I feel very blessed to live in a part of Europe where I can leave the house and start walking forever.
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The funny thing is, that original article I shared is about how many Americans would rather not be in walkable neighborhoods, considering the amount of space they can get elsewhere for the same money or less.
It’s like that in lots of places. Like I was watching something on social media about real estate and a woman was returning to Italy and choosing a home. She ended up in a large property with fruit trees, instead of settling for less space in town center. Town center was gorgeous, with water views, but she decided she could easily drive there.
Personally, I used to relish living in the center of things when younger. Nowadays, I want property I can spread out in.
I can always visit or sit in city centers nowadays (thanks, THS), but I don’t want density where I live.
I’m a 10-minute drive to a bunch of stuff, though. And I make sure that wherever I live (or sit), there are easy meal and grocery deliveries.
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Last summer we did a sit in a Hudson Valley property with land.It was terrific to see the deer in the yard, and the wild turkeys. We could walk around the pond which wasn’t much of a hike but it was a nice way to start the day and we could work on the screened in porch. Here’s the thing though. I wouldn’t want to stay their alone and every time we started the car I was relieved but always thinking – “What if it didn’t start?” “What if my phone went dead?” I’m super happy visiting the country but living in a city where I’m not car dependent.
Everyone is different, of course, and has different priorities and preferences.
To me, ride shares and food delivery have widened where I consider livable even without a car. But I wouldn’t live rural, ever.
I enjoy a change of pace to say a city center sit, but I relish having room to sprawl in suburbia.
I picked our current home because it’s lush and there’s a lake across from us. We get deer, coyotes, many types of birds, etc. It’s amazing for dog walking. We also have lots of trails and other nature near us — mountains, rivers and beaches.
It’s an easy drive to restaurants, supermarkets, etc. We have a few vehicles, though we rarely drive, since my husband has decided to retire and I telecommute.
If I weren’t lazy, we’re about half a mile from light rail that goes to the airport, downtown and well beyond.
I anticipated that we might want to age in place, so we bought a single-story home and immediately had contractors add a separate mother-in-law unit, should we get feeble and need live-in help down the line. Meanwhile, my husband uses it as a man cave and we have an extra guest room.
If self-driving cars aren’t a thing in say 15 - 20 years, we can still easily get ride shares if needed. Like I rarely have my husband drive me to the airport even now, using ride shares instead.
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My great-grandparents owned a shoe store “and bootery” in Berkeley (by the arch).
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That sounds amazing!
Living in multi-family buildings was always really stressful for me because of noise, especially from neighbors in the same building. That’s why, for many years now, we have only lived in houses. TrustedHousesitters has made it possible for us to continue doing that while traveling. Even when we had a permanent home, we always chose houses. They don’t have to be huge, but obviously, the bigger the house, the more space there is to spread out.
For example, during COVID we were so grateful to be in a three-story house. We had a fully equipped gym in the basement, a space where I could paint, kind of like my own little woman cave, and even a meditation and puzzle room. We also had separate bedrooms, a big open living and kitchen area on the ground floor, and of course a garden.
We have often lived in rural areas but also on the outskirts of cities where it was easy to get around by bike. Living in the countryside was great, especially since we are both really into fitness. My husband, who does triathlons, could go straight from the house to cycle or run near lakes. Even I sometimes ran eight miles to work in the summer through warm, leafy forests. It was amazing.
At the same time, we are really into culture, museums, exhibitions, and I used to paint with an artist group on certain days. We also love going to the gym, so having a car was necessary, but everything was within a 15-minute drive, so it was not too bad.
Living in a city or the suburbs has its benefits, but one thing that always bugged me was that I had to bike at least 20 minutes just to find a place where I could not hear cars in the distance and could finally enjoy nature while working out.
That said, life in Europe has so many great things going for it.
I lived in NYC for 30 years, and another 10 in Toronto. I like going to plays, concerts, art museums. I like walking the streets of NYC. And there are parks. I think I am just an urban type. I like being by the ocean or great lakes. I like being by the water. Even in NYC, I always lived near the Hudson River. That is why there are all types of people and all types of places to live.
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We’ve always loved NYC (also because of its walkability and the ‘everything’) and are looking forward to spending more time there in the future! 
Europe is amazing. Whenever I visit, I wonder why some Europeans move to the U.S. 
Great that you live / lived where you get what you want — especially during COVID. Many people moved then, because their homes weren’t comfortable enough for spending time nonstop.
My next sit is for a triathlete. They asked me to repeat sit and covered my airfare, so they can compete abroad. Their primary home is near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, so they must train there. It’s 1,000+ acres.
I hear you about the drawbacks of multi-family buildings. It’s a tradeoff, because density allows for public transit, amenities, etc. But noise can hurt quality of life, as you mentioned.
We once lived in a “new urbanist” development — planned with density of different types of housing, supermarkets, restaurants, parks, transit and such, and near many jobs. You could walk or bike to everything.
The homes were designed against noise. So for instance there was a one-foot air pocket between our wall and our neighbors’ wall in our attached row homes. We couldn’t hear them and vice versa. We tested with our neighbors by blowing out our TV and music.
It was a pleasure to live in the community, which was well thought out. Our neighbors were wonderful and we regularly socialized. We left only because we wanted a bigger place and the community offered homes only up to X square feet.
Now we’re in the quietest place we’ve ever lived, which I love. We’re recessed from the street. We’re close, but far enough to not hear freeway, airport or street noise. On one side, we’re against woods and across from us is a lake, which is why we get wildlife. I could tell it was unique as soon as I pulled up when house hunting.
