In my teen years I lived in the Beaches area of Toronto, now that was a neighbourhood! Maybe it was the stage I was at in my life with lots of time on my hands, little responsibility and having to walk everywhere but I felt a part of the neighbourhood, I knew all the streets, the stores etc…I have great memories of the years I lived there!
When my (now)husband and I started living together we moved around a lot to different areas of Toronto before moving out to “the burbs” and in all those places I’ve never felt that same connection to a neighbourhood. Not that I particularly noticed at the time because I was too busy getting back and forth to work, visiting friends who lived in other parts of the city, starting a family etc.
Now here in the “burbs” we’ve lived in the same house for almost 12yrs which is the longest by far that I’ve lived anywhere in my entire life! The town we live in is made up of a series of subdivisions and a main “4 corners” of stores. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with where I live but I wouldn’t call it a neighbourhood….
Does the neighbourhood nirvana of my youth even exist anymore? Does it only exist on television? Has it changed from” I love my neighbourhood” to “I love my street”? Or” I love my house” and what’s outside of its 4 walls doesn’t even matter? Personally, I fall in the category of” I love my house”….
Now we all know the real estate mantra of Location, Location, Location but there are great locations all over the town I live in, but the question remains the same! What makes a great neighbourhood?
As I ponder this question, another one occurs to me. Do we still look for a sense of community in where we live and if not, where do we seek that out? Is it in the organizations we belong to, places of worship or our circle of friends? Do we even still care about a sense of community at all? Perhaps that is a whole new blog topic to explore….
So back to the topic at hand…I pose the following questions to you!
Do YOU love your neighbourhood? Why?
Do you aspire to live in a different neighbourhood and for what reason? Are the houses nicer there or does it have something else (other than the house itself) to offer that you don’t have where you are now?
Where do you look for “community” or is that even on your radar screen?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Until Next Time…
Kelly
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