Walkable

We've been giving great thought to our planned move to the Bay Area.

I've grown to love our L.A. neighborhood. It's walkable. There is a lovely park in the middle of our little area, and each day kids can be seen playing in the sand area, couples and families have picnics and elderly people sit out and relax. TR and I were there on last Friday and saw a group of kids on a play date. I enjoy living in an area where people take their kids out and where the people mingle with their neighbors.


Lots of our neighbors walk their dogs and/or their kids so you get a chance to meet everyone. Mr A misplaced the car key last week. We were about to have the car towed to the dealership and pay ~$200 for a new key. Our neighbor saw Mr A and asked him if he had lost his key. Turns out if anything in the neighborhood is lost, people bring it to her. Who knew Mayberry existed smack in the middle of Los Angeles?

In the other direction of home, is a cute village with many banks, sidewalk cafes, boutique shopping, drug store and other cute shops. There is also the Sunday Farmers Market. Just this past weekend we put TR in her stroller, had a nice walk to the village, handled a few errands and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Then we walked home. We don't have a grocery store in reasonable walking distance- although I have walked there- if we did, I don't know if I'd be willing to leave our area.

I've been trying to envision the Oakland areas that have the same/similiar access. I've also been pondering Berkeley. Mr A likes Berkeley. San Francisco is too cold and foggy for me to consider although some of the neighborhoods are very cute.


We're not suburb types so we don't want to live outside city limits. Plus if we were going to live distant from Oakland, we'd just stay in Los Angeles.

The list of what I want in a neighborhood is increasing. We plan to send our children to private school, so we can move without regard to area schools.

We made a good decision with our current residence. We prayed over it and we've been blessed in the location. It's difficult to make the move when where we are is so nice. I just want to remain in an area where life can be enjoyed on foot. I really appreciate how nice life can be when neighbors get out of their cars and become a part of their neighborhood. It's easier to go on a walk when you can walk to a destination and then back home.