I had been thinking about buying a pied-à-terre in city center, but THS gives me similar benefits without upkeep, plus much greater variety. Love that.
My favorite U.S. city is Washington, D.C. I’m going to head there right after my current sit, just to hang out. I love it, because it has history and culture. Plus, it has height restrictions and wide streets. I dislike cities like NYC, which feel compressed. I’d love to live in Chicago, but the winters are brutal.
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Wow, your home sounds wonderful! It’s such a blessing to feel truly comfortable at home. You can’t appreciate that enough, since you spend so much of your life there.
I come from a town of just 2,000 people, where a large part of my family still lives. I’d even go so far as to say I know almost everyone in this town because many friends, family members, and acquaintances still live there. My father is active in many local clubs and organizations. My husband also comes from a similarly small town, about 25 miles away.
I’m sure I would really like your home and would feel very comfortable there. However, I sometimes get a big city craving, like wanting to visit London, Paris, or NYC, and I enjoy the 10 days or 2 weeks I spend there. I doubt I could live there for a longer time, because as I said, I love being in total peace and quiet in nature very quickly, but every now and then I find it very exciting, and especially when I’m sometimes traveling without my husband, it feels very adventurous.
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Yes, totally agree with you about craving big city life sometimes. I traveled a lot even before joining THS. I’m in a big city a lot and love the contrast with home. I love museums and have been to three in the past week. My host kindly loaned me her car, which has made things convenient, especially in very cold weather.
Sounds like you, your husband and family have terrific roots. My family are immigrants and I’ve never stayed long anywhere as an adult.
I’ve been lucky to live in a variety of places, because I worked in news for decades and my employers paid to move me from city to city. The movers would come pack everything, deliver and unpack.
I’ve had opportunities to work / live in Europe, but I didn’t want to take the cut in earnings. I might eventually live there for a year or two when I semi-retire.
A friend moved to Italy from the U.S., on a digital nomad visa. That’s also a possibility down the line.
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@Maggie8K That sounds like an amazing career path! And yes, it’s true that you can earn more in many fields in the U.S., but you also need a lot more money to sustain the same quality of life than in Europe, plus the history, many different interesting places and cultures, so many different languages, sea sides, lifestyles… In the end, it’s always a balance between needs and possibilities, isn’t it?
We also traveled a lot before THS, but always just for vacations - never more than six weeks a year. Now, being self-employed and working remotely allows us to experience something closer to everyday life in different countries, which we’re really grateful for.
When we’re in cities, we usually don’t do THS because, I want to be free to wander through museums three times a week (like you - brilliant!), sit in a café with my flat white and just be, open to meeting new people and exchanging little kindnesses without constantly checking the time or factoring in a dog’s schedule.
Walkability is a big thing for me, which is actually why we rarely spend time in Asia. I know it’s hugely popular and, of course, beautiful with amazing beaches and everything, but if I have to constantly watch out for mopeds while walking, I’d rather skip it.
I totally get the appeal of moving to Europe at some point, to Italy (which I do not like so much. I prefer France, Portugal, Poland). The lifestyle, the history, the ease of getting around, it’s all pretty special. If you do end up doing it, even just for a year or two, I think you’d love it!
To me a half mile walk to the light rail is nothing and if there were a grocery within a mile, I’d be good.
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Yes, agreed in general. For me, earning potential from U.S. startup equity far outstrips that in Europe.
Thanks to previous equity, I could retire early, but I still relish the work. Some people love triathlons, mountain climbing, etc. For me, startups are the mental equivalent. 99 percent of them fail. To help one succeed is immensely satisfying.
Meanwhile, I travel. And sitting wise, I recently decided to focus on the U.S. going forward. I’d rather be a pure tourist abroad, without responsibilities, and avoid significant time differences with telecommuting.
Across my careers, I’ve taken several sabbaticals — up to a year long — so haven’t been limited to vacation time. And with the jobs I do, execs control their own schedules and take vacation as they see fit. The idea is that if you burned out, you wouldn’t be much good to anyone.
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When I worked onsite, I used to take light rail and subways to work, depending on where I was living. But now I telecommute and I don’t want to drag my baggage to light rail when traveling, especially early or late, which is when I usually fly in or out. I like that it’s there in a pinch, though.
For groceries, the only place I usually go is Trader Joe’s, admittedly mostly for snacks. Otherwise, I order delivery, even on sits or at hotels.
They’re building a TJ’s near us, but even when we used to live close to TJ’s, we’d drive to avoid carrying groceries. I know it’s common to tote groceries when living in cities, but since we live in the ‘burbs and have cars, our lifestyle is different.
Thanks for the subject and for the link. It didn’t have any trouble opening it. Walkability is one of the reasons I bought my home in Midtown Ventura. My job of 20 years involved daily extensive driving so staying out of the car as much as possible was my goal for a retirement home. As I suspected, this is my neighborhood’s score. I think I’ll add this image to my listing on TH.
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Great idea to add and highlight your home’s walkability! Maybe other hosts will want to if they’re in convenient areas.
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Thanks for sharing this! It will be very helpful in the future.
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I dunno about others, but walkability and whether or not a car is needed is always something I describe on reviews of sits. It’s not a personal thing or a reflection on the owner, but I think it’s useful for future sitters, so I always mention how walkable it is to public transportation, whether public transportation exists, other options, etc.
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Yup, agreed. I mention if there’s stuff within reasonable walking distance.
It’s annoying when a host mentions that X is convenient or close by and doesn’t specific whether that’s by car or on foot. If they say stuff like that vaguely, I assume it’s by car, which many sitters lack. So I’ll skip those listings.
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