I want to live in a village.

[trof]

I want to live a short walk or bike ride from the village square.
In my village there would be a bakery, a greengrocer, a butcher, a fruit stand, a small, but well stocked hardware store, a restaurant/pub (with outside tables too), a post office, and a library.

My village would be off the grid, totally powered by solar and wind.

I could get rid of the cars.
I wouldn't need a big refrigerator or a freezer.
The post office would save tons of money (and gas, and the environment) by not providing home delivery.

Every day I'd walk in to the square and check my mail, or mail letters, bills.
I'd stop by the pub for a cup of coffee and catch up on the latest news and gossip, then do my daily grocery shopping.

I'd have public transport to get to a city, if I needed to go there for doctor, dentist, stuff I couldn't get in the village.
In fact, except for medical needs, I could shop online for just about anything my village didn't provide.

Why can't I get this in the U.S.?
Or can I?
I see places like this all over Europe and the Great Britain.
Even Japan.

I want one here.

[magellan]

1. I used to live in a place like that

1960-70s America, dead as a doorknob.

[Art_from_Ark]

60. Ain't that the truth?

In the 1960s in my home town, all the shopping or other facilities we needed in our daily lives were downtown-- 2 hardware stores, 3 auto shops, 2 five-and-dimes, 2 shoe stores, 3 clothing stores, 3 pharmacies, 1 paint shop, 2 banks, 1 savings-and-loan, 2 jewelry stores, 1 bookstore, 1 appliance store, 1 department store, 4 gas stations, 5 groceries/supermarkets, 6 churches, the post office, library, movie theater, insurance companies, barber, feed store, several restaurants, music store-- all were within a 5-minute bicycle ride from my house. All schools from elementary through high school were within a 10-minute bicycle ride from my house. And now all that has been destroyed by "progress". And it sucks.

[bdamomma]

75. and probably owned by all local merchants, none of Walmart

BS.

[Art_from_Ark]

102. Local merchants owned most of the shops

I knew a few of them, or their kids. I think the only franchise store downtown in those days was Western Auto.

Believe it or not, though, one of the local merchants was Sam Walton. He had a small department store just outside the main downtown area. It was still very much a mom-and-pop operation back then. Later in the '60s, a competing department store, called Gibson's Discount Center, moved into a shopping center that was a couple of blocks away. A lot of the locals thought that Gibson's was the one that was going to become a national mega-chain.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

66. I remember that America

Even in small cities like Colorado Springs in the early 1960s where I spent three years of my youth, the population was one-fifth of what it is today. You'd seldom see a traffic jam. In fact, on the surface streets in my one mile trip to Junior High, I seldom saw moving cars except at a couple of intersections. Everything was within bike-riding distance and things just weren't as frenetic. Maybe I'm romanticizing the past, but I don't think so. One of the problems in my opinion is that now there are just too many people on the planet.

[cali]

78. no it's not. plenty of villages like that in Vermont

not the off the grid thing but the rest of it. Not my village, I confess. No village green, no store. just a PO and 200 people.

[MercutioATC]

2. Welcome to the 18th century.

Yes, we've done some wonderful things in medical treatment. That aside, there are a lot of people who would be happier living in a society that wasn't so "labor-saving" and "convenient"...and I'm one of them.


I retire in a little less than 8 years. I'll be 48 and I can start a whole new life....minus the having to work part.

I'm going to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica.

[trof]

45. I'm curious as to how you're able to retire at 48.

What's your secret?
Investors want to know.
:-)

[Blue_In_AK]

50. My husband retired when he was 46, 48 something like that

after 25 years as a marine engineer, and he got a nice pension besides (or it used to be nice before this recent devaluation of the dollar). It can be done.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. & everybody who isn't working retail is a graphic artist or web designer?

How does that work, anyway?

[trof]

10. Yeah. Where would you work?

I'm retired, so I didn't take that into consideration.

[gateley]

4. I received a mailing list

of one in Ecuador. It sounds almost idyllic. As does your village.

Don't you think all cities began this way? I'm thinking that with the current situation in the economy, we will go back towards a way of life you describe.

I want one here, too.

[End Of The Road]

5. One of the big problems in the U.S. has been zoning

The norm all over the U.S. has been to keep retail and office away from residential. It's very hard to undo, but more areas are supporting mixed-use now.

