For the Love of Ptown

As a kid, I remember watching television shows about people who lived in big cities, specifically Manhattan, and thinking that it looked pretty cool. One thing always stumped me though . . . how did they get their groceries? I was used to my mom coming home with a car full of groceries, possibly 8-10 bags at a time. How did someone in a city without a car get their car full of groceries?

It wasn’t until I moved to a downtown neighborhood where everything I needed was within walking distance that I figured it out. You don’t buy 8-10 bags of groceries at a time, you buy what you need for a few days and can carry. And durable, reusable grocery sacks are a must.

I was in college when I decided that someday I wanted to live in the neighborhood I live in now. Of course, there are a lot of things I decide I want to do that I don’t follow through with. Sometimes it is still a bit of a shock to me that I followed through and am living exactly where I wanted to ten years ago. Coming from a very rural background and then transitioning to the suburbs, moving downtown was a bit of a change. Instead of driving everywhere, I walk 90% of the time. Everything I could possibly need is walking distance from my apartment. Grocery store, gym, coffee shops and restaurants, hospital, and even a recently discovered cobbler. Now I am so used to the downtown lifestyle, it seems weird to get in my car and drive somewhere.

I was talking to a friend on the phone not too long ago and he was asking about Portland’s real estate and if we’d been hit by the downturn or not. As he lives very far away, I was confused about the sudden interest in my neighborhoods real estate market. Turns out, he’d like to have a get-a-way place in a neighborhood like mine, where you can walk to anything you’d need or want to get to. At first I was shocked that this guy actually wanted to walk, as I typically heard nothing but complaining when he was in town and I dragged him around the neighborhood on foot, but after some thought, it made me realize what a cool lifestyle I had right now. I was living in a place where someone else wanted a vacation home.

That conversation opened up my eyes even more to my great neighborhood. I found myself enjoying my lifestyle even more. And finding a cobbler a block from my dry cleaner only enhanced my appreciation for my neighborhood. I have all the downtown living amenities I could possibly want, plus I am only a 15 minute walk (or a 5 minute drive) from the biggest inner city park in the country.

There are times when I wish it was easier to get a car full of groceries, but a decade or so after watching people living in big cities and thinking that looked pretty neat, I’m quite pleased with the way things have worked out. It’s not Manhattan, but my section of Portland is pretty freaking fantastic.