Your utopian neighborhood

I'd like at least quarter acre lots (doesn't have to be huge), different architectural styles of homes and lots of huge trees, especially oaks.. like the kind that drape over the street. A river or lakes around would be nice. I'm not a big fan of subdivisions, gated or not. I'd rather be walking distance to a town/main street with shops and cafes.
 
My next door neighbor lets his cat out every night and lets him back in the next morning. Why?????
If he is anything like my cat, it's so he doesn't wake you up at 4am because he wants to be feed, even though their is still food in his bowl from the night before. ;)
 
All this talk of parking annoyance, dog annoyance, speeding. If you developed a subdivision what would you like?

Community pool
Community lawn mowing: I love that our neighbors and I use the same service, the noise is one and done, and it looks great.
Maybe gated-not sure about that
No overnight street parking-have it, like it

The idea of community anything kind of rubs me the wrong way. I've never had a pool, one of the few houses in my subdivision without one. I'll take care of my own lawn.
Never had an issue with parking, I'm a fan of subdivisions with wide streets and ample on street parking.
 


All this talk of parking annoyance, dog annoyance, speeding. If you developed a subdivision what would you like?

Community pool
Community lawn mowing: I love that our neighbors and I use the same service, the noise is one and done, and it looks great.
Maybe gated-not sure about that
No overnight street parking-have it, like it

I would definitely design subdivisions that have larger houseblocks and plenty of greenspaces. I wouldn't live there though.
 
If he is anything like my cat, it's so he doesn't wake you up at 4am because he wants to be feed, even though their is still food in his bowl from the night before. ;)

So then he comes to my house and wakes me up screaming at my cats through the window. Thanks.
 
My aunt lived way out in the country and regularly picked up dumped dogs and cats from the nearby rest stop. She usually kept them outdoors which was likely fine since she lived far away from others.

As for perfect living, I agree with being far away from others but I do want someone who will come to fix things. :)
 


I'd like to live in a neighborhood thats not called a subdivision. I grew up in a neighborhood, where we all knew each other and all the kids stayed out all day and night playing with each other. No perfect lawns. Where you hear the ice cream truck come down the street and we'd all scream and run for money. Gates? no way. Just regular families, making a living. Thats my utopia.
 
My answer is drastically different if it's just me and my husband or if my kids are still living at home...although I really dislike my two immediate neighbors right now, our neighborhood has been great for my kids to grow up in. Our lot is a little less than a half acre and it's fenced. There are sidewalks and a park down the street. Lots of the kids on our street have grown up together. It's good place for them.

Now later....I want a bayfront home on a large lot (maybe 1 acre?) in a neighborhood with a lot of open space, sidewalks and no HOA. I don't need community amenities and I don't want to pay for anyone else to have them. I can pay for my own trash collection, lawn maintenance etc. I fully plan to be a grumpy old woman so I just want lots of space, a nice water view and a lot less people. ;)
 
I'm already living in my ideal community! :cloud9:

Within walking distance...

Pools and parks (really nice when the kids were little - I don't use them as much any more).

Several linear parkways (ie, tree lined garden paths following the roads), for walking the dog.

A farmer's market.

A hardware store.

One grocery store is just a block away, and there's two more grocery stores only a couple more blocks past that.

Lots of little boutique shops, restaurants, health clubs, etc.

A big thrift shop.

A public library.

Two community centres, one of which has an indoor pool.

A free-ish (donations encouraged) daily parent-child drop in and toy lending library (again, something that was invaluable when the kids were small).

Three different elementary schools and a high school.

The river parkway (with kilometers of paths).

A transit station, providing easy access to the rest of the city.

Basically, everything you might want in a community.

And, best of all, there's no gates, no rules, no one telling me what I can and can't do with or on my own property. If I want to paint my house purple with pink polkadots, that's totally my decision. I did hang my laundry outside for years, before we lifted the house and built ourselves a first floor/basement.

The outdoor cats don't bother me, because the highly aggressive robins nesting by my back door chase them away every spring/summer. I could do with fewer bunnies eating my vegetables, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. And it IS fun to see the baby bunnies in the spring, when they're still too tiny and dumb to know they should run away from me and my dog. :laughing: (Edited to add: My dog does not chase bunnies. She just stares at them with polite incomprehension... maybe she thinks they're small cats, who knows?)
 
I'd like to live in a neighborhood thats not called a subdivision. I grew up in a neighborhood, where we all knew each other and all the kids stayed out all day and night playing with each other. No perfect lawns. Where you hear the ice cream truck come down the street and we'd all scream and run for money. Gates? no way. Just regular families, making a living. Thats my utopia.

Yes! That's how we grew up. Everyone knew each other. If you needed a cup of sugar you knocked on your neighbors door because you've known them for 10 years. Kids actually played outside and we played in our neighbors yards and no one cared. Those were the good old days. I've never lived in a subdivision and doubt I ever will. Way too sterile and boring to me.
 
I'm already living in my ideal community! :cloud9:

Within walking distance...

Pools and parks (really nice when the kids were little - I don't use them as much any more).

Several linear parkways (ie, tree lined garden paths following the roads), for walking the dog.

A farmer's market.

A hardware store.

One grocery store is just a block away, and there's two more grocery stores only a couple more blocks past that.

Lots of little boutique shops, restaurants, health clubs, etc.

A big thrift shop.

A public library.

Two community centres, one of which has an indoor pool.

A free-ish (donations encouraged) daily parent-child drop in and toy lending library (again, something that was invaluable when the kids were small).

Three different elementary schools and a high school.

The river parkway (with kilometers of paths).

A transit station, providing easy access to the rest of the city.

Basically, everything you might want in a community.

And, best of all, there's no gates, no rules, no one telling me what I can and can't do with or on my own property. If I want to paint my house purple with pink polkadots, that's totally my decision. I did hang my laundry outside for years, before we lifted the house and built ourselves a first floor/basement.

The outdoor cats don't bother me, because the highly aggressive robins nesting by my back door chase them away every spring/summer. I could do with fewer bunnies eating my vegetables, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. And it IS fun to see the baby bunnies in the spring, when they're still too tiny and dumb to know they should run away from me and my dog. :laughing: (Edited to add: My dog does not chase bunnies. She just stares at them with polite incomprehension... maybe she thinks they're small cats, who knows?)

Sounds very much like my town/neighborhood, even down to the amount of schools.
 
We don't really have many gated communities in my town, but if I were to create one, I'd want less houses, more land, mountain views, snow & lawn maintenance (without huge fees!), & no ridiculous rules where you can't have a boat in your driveway or have to ask permission for a vegetable garden.
 
As Overlord - I would decide who could move in and when they had to move out. No leafblowers! No doorjunk (flyers, ads, etc). No motorcycles. No bugs, snakes, wild animals. No outdoor cats. No humidity over 50%. No temperature over 80. No temperature below 50. I guess I want a dome over it. Free cable - with no sports, spanish or shopping channels. Speedy internet. That's a start.

That sounds like La Jolla, CA.
 
Yes! That's how we grew up. Everyone knew each other. If you needed a cup of sugar you knocked on your neighbors door because you've known them for 10 years. Kids actually played outside and we played in our neighbors yards and no one cared. Those were the good old days. I've never lived in a subdivision and doubt I ever will. Way too sterile and boring to me.

I don't know, I've never lived in a subdivision, but many of my friends did when I was a kid & that was pretty much exactly the experience when I was visiting.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top