The #2 way living in Oakland changed my life.

by

rsz_screen_shot_2014-12-03_at_124302_pm

These five posts are quintessential Old School Blogging.  They are crammed with the minutia of my life.  Stuffed with thoughts which only matter to me.

I almost closed comments as all I really ask is you spend time—no matter how long—sharing & carrying these feelings alongside me.

rsz_photo180

Readying for some Travels with Charming.

I will never forget the first time we drove up up up the steep hill into our new neighborhood and navigated the smooshed maze which eventually led to the house the husband had bought.

I wasn’t in love.

I look at the way all the cars were parked half on the curb and half on the street (?!).

I watched how the vehicles in front of us wove in and out and around each other in an effort to get OUT of our neighborhood and TO anywhere else.

I wasn’t in love.

I drove my Texas-car around for the next few weeks and discovered how infrequently I could find a place to leave it.

I realized in Oakland the parking spaces were few and the spaces which fit my almost-an-SUV even fewer.

I wasn’t in love.

Until one morning I made the choice to live in my ‘hood as if I didn’t own a car.

#2 reason I love Oakland, California is the walkability of my ‘hood.

rsz_screen_shot_2014-12-04_at_44055_am

these became my mode of transportation.

To be honest, my walking-choice was initially born from frustration (I was tired of driving to the grocery, finding no place to leave my day, and driving home empty handed) yet I cannot emphasize enough how this seemingly small decision has entirely changed my life.

And my love of my Oakland.

Though walking the streets I discovered a home where weekly SIDEWALK YOGA was offered (!).

Sequences drawn and left for other passer-by’s to try out (at home? there? I never figured that one out).rsz_photo-50

Through walking the streets I learned not only the power of observation and interaction, but of STOPPING and compelling myself to be present in a way I never could in a car.

Screen Shot 2014-12-13 at 4.27.20 AM

#wycwyc meditaton

I walked so much neighbors began to ask me:

Do you even own a car?

I walked to much the baggers at my fave grocery would ask before bagging:

Wait. Did you walk or drive?

I walked so often with my Tornado of a sidekick (pre-Charming) our neighbors our ask us to talk out *their* dog.
rsz_screen_shot_2014-05-12_at_43311_am

For me this walkability of my ‘hood has been profoundly life altering.

It was a reminder our world is how we choose to view it (quite frankly not many in my area see us as “walkable” as I do).

It was the realization how when I get out of my car and amble among people amazing connections are made.

I met people in a way I never would have otherwise and I never had before.

face to face

eye to eye

hug to hug

Which leads me to my final post:

The #1 reason I love Oakland, California…

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

    • You made me teary at the end, too.
      I remember you said once on I think it was facebook? about seeing people and really seeing them.
      That stuck with me a lot.

  3. I am moving in February and plan to try and mimic your experience.
    Right now I live in a car place in the suburbs and have met really few people in my 7 years here.

  5. I grew up in a walkable place. I can walk where I live now, but it’s at least a mile to the nearest shopping center, and the Starbucks is at the far end. 😉

  7. love this!! We began walking in our neighborhood last spring and discovered a whole new area and met new people. I love the sidewalk yoga!!

  13. I miss having a walkable neighborhood now – we live in the burbs, and walk all over that mountain with the pup, but cannot really walk for errands and things. We are still on vacation and are walking everywhere – I love it!

    I am looking forward to the next post…

  14. Hi Carla….I so agree. I have been walking for so-o-o many years in the morning and definitely consider walking to be meditation as well. Then about 5 years ago my husband and I moved to a highly walkable neighborhood for all the reasons you mention. We didn’t really plan it but ended up using our car at least 25% less just by moving to our new location. We love it and can’t ever imagine living out in the “suburbs” again. ~Kathy

  15. We choose where we want to live based on the walkability of the neighborhood… although unfortunately here it’s not as great as it was previously. But it does make such a difference, both in the connections made with people and in learning to rely less on the car!

  17. I hear you. I love the walkability of my neighborhood. I’m not always a fan of the overall DC area, but I love my little piece of it . In fact, we walk so much that the insurance company constantly questions the mileage on my cars…

  18. I walk or bike pretty much everywhere on the days I don’t have to drive 45 min one way to WORK and back. Lucky you that when in Oakland you didn’t have to! Most people I know that live in that area bike to the train/put their bike on the train/bike to work and do it all over again on the way home. You are fortunate to be able to work from home.

  20. I would love to be able to walk places but we don’t live in a walk-able neighborhood – too far from all of the places we go.

  21. Our neighborhood is walkable. Get outside of it, and you either have to use the culverts under the roadways to get anywhere, or risk getting run down on the highway. Don’t get me started about the highways that don’t even have sidewalks in front of the houses.

  23. We moved to SF just over a year ago and I’ve been amazed at how little my boyfriend or I use the car, it basically lives in the garage. I do take it out about once a week for the grocery store trip, but that’s only because there’s plenty of parking. I either walk or take my bike everywhere I want to go (and this was a woman who hadn’t ridden a bike for almost 25 years). We’re planning on getting rid of it altogether after the holidays. I have absolutely loved our transition to this crazy town.

  30. I love these posts! I love that you walk 🙂 it is kind of like driving vs. flying – so many more memories with a journey that takes time and allows you a view! We live in a rural setting so walking isn’t truly feasible (20 miles from anything) but I do park and walk in town when doing errands – love the sights, sounds, smells, the EXPERIENCE!

  31. Perspective is everything! I lived for a while in a city I did not like! I used to say it was the city I loved to hate! Least I got the love word in there 🙂

  34. When I was a poor grad student for many years, I didn’t own a car until I was 26. I walked every where. It was a wonderful way for me to get acquainted with the places I lived in for those years: Boston, Phoenix, and St.Petersburg, Russia. Now I am lucky to live in a walkable neighborhood, but the Pacific NW requires you have a car since it rains so much.

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This