Walkability

Last night as I was reading forums on city-data.com about Northampton, there was one recurring theme that stuck out to me - walkability. That's right - Northampton is one of those glorious cities that is walkable. Going out for dinner? Just walk down the street to the restaurant. Need a spa day? Don't jump in the car - it's less than a mile away! Forget about fitting in exercise and a commute - just walk to work and do both.

I went to college in Madison, Wisconsin and the number one thing that was suggested at orientation was "don't bring a car!". This was a bit of an adjustment to a bunch of Wisconsin kids that relied on cars since they were sixteen to get them from small town to small town to hang out with friends, go to work or school, or to get to the closest chain drug store. Living in Madison was my first introduction to downtown city living and I fell in love. Tell me why are there suburbs again?

Since then, I haven't been fortunate to live in a walkable location again. Every so often, when I'm out taking a walk in our suburban neighborhood, I get an unsatisfied feeling in my heart. I'm not walking anywhere. I have no destination. I'm just spending time making a big circle to end up exactly where I started and I won't have gained anything by it except exercise. Oh to live close to where I work to where I shop to where I eat!

Anyway, as I was taking a walk at lunch today, I got that same unsatisfied feeling and it just warmed my heart thinking back to last night and the walkability of Northampton. While I am not the one who can enjoy it on a day to day basis, I know that there are people who do and that makes me happy!

Here I am...just walking around a lake (another circle!).

By the way, I have been working diligently on this activities post and it's turning out to be a monster. I may change up the format in the future if it suits me. We shall see.

Thanks for reading!