There are still quite a few small towns that offer what you're looking for, but good luck finding a job there.

[Liberal Gramma]

24. Small towns have died around here

Thriving retail mom-and-pop businesses have been replaced by "antique" stores and pawn shops. No bakeries, no greengrocers, no drugstore. The big-box stores have driven out this kind of retail. I wish it wasn't so, but I don't think the trend is reversible.

[End Of The Road]

38. I don't know why small towns continue to allow...

big box stores to move in. They've seen what it does to small towns all over the country, and none of it (well, little of it anyway) has been good. I can think of THREE small towns near me that used to have wonderful mom-and-pop hardware stores. Two of the towns have let in Home Depot, the other allowed a WalMart. The mom-and-pop places were all put out of business.

[Liberal Gramma]

40. A few have stood up to the invasion, but not many,not very successfully

Big money is pretty hard to oppose--they can always outlast you. What makes it harder for me to stomach is that they take our money and donate it to Republican contests, so we get screwed twice.

[Mind_your_head]

51. That's what has been happening....too true! n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

72. Small towns used to live off supplying the family farmers in the area

When stagflation hit the farms in the late 1970s, early 1980s, crushing them with a combination of 20+% interest for equipment and supplies, and rapidly falling prices for their crops and animal products, they went into bankruptcy. (Here's where the Democrats really fell down on the job. They could have offered low-interest refinancing to distressed farmers, and their names would have been blessed forever. But I digress...) The farms were then snatched up by agribusiness firms and housing developers.

With the surrounding farms depopulated, the stores in the towns had a hard time. Then WalMart and its ilk came in. The new exurbanites, the "drive till you qualify" crowd, didn't want to shop at Joe's Grocery. They wanted to drive to the new Safeway on the edge of town.

Goodbye village.

I spent seven years in a small town in Oregon. It was on a main state highway that eventually led to Portland, but for the first few years I lived there, its downtown was intact and offered all the necessary services, including an office supply store and a clothing store whose buyer had excellent taste. There was a bit of a commercial strip on the highway out of town toward Portland, perhaps a mile long. Then WalMart came in about a year before I left.

After I left, I didn't return for nearly ten years. What a change. What had once been the edge of the commercial strip was now the middle. It extended for at least another mile beyond its former edge. The old downtown was either boarded up or converted to yuppie destinations.

[99th_Monkey]

6. Such villages may become our only choice as soon as the food riots start

but by then it may be too late. I hear ya though. Such villages ARE actually being started by
homeless people, like in Portland where I live, I helped in early stages as an organizer.
http://dignityvillage.org

And then there's SlabTown in Calif. you can google it.

[gateley]

7. Recommending - hoping someone will come along

who can point us in the right direction.

[Muttocracy]

91. hey gateley, posted some links below nt

[lutherj]

8. I'm with you. I'd gladly give up luxuries like air travel or tropical

vacations for the pleasure and security of living in an eco-village. In my spare time I like to research eco-villages and earth friendly home design on the web. A favorite one of mine is the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland.

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

9. Arcologies are an answer

Developed by architect Paolo Soleri (his Arcosanti in Arizona is a giant laboratory to experiment with arcology concepts), arcologies are designed communities featuring homes, workplaces, commercial districts, and industries in a compact form. An example: Chicago proper is a sprawl covering hundreds of square miles. If an arcology was built to replace Chicago, it might be less than a square mile (actually, a cubic mile, since arcologies often take advantage of building up and down). Think of those hundreds of square miles that used to be endless sprawl turned into farmland, parkland, etc. In-city automobiles will be unnecessary, and if urban density wears on a citizen, s/he is less than a mile away from a nature setting.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

11. I always liked that little town in The Gilmore Girls.

"Stars Hollow"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_Hollow
In the center of the town is a town square, complete with a gazebo and a statue of Casimir Pulaski. Nearly all of the town's commercial establishments are on the streets surrounding the square, with residential areas beyond. One notable exception is the Dragonfly Inn, which is removed from the common area, tucked away on Third Street <1>.

