Everything is within walking distance if you have enough time. – Steven Wright.
When I was growing up, a teenager in the suburbs of Kingston Ontario there was always “nothing to do”. Suburban life for me, and many of my high school friends, revolved around the three moons of boredom: the high school, the mini mall and TV sitcoms. Many people love living in the Suburbs, don’t get me wrong, suburbs are safe and peaceful. Houses are big and modern. Everything is fresh and new, and a walk around the block is just that, a walk around the block. The majority of Canadians live in the suburbs. There must be a good reason.
But there is another group, a smaller but growing group of people that are more urban in taste – the city dwellers. These are the people who live in city centre condos and older neighborhoods (like me in Uptown Waterloo). We like being closer to “the action”, whatever that is.
One thing I discovered when I lived abroad is that Canadians love to walk. We do more walking than Americans for sure and I would wager that we do more walking than a lot of other nationalities too. Often when I’m working with people looking for the perfect home to buy, “what’s in the neighborhood?” and “what’s within walking distance?” are questions that come up.
With that in mind I’d like to share this little tool I recently discovered: Walk Score – Find a walkable place to live.
If you’re wondering what’s in your neighborhood or in a neighborhood you’re moving to, just plug in the address. I did for a home in Cambridge that I’ve got listed for sale – 146 Grand Avenue South. It scored a better than average 68%.
I live on Keewatin. My walk score is only 38!