This might be another great InShaw series, or not. But I should start somewhere.
I haven’t owned a car since 1993 when I sold my one and only car after graduating college. Since then I either had no money for a car (gas, insurance, maintenance, etc) or lived in areas where parking was a game of skill and cunning, and there was ample public transportation, I just never bothered to buy another car. So here I am, more than a decade later, and still no car. So I walk.
I chose the neighborhoods where I lived in the DC metro area based on the public transportation and what was in walking distance. When I first moved to Shaw, over in Logan Circle, I picked the place because #1 it was cheap, second because within walking distance was a Laundromat, the Giant, the metro station, and my hairdresser. Whole Foods hadn’t opened up until I was ready to move, it was 3 blocks away. When I bought the house and moved to the other end of Shaw, I could still walk to the Giant, I can walk to a Laundromat, the metro, and on a good day, when the sun is shining, my hairdresser.
Walking and having to walk is one of the good things about living in the city. Separates us from the far flung suburbanites. We got sidewalks, lots of ’em. Things are just close enough that you can walk to them, when there are things to walk to.
Almost everyday, I walk to the metro, to and from work. Depending on my needs and the season, I walk to the Giant or to the corner store for milk. I walk to the Dunkin Donuts, canceling out any health benefits walking may give. I walk over to friends’ homes. Sometimes I just walk to look around and see what is going on with the neighborhood.
Walking, good for you.