* Luke's Diner - diner owned by Luke Danes, formerly Williams Hardware before the death of his father
* Doose's Market - the town's grocery store. Lorelai has also been shown shopping at an unnamed supermarket outside of town or in Hartford
* Taylor's Olde Fashion Ice Cream and Soda Shoppe - Building next to Luke's Diner owned by Luke, rented out to Taylor Doose for his ice cream parlor
* Miss Patty's Dance Studio - the site of town meetings and other major town events, and the town's former railroad depot
* Stars Hollow High School - The town's high school. The school's sport teams are called the Minutemen
* Kim's Antiques - An antique shop which is the home of Lane Kim and her mother. Contains living quarters above the shop
* Weston's Bakery - Owned by Fran Weston, until her death at which point Lorelai and Sookie buy the Dragonfly Inn from Fran's lawyer.
* Al's Pancake World - The competitor to Luke's, which specializes in international cuisine and other varied food, but retains the "Pancake World" moniker despite no pancakes being made
* Gypsy's Garage - Auto garage where Gypsy is the owner and chief mechanic
* Stars Hollow Music - Local shop where Lane buys her musical supplies. Owned by Sophie Bloom (Carol King)
* Black, White and Read Bookshop - The local bookstore frequented by Rory, and run by Andrew. Also converted into a casual movie theater setting during evenings where older films from between the 30's-60's are screened
* The town's Church/Synagogue, a shared establishment where both Christian and Jewish services are held
* Stars Hollow Beauty Supply - A beauty shop where Shane, Rory's romantic rival to Jess Mariano worked
* Gabby's Flowers
* Faretta's Barber Shop
* Le Chat Club, which sells products for cats and their owners
* Other establishments include a post office, travel agency, vintage clothing store, law office, newsstand, filling station, video rental store, and a knitting store that Mrs. Kim frequents, and a shoe store
* Kirk's Diner, which is only seen or heard of in episode 7.02: That's What You Get, Folks, for Makin' Whoopie

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

12. Our "villages" were broken apart by capitalism. Our kids moved away,...

,...to larger cities where the promise of an American Dream resided. Now, the "village" is sacrificed for the either/or modern choice between "WalMart" and the small business that MUST charge a bit more because it CAN'T do a quantity prospect.

The sharks have been allowed to systematically eat all schools and villages. You'd think human beings were smart enough to understand a balance must be struck for the sharks to survive, too, as they eat fellow humans, alive. But, no,...greed and power-mongering steals all reason and starves all life.

No worries. Eventually, the greed and power will catch up with those who simply believe themselves untouchable.

[Bonhomme Richard]

13. Actually my town has that except............

for the totally powered by solar and wind part.
A small (walkable) village with a green, shops, restaurants, bars with live music, post office, hospital, coffee shop, hardware store, pharmacy, etc. Also, a short walk across the bridge over the river is a full size supermarket. A place to launch canoes and kayaks in the river. Baseball fields and a tennis court.
Probably just a typical New England town.
Oh yeah, I forgot....library too with internet.
Jeez, maybe I should move downtown.

[izquierdista]

14. Not with that avatar!

I drove across AL last week, the new "I-22 corridor". What amazed me was that the route was guaranteed not to disturb any towns and villages that might have been nearby. When I exited to a town, it was all sprawled out and VERY pedestrian unfriendly.

Where I live in Europe, I am above a butcher shop and a pharmacy, across the street from a market and a bakery, around the corner from a small restaurant/pub, and a block from the post office and a larger market. Alas, I have to take a trolley to go to the library, but it runs every 7 minutes on weekdays.

The big difference between the two is that in the US, every adult NEEDS a car. Work and home and shopping are zoned out of proximity to each other, so a car is a necessity to go about life. With silly zoning laws that require houses to stay their distance from shopping, and with employers drawing in people who will commute 10, 20, 30, 40 or however many miles they have to, distance is what eats up the life of Americans. There are some small, isolated towns where this is not the case, but for the vast sprawl of suburban America, distance is the devil.

I'd be worried though, if Americans tried to live as close together as Europeans. There, the standards of civilized behavior are higher, while in America, people act as though they went to the Brittney Spears School of Manners, with no consideration of courtesy for the neighbors.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

20. I used to believe us (as in the U.S.) the most tolerant of cultures.

Nowadays, it seems we more like the most isolated of peoples,...living verily separate yet among ourselves.

:shrug:

The lack of community is seen, every single day, by the jars and cans with pictures of needy/desperate people needing contributions for a dying baby or injured family in every little store along the road. It's sad as hell.

