The cool thing about the “Makerspaces for adults” is the social angle- which most men claim they don’t need and aren’t interested in. Which I understand.
But if the other folks there are welders and electricians and set designers and mechanics and sculptors who work with monumental slabs of stone… it starts to get interesting, even for the most introverted guy!!! The person in the bay next to you is restoring a classic Caddy which was her dad’s. The person on the other side is building a 1/20th scale model of a local Civil War historic site for their reenactors club, and the guy across the building is designing a light installation for a new museum.
I joke that I have to add at least 30 minutes to most errands to stop and chat with the people I run into. My husband has learned to call me if I’m running very late when I’m out walking the dog to “save” me. We’ve had many a dinner plan derailed by a conversation I couldn’t walk away from. I often grocery shop on my way home from work as I know I will get out of the store faster than if I shop in town. Even if I move to another walkable town, I fear I will miss this as so many of those relationships were started due to having same age kids.
I see this much more of a function of town size as I’ve experienced this living in my 19,000 pop town and smaller towns, but felt like living just outside of Chicago (where I could walk absolutely everywhere), I didn’t know anyone.
Your definition of “walkable” makes sense to me. I just checked my house on Zillow, and it has a “walkable” score of 28. I walk everywhere (except to a large grocery store) – restaurants, library, post office, playground, most of my friends’ houses, the public pool, etc. And we are a small village with sidewalks. Also, I can walk to the commuter train. Can’t imagine how much more walkable a community could be, unless it’s a neighborhood in a large city. So I don’t think I’d pay much attention to those scores.
@Jolynne_Smyth, you may have already read this review but, for others who might be interested, Mr. Money Mustache (Pete Adeney, FIRE) did a four-month residential experiment at Culdesac and had some interesting observations. One thing I didn’t know about the community is this:
While Culdesac is very passionate about making car-free living as easy as possible, they actually have some of the most fun and useful electric cars (Chevy Bolts from Envoy) right here on site, available for hourly rental (currently at a way-underpriced, subsidized $5 per hour including charging!) To rent these cars, you just walk up to them in the parking lot and unlock with your phone.
If you’re looking to rent, Culdesac has some unique benefits, and renting is a great way to get to know an area before committing to buy.
I feel like walkable means something different to different people. Where I live now is the ultimate walkable in my opinion, but others might not agree. I have a short walk to the public library. I am a huge library user and so I am there probably 4 times a walk. I belong to a yoga place that I can walk to. I go to yoga classes 3 times a week. I can walk to a commuter train that gets me to my daughter’s. I do that once a month or so, but it makes her visits to us easy (as she lives in a city and doesn’t have a car). The post office, a Walgreens, take out Thai, an upper scale restaurant, and nice bakery are all walkable from my place. The other key thing is a local park that we can walk in (and do 1-2 times a day when weather permits). So for me it is perfect. I am fine with driving to get liquor, groceries, clothes, things for my house, etc.
It would be so helpful if everyone who lives in these walkable communities could share the location… nothing too specific if you don’t want to share exact location, but maybe region (NE, South, etc) or state?
I am south of Boston on the commuter rail line. My town is not that unique in that many of the commuter rail towns (not just those south but also north and west) have old fashioned downtowns. This comes from being settled before there were cars!
That being said, we are renting. You can’t buy a closet for 500K in most commutable Boston suburbs. (In Boston proper 500K will buy you an indoor parking spot - I kid you not).
One comment on the shared community like Culdesac. We live in a 55+ apartment building. There are a few common spaces where people can socialize. Some people choose not to and just stay in there apartments. Others come out for book group, mah jongg, game night, BBQ’s, holiday celebrations, etc. Some just come out in the evening and sit in the lounge or patio to chat.
Sometimes things don’t work out well. The new tenant who doesn’t agree with the mah jongg rules, the obnoxious tenant who insists on being contraire at all social events, etc.
I have decided to pick and choose when I join in the “group” activates and when I don’t. But in general, you can’t choose your neighbors and in a very close living situation like Culdesac you may feel forced to be with people whom you don’t like. (And I haven’t even touched on the possibility of people with opposing political views living with each other in “pod housing”.)
We live in Swarthmore, PA. The Philly airport is 15 minutes away, we are very integrated into the Swarthmore College campus, there is a weekly farmer’s market in the middle of town from May through November, I can walk from my house (less than 10 minute walk) into town, to a commuter train into Philly, the library, several restaurants, two cleaners, a Co-op, several boutiques…housing prices/taxes are the only con, although you can get a small house/town house potentially for the price you are looking for. Inventory is really low though. You have great access to healthcare and education is very valued, with many sources of arts/culture, especially through the College. You should also know that the town leans very liberal, so recycling, composting, chickens, etc. are often discussed/the norm. Oh and the weather is not warm in the wintertime, if that is what you are looking for. But we are also home of the Super Bowl champions!!
