If living in a walkable neighborhood is important to you, Walk Score can help you find the perfect location.
Picture a walkable neighborhood. You lose weight each time you walk to the grocery store. You stumble home from last call without waiting for a cab. You spend less money on your car or you don’t own a car. When you shop, you support your local economy. You talk to your neighbors. ~ Walk Score
The site has listed America’s Most Walkable Neighborhoods. Not surprisingly, Seattle is in the top 10.
When we moved here from the Boston suburbs, we were looking for a better social life, less time in the car, and easier access to the things we need. I feel like we sort of lucked into this great neighborhood (Walk Score 92!), and it would have been terrific to have this site when we were househunting.
What makes a city walkable?
- A Center
- Density
- Mixed income, mixed use
- Parks and public space
- Pedestrian-centric design
- Nearby schools and workplaces
Walkability isn’t everyone’s dream (maybe you want to live on a farm, or enjoy the land on the weekends that a daily commute gives you), but if walkability is important to you I encourage you to check out this site.
You can check out the top 10 (and bottom 10) cities, map your own neighborhood, and check out potential areas to live.
A few important points lacking in the site are access to public transportation and crime/safety statistics for a particular area. Those can be easily found through a Google search (Google Maps has public transit info for many large cities now.)
What’s your walk score, and how does that impact your life, if at all?
About Betsy
Hi, there Betsy! I just randomly came across your blog and was hooked right away–I love what you and your husband are doing. I’m a recent college grad and though I haven’t had the working-sixty-hour-weeks-and-it’s-driving-me-crazy experience, I went on an adventure and lived in Edinburgh for six months after graduation and was able to travel a little bit then (I loved travel before, but now I’m hooked and am planning my next getaway to NZ). I’ve decided to read your blog from the beginning and work my way to the present and I must say that I’m loving it!! This post has been one that especially caught my attention after living in Edinburgh and being able to walk ANYWHERE in literally 25 minutes (Walk Score of 91!). Just wanted to leave a little message (okay, it’s a bit longer than I thought it might be) to let you know that I’m so jealous and I’ll be following you every step of the way! Thanks!
Kate, I’m so glad to have you here on the blog! You’ll be able to add a lot to the conversation from your travel experience.
There was a great conversation over at http://www.freepursuits.com recently on what age it was easiest to pursue a life of travel. There was a lot there from the under-30 set, and I would encourage you to check it out.