[here_is_to_hope]

21. I wish I could Rec' your post! n/t

[trof]

34. I live near a small town. Pop. 11,000.

But there is no grocery store in town. They're all miles out of town on the main highway. And no sidewalks or bike lanes on the highway.

The space above retail stores (mainly antique stores) are used for storage. I think maybe they were living quarters decades ago, but no longer.

There is a coffee shop/restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, and a Greek gyro place. No pub, but you can get a beer at the Mex place.

Even if we could find suitable living quarters in town, we'd still need a car. There is a so-called public transportation system (small buses), but they are few and far between. Takes hours to get any where.

[izquierdista]

41. Can't you be a hell-raiser and turn it around?

Is there a bakery in town? Would the locals buy fresh locally baked bread if there was someone who lived there that liked to bake and would provide that service?

Can you organize shopping trips to go buy groceries? If so, that's the first step to having a grocery co-op in town.

Can you convince the owners of the stores to go for apartments on the second floors? If not residential, then maybe office space?

Is there any sense of community that you can build on to draw people in, instead of let sprawl take its course?

What it takes is people with a vision of how they want to live. Like your original post. I think that Americans have lost that vision; the younger generation has never seen it, and the ones who remember the days when railroads were more important than cars have almost died out. In Europe, that's the way it is because everyone expects to live that way. If you tried to plop down an American subdivision in Europe, far from work and shopping and totally dependent on cars, your only buyers would be snooty oddballs who had one car per adult in the family.

[shanti]

15. check this out

http://www.ic.org/

i've been considering this too...

[Lars39]

16. Knowing my luck, I'd wind up in Midsomer, where a fair number

the population gets killed off in every episode. :)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. Lars! Midsomer is the county. The individual villages there might be dangerous but appear beautiful!

It would also be kind of nice knowing that Chief Inspector Barnaby could solve one's murder...

:rofl:

[Lars39]

33. lol

Only show I've ever watched where the actual murder is shown for so long. I once went to another channel, came back and the poor guy was still getting his head bashed in slow motion. :D

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

79. That's so funny!

I must be one of the handful of people here in the US that has seen all of the episodes...won't say how!
:hi:

[smirkymonkey]

99. I'm an addict too!

Working my way through every episode on Netflix! Even though I'd be taking my chances, I would still want to live in Midsomer county! I have a crush on Chief Inspector Barnaby. ;)

[niyad]

17. I'd like something like that here, but it isn't going to happen-- cannot even get the govt types

to be interested in public transit, recycling, etc.

[slackmaster]

18. You can definitely do that in the USA - Many farming communities are like that

You might not like it as much as you think. You will be socially pressured to attend church every Sunday.

[kestrel91316]

19. I live in Los Angeles, and yet I live in a village of sorts.

Tarzana - half a mile from Ventura Blvd. At the end of the block I can catch a bus north. Half a mile in either direction are the Metro Red Line and the Metro Orange Line, express buses that go east-west the width of the San Fernando Valley.

Trader Joe's is a nice 1 mile walk - I like to go in the evening when I need one bag's worth of groceries. Von's Market and Gelson's are half a mile, as is Long's Drugs and Office Depot. We got fast food and cheap Mexican and nice little Italian restaurants half a mile away. Some condos with a Whole Foods on the ground floor are going in on Ventura Blvd (I love mixed-use zoning) 3/4 mile away.

If people quit driving so damned much (and so insanely) I can even bike to work safely, 2 1/2 miles away. If I have to be here, it's not such a bad place to be stuck.

Oh, post office half-three quarters of a mile also.

[trof]

30. Yes, a good neighborhood within a city

could provide close to the same lifestyle.

[kestrel91316]

35. Sadly, no garden. Tiny balcony in the shade........

And the apartment appears to have virtually NO insulation.......

[izquierdista]

56. What? No gardens!!

How does Tarzan get around without any vines?

[kestrel91316]

84. Tarzan's business office is less than a mile from me down on

Ventura Blvd. He's got a couple big trees in the front yard but they keep them pruned so aggressively they don't get tall enough for liana transport. Sad, isn't it?

(The Burroughs estate actually does have a converted house there as their business location. No sign out front, but all the locals know it.)

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

42. Apparently a trend towards this is starting

I heard on NPR this morning that housing prices in cities are not dropping as much as they are in the suburbs. People are starting to realize that they are spending too much on gas, and time, getting to/from work and some are starting to return to the cities.

