wave 'hi' when we see each other ... So even though we're still far short of the potential, the reality here ain't so bad.

[cdttmm]

I live in western Massachusetts in what is commonly referred to as a hilltown. I'm actually 3.5 miles outside of this little town of ~3000 people, and yes, this is where I chose to live! I love it because my little town is close enough to the five local colleges that I have all the amenities of a major city with none of the downsides. Although we live on 20 acres, we have three neighbors who are very close to us in proximity because our houses are situated along a ridge. They are all wonderful people who like many of the same things we do: (mostly) organic gardening, backyard chickens, peace and quiet! The town itself is limited in it's commerce, but there is a public library, a very nice restaurant (which is owned by some of our friends), a small grocery store that carries at least some local produce, a little bike shop, and random people with little farm stands in their front yards selling asparagus, strawberries, and sweet corn. Having grown up in the southwestern part of Minnesota on a dairy farm in the middle of nowhere, this existence feels quite urban to me! Sure, I have to drive to get to almost everything (there is a great public bus system, but the closest stop is 4 miles from us), but I work from home so it is pretty easy to coordinate all of my errands into one outing. The best part about the "neighborhood" and one of the primary reasons we bought a house here is its proximity to a state forest. It is under a mile to the trail head and from there I have access to more than 100 miles of trails for running, mountain biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding, and hiking. Makes for a lot of beautiful, nature-filled, cheap entertainment!