People like me tend to travel routinely to one of three places: work, church, and kids’ schools. Where you live, it is hoped, is close to at least one of those three places, and ideally a manageable distance to all three.
From this perspective, I am a really lucky dude, as all three places are, and have always been, within walking distance of where we live:
* I have been employed for 14 years. The first ten I had a four- to six-block commute, and the last four I have had a ten-block commute.
* I have been attending my church for 14 years. It has always been four to six blocks away. (It was fun to be able to walk there on my wedding day.)
* Where my kids will go to school from kindergarten to 8th grade will be two blocks away. Jada starts there this fall, and Aaron, who currently goes to school eight blocks from home, will enroll there in two years.
Not needing a car to get these places is magnificent on my psyche and on my wallet. No gas, no road rage, no parking. Yes to time walking with one or both of my kids to their school, chatting them up about some urban thing along the way, getting exercise and fresh air.
I wish I could say that I have made some huge sacrifice, for the purposes of the environment or of being committed to my neighborhood; because that would make me look nobler than I really am, and I like patting myself on the back whenever I can. But honestly, I haven’t had to settle; all three places were and are my first choices, so no compromises there. And if there’s been any intentionality on my part, it’s been a matter of convenience and frugality, not ecological or communal considerations. For me, it’s a small world after all, and I’m loving it.
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