I live in a small New England town and can walk to the library, the post office, the bank etc quite easily. Its a little more of a hike to the supermarket, drugstore and dept store in the strip mall, but is still doable. When I retire in a few years and have more time, I may walk to the mall rather than drive. Hauling groceries home will be good exercise.

[trof]

44. Actually, my daughter lives in such a village. Melrose, MA.

27,000 population.

From her house it's about a brisk 15 minute walk to 'downtown'.
Sidewalks all the way with pedestrian crossings/traffic lights.
Just about everything you'd ever need there.

Widdemier's Hardware is an old fashioned SERIOUS hardware store.
If they don't have it, you don't need it.
;-)
Love that place.

The post office is around the corner.
Starbuck's is 3 doors down.
And pizza palaces, a very good Mexican restaurant, and an excellent sushi bar.

Turner's is a fantastic seafood market/restaurant/wine&beer bar.
Alas, there are no 'hard liquor' sales in the town.
You have to go a few miles up Main Street to Wakefield.

There's a great small-chain local grocery (Johnny's FoodMaster) just a 5 minute walk from their front door. Next door to a drug store, a sandwich shop, and a Honeydew Doughnut shop. Across the parking lot is a Dunkin' Doughnuts.
It's WAR!
;-)

I can see a bank with ATM from her front stoop.
Oh, and there's a funeral home right across the street.
Just in case.
The regional hospital is 3 blocks away.
Surrounded by just about every kind of doctors' offices you could want.

I move there except...it gets really cold in the winter, and the taxes are much MUCH higher than here in Alabama.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

73. I live in an "urban village" in Minneapolis

We have a food co-op, four restaurants, a branch of a locally-owned coffee shop chain, a library, a hardware store, a bakery, an ice cream parlor, three shops specializing in children's clothing and toys, a garden supply store, a florist, a hair salon, an organic/natural butcher shop, and a vitamin/health potion store. There's a city park a couple of blocks away and a lake in the other direction. If the bus ran more often and the Twin Cities had a decent transit system, it would be perfect.

[Muttocracy]

92. Mpls does have nice neighborhoods like that - miss it! nt

[cbayer]

22. You might want to look at Catalina Island, 30 miles off the coast from LA

There is a town of about 2,000 which is confined to a relatively small area because the bulk of the island is a conservancy. There is one other small village a couple of hours by sailboat or an hour over land with only a few hundred people.

There are no stop lights. Most transportation is by foot, bike or golf carts. Vehicles, including golf carts, are not allowed in the center of town.

There is a PO with no home delivery and all the other things you mention. The library is great and you can order books and movies from any LA county branch.

The City Council has just endorsed a major project to start solarizing the town and it is an ideal place for windmills.

There are ferries every day to Los Angeles (about an hour) and internet access is readily available.

I live on my boat, generate my own electricity and anchor when possible (free!!!).

Added features - incredible scenery and wildlife, lots of fishing, beautiful weather.

I think it's paradise, so don't tell too many people!

[Dreamer Tatum]

23. Out of curiosity...what would you do for a living?

Sounds like you have in mind to do a lot of walking and waiting in lines.

You can have the mixed-use, high-density zoned lifestyle if you're willing to compromise a little. Example: anyone who lives
along Ventura Blvd in LA, or Santa Monica Blvd., has access to that lifestyle. You can also find it in Henderson, NV, Southlake, TX,
Tyson's Corner, VA, Tucson, AZ, and in fact you can replicate that lifestyle in most college towns.

All of the above have one thing in common: they're really, really expensive.

[trof]

31. I'm retired.

Maybe something like this would be for us geezers.
And why not?
A REAL retirement VILLAGE.
Not a warehouse for old folks subdivision.

[Dreamer Tatum]

32. There were village developments like that built in England for WWII vets

and they were hugely successful...tranquil, green, restful. I wonder if anyone has ever done that here.

[treestar]

39. Work in or own one of the stores or businesses

The old style city where people lived over their shops/offices made sense.

In the internet age, many jobs won't have to be done onsite, anyway.

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. Disney's Celebration?

[Lorien]

59. Except for the Big Brother/ Stepford aspect of it, Celebration isn't bad

but it should be more eco friendly and could go off the grid if there was a push to do so. Baldwin Park is another Orlando town within a town that is pretty self sufficient-but there again, it's not off the grid. What good is it to live in the "sunshine state" and NOT harness all that free energy?

