Urban Living

We live a little off the center of a small coastal city, about three blocks from the sea. While the city itself is relatively small in population, it is part of a string of contiguous coastal cities that, taken together, have a population of about 300,000. Most of the buildings in our town are four to five stories tall with the ground floor being retail, office or commercial.

This creates a living pattern that encourages walking to shops and stores rather than driving. I decided to make a list of stores and shops within three blocks of us, though I think six blocks is a reasonable walking area. While my list is far from complete, I think it makes clear the large selection of merchants near us: Caffe's (too numerous to count), pizzerias, restaurants, one large supermarket and several smaller ones, bakeries, several butchers and a poultry shop, banks, pharmacy, clothing stores, fruit stores, a florist, gas station and car wash, card shop, office supply store, lawyers, medical doctors, dentists, hardware, pet supply, the beach itself and numerous related shops, police, air conditioning sales and service, travel agencies, leather stores and a leather processor, tobacco shop, pastry shop, herb store (like a health food store but only dealing in herbs), beauty parlors, barbers, bicycle shops, plumber, specialty hardware, fire extinguisher and alarm store, drape and curtain shops, white goods store, specialty cleaning goods (more on this in a later post) , motorcycle store, motorcycle equipment store, mattress store, kitchen supply stores (2), home furnishing stores (2), betting parlors and slot rooms.

If you widen the walking area to six blocks it incorporates every thing you need to live and would include the post office and train station. Add another three blocks and you would include BMW and Volvo dealerships, Avis car rental and several body shops, not to speak of duplicating many times over the previously listed shops and restaurants. On Monday mornings, the market starts one block from us and stretches three blocks north to a one block square piazza where the main market is located.

Unless it is inclement weather, we find it takes longer to drive somewhere and find a place to park than to walk directly to it. Fortunately our area has four mild seasons and we have had a particularly warm and mostly dry winter.

Because of the convenience of the stores, there are always many pedestrians on the street. Additionally, as street crime is virtually non-existent here, people are not afraid to walk places. With a bakery, butcher shop, supermarket and the best pizzeria in town, all within one block of us, we never lack for food, not necessarily a good thing.

Other things within one block: veterinarian, beauty parlors, herb shop, fruit stand, caffes, fresh pasta shop, leather store, florist, moped dealer, driver school, clothing store, jewelry store and a slot room.