Jennifer Paloulian considers herself a Garden Urbanite, sort of. She writes:
* I wouldn’t say I get “excited” over picket fences, but I do like to see homes with a country flair and simple garden.
* Old houses I don’t care for either. It’s more a practicality thing. The stairs are narrow, the ceilings are low, the doorways are small, and it’s easy to blow a fuse. Now, the cool features are the great wood floors, the brick fireplaces (working), and new windows. New windows because when a house is that old… they’ve got to be replaced at some point. For a tiny person like me the issue of ceilings or space doesn’t much matter, but for moving in and out is a pain! I had to bring a mattress over the roof and through a bedroom window last year.
* I love gardens and trees everywhere. I have never lived without plants.
* I love wrought iron and brick. They are classic yet chic. They are sturdy and yet natural.
* I love quaint. It is romantic, simple and cozy.
* I love my bird feeder, and if I had the money I would love a birdbath with a small solar run fountain in the center. I have one woodpecker, several Catbirds (one named Gizmo who likes to visit the same branch every day) and mostly finches and chickadees. So, would you say I’m a nature lover? Yeah.
* Fish pond. Definitely. I have two fish tanks in my house now.
* I have the outdoor thermometer. It’s a cheapo from ACE with cardinals painted on it.
* Plank siding is pretty to look at, but expensive to maintain. Especially living near the ocean.
* Must have a patch of ground. No debate. Even if the lawn is small enough you could mow it with scissors… okay, maybe a LITTLE bit more than that. Container gardens can be wonderful for veggies. Keeps them up and away from rabbits.
* Small-town girl…oh yes, but I’m adventurous enough to spend some living time in a city. Quite frankly, my dream is to be in a garden urb set a little away from the busy streets and neighbors growing my own vegetables and walking a lot.
... I was drawn most to Mt. Vernon, Baltimore. It sounds like heaven to me! I went on Streetfinder.com and found ...
# 860 Maryland 2 (this is cool following the direction of traffic)
Caitlin Ferriter, another Garden Urbanite (reluctantly, I think) writes:
I'm really not dying to present my ideal urban spot, but I did prowl around on google maps to find a garden type spot I may just be able to live in if I had to move to an urban area. Its in German Village Columbus OH.
Update:
Caitlin adds: I grew up on 8 acres of land out in the suburbs and when I grow up I would love nothing more than to live on 50+ acres. I have never been a huge fan of cities and urban areas, I've always felt that they were too crowded and living in an apartment with no land of your own seems unnatural to me. Therefore, it came as no surprise when my quiz told me I was a garden type urbanite, although I honestly never thought that an urban area could be a “garden type” area and was quite skeptical when I began looking around on google maps. I was however, pleasantly surprised when I found this area in German Village, I like this area a lot because its not all tiny apartment with no yard, it has houses with small, but none the less existent yards. In addition to make up for the tiny yard there is a beautiful park right across the street that is easily accessible when I need a nature fix.
Jawohl!
Sarah Liebert Writes:
I was a postindustrial urb according to the survey. I have chosen to live at 1125 Park Avenue in New York City. I really enjoy the atmosphere of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I love the excitement that city life brings with it. I like that there is always something fun going on no matter what time of day or night it is. Along Madison and Lexington Avenues there are tons the shops, salons and restaurants etc. that I would be able to utilize for my daily needs. It is also easily accessible to all sorts of transportation: there are taxis, trains and buses running all over and the subway stop is a few blocks away at 87th st. This I think will be the perfect place for me to live.
Mike Swanson adds: While you're waiting for a Park Avenue Salary, you can live a little cheaper a bit further north and east. Take a walk up to 92nd Street and turn right. There are some smaller buildings with commercial establishments under them. You may have to wait for someone to pass away before you can rent one...the neighborhood is pretty stable. On the corner of 92nd and Third Avenue you'll see the luxury high-rises like the York Towers, which are changing this part of New York Compare York Towers with the buildings holding the Starbucks across the stree, and figure which side of the street Jane Jacobs would have loved and which she would have hated.
Down another block and you'll see "death by success" The character of the neihborhood is being destroyed by high rises for people who wanted to come to the neighborhood for its character.
If you have the energy to walk one more block you'll a version of Le Corbusier's Radient City. Tall apartment blocks in parks (pretty small parks, here)...but that's understandable, these are housing projects built to accommodate the poor. They can't look to fancy--mustn't look like private housing for the middle class. Currently, one of thim houses the elderly.
Stephanie Hicinbothem Writes:
I would consider myself as a garden urbanite. The place I chose to live is on Stephen St. in Boston Massachusetts. This is my ideal place to live because it has a neighborhood feeling in a city setting. The trees and the brick buildings are what attract me the most to this street. It seems very warm and cozy and peaceful while at the same time it has that urban feel to it. I can definitely see myself living in a place like this.
Mike Swanson writes: Not only Gardens but Culture. From this stree you're less than 15 minutes from the Museum of Fine Arts, Symphony Hall, and Northeastern University (free lectures, when you're in the mood). The T is just in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. The Isabella Stewart Gardner musem is maybe another 5 minutes (easy walking). And after all that Cultcha (you have to pronounce it Bostonian Style) you can walk to Fenway Park to catch the Sox, or be athletic yourself in the tennis courts in the Fenway. If you have some time to do some prowling in the neighborhood, send me a note and I'll add it to what you've written here.