I live in the suburbs of Honolulu, HI. Sadly, there is very little in the $500,000 area except perhaps a small older apartment that is 2 bedrooms and even those are hard to come by & have high maintenance fees.
What is walkable depends on your definition. There is a supermarket that is a 1-1.5 miles walk along a sidewalk beside the busy 6 lane highway from our house. Yes, you COULD walk there but air quality near highways is not great. If you live in the suburb by that market, the shopping center has a bank, public library, pharmacy, post office, yoga place, eye doctor, pet groomer, mani/pedi/hair place, restaurants, fast food, public elementary school and more. We grew up in that suburb by the market and walked to the market nearly daily to get the groceries for that day’s meal for our sole fridge to feed 9 of us. Houses in that area and nearby neighborhoods are selling for 7 figures, where there are any for sale. There is a bus that comes maybe once every 30-60 minutes. There’s a bike lane along the highway, but it’s pretty risky with the bad drivers.
The shopping center nearest our house where you would only have to walk on sidewalks beside uncrowded suburban streets to get to USED to have a grocery store but it was bought out over two decades ago by a mega-church (which is not a very good neighbor). We were all VERY sad to lose the market. We do have a preschool, elderly day care, a few family care homes, middle school, blue mailbox, gas station and a 7-11 and a fast food place and a few other eating options, plus a cross fit place and a few other businesses.
Our home is a 5 or so minute drive from Costco and two more shopping centers which include a hardware store.
There are hiking trails in the back of most suburbs and some beach access if you hunt for it on the ocean side of the highway.
How about Mayfield Heights Ohio? Family member lives there…on a nice residential street. A very short walk to the town recreation area. Walk to the main road where there is everything imaginable. Walk the back way and you end up in an outdoor shopping mall with a Marshalls, several other retail places, restaurants, nail place. Even a DMV.
When I go, I prefer to drive to the grocery store I like best, and walking to Costco is possible but not a great plan!
My relative lives in a small 1950’s three bedroom one bath, small home (maybe 1200 sq ft) with a 2 car garage, and a small yard. Houses in the neighborhood sell for $150,000 to $200,000 or so.
This is an eastern suburb of Cleveland.
Lakewood Ohio is also a place to look. It’s a western suburb. There are some neighborhoods with great ability to walk to a lot of places including the parks on Lake Erie.
And anywhere in Cleveland, you would need to drive…but there is the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Playhouse, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a decent baseball team, a great basketball team, and a football team (where there is always next year).
Really…worth checking as the cost of living in this area is great.
This is rated the best place in Chattanooga which is warm vs much of the others so may suit your needs.
North shore Chattanooga TN.
Revamped Chattanooga neighborhood with boutiques and green space
Butch Leftwich grew up around the Northshore area of Chattanooga and recalls a slightly different place than what exists today. “It was more of a small community, like a small town. Most of the people knew each other. It was just a good neighborhood atmosphere,” says Leftwich, the facilities manager for the Frances B. Wyatt Community Center right outside the eastern edge of the neighborhood. “It’s changed. It turned more into a commercial type atmosphere than what it was back in the day when I was growing up there.” Northshore is among the parts of the city that best illustrates Chattanooga’s efforts over the years to revamp much of its urban scape. A major chunk of the southern end is filled with boutique establishments that include dessert shops, apparel stores, cafes, art galleries and a diverse mix of restaurants. These places can be in rows of modern multi-story brick buildings with residences on the upper floors and repurposed industrial structures. Frazier Avenue in particular features more classic buildings no taller than a couple stories and with vintage glass storefronts. Balancing this dense lineup of shops are outdoor recreational sites on both ends of the neighborhood. Residents can choose anything from impressive, overlooking views of downtown Chattanooga from Stringers Ridge Park to kayaking and paddleboarding outings on the Tennessee River. The city has grown over the years with the help of companies like Amazon and Volkswagen and a unique fiber-broadband network, and Northshore provides an added incentive with its blend of natural scenery and commercial activities. “You’re not going to find too many areas as hilly as it is, but it’s a good atmosphere to it,” Leftwich says. “And the weather. We have greater weather around here. There’s only about a couple weeks every year where it gets really cold or gets snow. It’s a good climate to live in.”
Reston, VA and Columbia MD are both “designed” cities, with areas that are considered very walkable, and lots of walking/multi-use paths.
Each has different neighborhoods with their own amenities, and at least one larger “downtown” or “town center” kind of area.
You may be able to find a townhome for $500K, but I don’t know that you could find a single family home.
I love Reston VA and it’s very walkable ( walking paths all over) but it has gotten very expensive. I don’t think a single family house could be had for $500k. Likely much more.