The Hamline Midway neighborhood in St. Paul (aka my 'hood) has a bunch of different stuff going on - light industrial, a university, small businesses, a ripped up main drag that they are building a train in, and housing that is still affordable for regular people. It's been fun to recommit to the neighborhood this summer now that we've committed to staying in our house and continuing the epic project of fixing it up to our liking.
In my old, hyper-scheduled life, I was pretty dependent on my car. It's hard to feel a part of a neighborhood in a car because you are encased in your own little mobile bubble. Car mentality is about getting in and getting out of places quickly and you develop a macro perspective on geographic areas. I've missed having a micro perspective on the place I live, so I'm trying to do more walking and more biking. It also helps that gas is insanely expensive and I am cheap.
There's all kind of interesting happening in Midway. A large group of people seem to be using their property as a form of self-expression (like the neighbors with the metal statues in their yards pictured above). It confirms for me that we live in a place that we fit because we're not "property values" kind of people looking to have a house straight out of HGTV. We're more "our life is one big crazy canvas" kind of people. It's good to know that we live among others willing to let their freak flags fly.
In my old, hyper-scheduled life, I was pretty dependent on my car. It's hard to feel a part of a neighborhood in a car because you are encased in your own little mobile bubble. Car mentality is about getting in and getting out of places quickly and you develop a macro perspective on geographic areas. I've missed having a micro perspective on the place I live, so I'm trying to do more walking and more biking. It also helps that gas is insanely expensive and I am cheap.
There's all kind of interesting happening in Midway. A large group of people seem to be using their property as a form of self-expression (like the neighbors with the metal statues in their yards pictured above). It confirms for me that we live in a place that we fit because we're not "property values" kind of people looking to have a house straight out of HGTV. We're more "our life is one big crazy canvas" kind of people. It's good to know that we live among others willing to let their freak flags fly.
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