Welcome new readers! Just a quick note to let you know that this blog makes a lot more sense if you start here and read this.Yesterday the Mister had a potluck lunch at work. What fun, right? His work is always doing super fun stuff like this, so obviously I was jealous! Lucky for me, he decided to rub it in my face even more he signed himself (meaning US) up to make these honey cheesecake bars (Note: this time I used half honey, half sugar free maple syrup. We also mixed 1 tablespoon of cinnamon into the cheesecake batter — the result? DELICIOUS!).
And of course, we didn’t have any of the ingredients on hand. We decided to make a night of it. We took advantage of the nice weather and walked to the store for all the ingredients we needed. We had fun chatting, walking hand in hand and sharing time together enjoying the great outdoors. We spent the evening baking the bars and stealing licks of batter (and kisses) in between. Of course the Mister received rave reviews for his bar and he proudly took all the credit told everyone that we made them together.
The whole scenario sounds a bit picturesque and perfect, doesn’t it? Well, it was. And I have my corner store to thank. The story wouldn’t sound so great if I had said we hopped in the Hyundai and drove to Giant Eagle, would it? Exactly. This week I am thankful that I live in a walkable neighborhood.
I love that within only a mile of my house, I have dozens of restaurants, a couple coffee shops, a pharmacy and a grocery store. The Mister and I were talking about fantasizing about buying a house the other day. We mentioned how much we love our neighborhood and that wherever we end up buying a house, we want to make sure it’s within walking distance to a shopping center, a coffee shop, museums, restaurants, etc. I take for granted how much having these things close by plays into my quality of life.
Even if it takes a bit longer, there’s something to be said about taking the extra minute to walk to your corner bakery to enjoy a pastry and coffee. I feel as if it gives me a sense of belonging and that I’m really part of the neighborhood.
How walkable is your neighborhood or city? Did it make the Top 10 list?
According to an article on Green Building Elements, “the typical D.C. resident walks a few blocks to the Metro each morning and then walks a few more blocks from the Metro to work. He may walk to a restaurant at lunchtime. In the evening, he walks to the Metro to meet friends or go about his evening errands. Over the course of a day, this typical D.C. resident will have walked several miles.”
Does this sound like your lifestyle?
Take a moment to find out your city or neighborhoods Walk Score. Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. “Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle-not how pretty the area is for walking.”
From the Walk Score Web site:
Why Walking Matters:
Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.
Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood. Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15-45.
Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.
More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car!
Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.
Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It’s easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don’t need to drive between destinations.
An article on the Environmental Protection Web site explains, “as Americans look to reduce their environmental impact and ease reliance on cars, the appeal of walkable communities continues to grow. People increasingly value the convenience and connectedness that vibrant, walkable communities offer — and the health, safety and environmental benefits are icing on the cake.”
How walkabale is your city? (image credit: thecityfix.com/)
What is your Walk Score (mine is an 80!)? What are you thankful for today?
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Tags: Thankful
Hey, #15! Not bad, Louisville!
Me and my boyfriend didn’t have a vehicle for the last six months so we did a lot of bussing and walking, however, our city is NOT walkable at all. It’s VERY hilly and we happen to live on top of one of the biggest hills in the city, the walk down to the grocery store takes about 20 minutes and the walk back up takes closer to an hour!! While we did do a lot of walking because we HAD to, I don’t see us doing it anymore now that we have a vehicle.
But there are some beautiful walking paths down by the river that we walk or jog on occasionally!
I just calculated my walk scores: 40 for home, but 66 for work!!
My city is extremely walkable and commutable which is by we choose this neighbourhood, despite ridiculous housing costs. I can’t imagine living somewhere where I needed to drive everywhere.
Tampa’s walking score – 38 out of 100. Unfortunately, this is a very car-dependent city. I usually ride my bike if my destination is less than 2 miles away, but I very rarely do much walking. I would much rather live in a city where I didn’t need a car.
I didn’t see Greece on this list? :0)
But I haven’t had a car in three years. I walk or ride a bike everywhere … well … maybe not ride a bike. Greek drivers are crazy scary!
Hey
My address’s walking score is only 25/100. Not very good, and I can tell why just by living here. All residential areas are so isolated from services, and it’s very hilly. To get to my university it’s a 1km walk straight up-hill. Quite the deterrent for walkers. Although I try to bike to work as often as possible, driving is just so much more tempting and quicker.
My walk score is only 58, but I make an effort to walk instead of drive to run errands every day. Also, I allow myself one trip by car to the grocery store per week. If I forget something, I have to walk – 40 minutes one way. It’s actually a great feeling to walk to the grocery store! I walk through a residential neighborhood and love looking at everyone’s yards, etc. Walking makes me feel much more part of a community.
wow, my city got a 100! go Santa Monica! i walk absolutely everywhere (my husband uses the car). i used to live in dc, another great walking city; no car needed there either. i’ve been wanting to get a bike forever though.
Oh I’m a walker all right! We purposely bought our place not so far out of Boston that we’d need a car to get anywhere. From our house we walk to Whole Foods, restaurants, the bank, the tailor, etc. We don’t even own a car so thankfully we can also walk to the train station and bus stop!
Yummy cheesecake bars! My town is not walkable AT ALL and it drives me insane! Literally there isn’t any sidewalks and everything is too far to walk to
My walk score is 29 out of 100!
LA is not walkable at all. It kind of sucks in that respect, but that’s why we have the beach and mountains! Close enough, we guess.
I live in Boston and work in Boston and I absolutely love it that I can (and do) walk to and from work on nice days. It does majorly improve the quality of my life. There is nothing better on a nice day than walking – it really gives me time to reflect on my day (or the day ahead of me) and I can’t get enough of it. My husband, on the other hand, works outside the city and commutes every day. He hates it. He complains about traffic and forgets sometimes that we live in a city… but I don’t want to move!
Your evening does sound perfect, btw. I wish my husband wanted to bake with me. Maybe if we make these delicious bars. They just jumped to the top of my to-make list (I saved the recipe previously but will make it with the changes you made this time).
Very cool, my apartment has a walk score of 75/100, even though the overall neighborhood’s score is only 60. It’s great to live so close to the center of action.
And my hometown made #8!
What a great post!
A couple of years ago we lived in suburbia with no infrastructure, just lots of huge houses where we had to drive 15km to get some milk or bread! Nobody walked anywhere, everyone had 2 cars and drove everywhere.
We made the choice to downsize, so we could move to an area where we can walk everywhere. We are 5 mins walk to 2 supermarkets, lots of cafes, lots of restaurants, bakeries, post office, banks, doctor, dentist, clothing shops , Goodwill and consignment stores ( very helpful with my Buy Nothing New Year), walk to train, bus, fruit and vegetable store. We also live close to friends, (about 10 mins maximum drive) I could just live in our “village” and never leave it if I wanted to! We are also 5 min drive to school, petrol (gas) station, and 15mins drive to my husbands work.
It was a huge move ( in terms of cost, selling our house, packing up all our belongings etc).
However, since we made the change, we are so happy with the change in our lifestyle as we walk everywhere now, and have a greater sense of belonging in our community.
Our home may be small, but our community has got bigger!
This is neat–I was surprised to see my city (in England!) on here. 89!! It’s definitely a walkable city, but there are a lot of hills, which I guess is a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it
[...] in lieu of errands. Errands are all on foot (I want a bike!). I discovered yesterday, thanks to this, that my city- or my neighborhood, at least- scores 100 on this Walk Score scale. That’s my [...]