Over on the blog of the popular real estate site Zillow, a former homeowner makes an eloquent case for the joys of city living:
Now, we stand face-to-face with people in our building’s elevators, at our corner hangouts, and on the sidewalks. We chitchat and pet our neighbors’ dogs. We exchange “good mornings” with the people we pass everyday on our way to work. We’ve developed friendships with several proprietors and servers at our favorite restaurants.
A restaurateur recently called out to us and said, “We’ve missed you.” Our neighborhood grocer loves to talk to us, because he finds our change in lifestyle quite intriguing. “What do you think? Are you still happy with your decision?” Our local video store proprietor has very decided ideas about what we should and shouldn’t rent — he’ll actually pull DVD’s from under the counter and say, “Here — I was saving these for you.” Instead of feeling anonymous in the big city, we’ve grown to feel welcomed and wanted, and we’ve become friendlier, too. We’ve discovered that most people, whatever their walk of life, are pretty darn nice.
The only thing I’d add is that this kind of living is much, much easier with older kids. I’m not sure I could pull it off with my 3 and 1 year olds, at least not quite this blissfully.