[HereSince1628]

26. My farm is on the edge of a village...no one walks except for exercise.

There are maybe 40 families in the village.

Having been founded in the midwest during the railroad expansion it has no square but has a bike path where the railway was.

In the early 1900's there were but are no longer a barber, a doctor, a dentist, public school, grocer, hardware and pharmacy. There are now 2 bars and I understand some other modes of self medication are available at the gas and go.

There is a 6 table restaurant, open suppers only. There is an insurance office, no hours, but the agent will come to you. There is a blacksmith/fabricating shop. There is a two-room bank that looks like something out of Bonnie and Clyde, closed on Saturdays and of course Sundays, but 2 years ago it finally got an ATM.

It has a volunteer fire dept., which is technically the village's largest employer, and a Luthern Church which has a classes for grade 1 thru 4. As the school has a playground, it is technically the village's largest land owner. Home security is provided mostly by privately owned canine units and Mr. Remington. The sheriff's office is only about 10 miles away, but the county is fairly large. The two most recent murders (1989 and 2001)in the area made national news one was made into a for-TV movie--teenager kills for high school teacher and strange son kidnaps family and dumps their bodies in North Carolina--so apparently our town's deaths are interesting even if our lives are provincial (Wisconsin has towns not townships).

All in all there are 40 families and about 30 jobs counting full and part time (but not counting contract hits on family or ex-lovers) together. There isn't enough business within 8 miles to employe the remainder.

I think it's like villages all over Wisconsin and much of the midwest. Most people needing to go somewhere can't find that place within walking distance. They drive.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

28. No wind or solar power, but you could be very much at home in lots of neighborhoods in NYC. :)

[HereSince1628]

37. I believe that is truer than anyone realizes

My step daughter, now living in NYC certainly feels that way.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

83. I personally know it's true. I lived in Manhattan.

[Fox Mulder]

29. I want that too.

:(

We'll never have that here. I'd love to move to France or Italy. They have villages like that.

[Eurobabe]

36. I live in a village and it is wonderful

Check it out in about 7 hours when it is daylight again.

http://tinyurl.com/47wrec

[Karenina]

52. My city is a village to me

having lived in NYC and LA. The best thing is my Viertel. Across the street is DB which will take me ANYWHERE in the country, within a max 3 minute walk I can get a Bus or U-bahn ANYWHERE I want to go in the city. A 1 to 15 minute walk will take me to Markets, P.O., Pharmacies, Galleries, Theatres, concert venues, bars, Drs. ofc., I ride my bike on the paths of red brick (Spring is here! The DB has put out the rent-a-bikes again!) Parks (mit Fuchs und Hase), Soccer fields, Botanical Gardens and LOTS of different cultures. I'm a happy camper.

[gateley]

65. That's BEAUTIFUL!

Remember when I was joking that I'd be showing up on your doorstep with my suitcase and cat carrier in hand? I'm not joking any more. :hi:

[Eurobabe]

71. Come on over!

Got plenty of room. :hi:

[flygal]

94. I'm in Northern Bavaria - Guten Tag 48percenter

I love it here! Our village has 15,000 people and we only need one car. My husband takes the bus and our kids both walk to their schools. I'm dreading ever having to move back to Asphaltland, USA. We did live in the U district of Seattle once and seldom needed a car - but it's way out of our price range now. The small house we rented sold for $250K in 97 and now goes for $800K WTF????

Your town looks beautiful - I hope to see it someday.

[KatyaR]

43. Me, too.

I went out the suburbs today for a meeting to the "town" I used to live in. I haven't been through most of it in 7 years, and I was absolutely slackjawed as to how built up it has become. It is the "mecca" for rich folks and those who want to move out of OKC and put their kids in "good" schools. It's absolutely horrible. I was claustrophic the entire time. I'm so glad I don't live there any more.

If you find a place like that, let me know--I'm ready to move right now.

[LSK]

46. I have been thinking a lot about that too

Although yesterday I walked to a grocery store.

[SoCalDem]

47. There are several small towns for sale in Northern Ca

You could get some friends to pool their money and buy one :)

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

67. And there are abandoned towns out in the Mojave desert

Towns that border the now obsolete Route 66. Some of them used to have 150 to 200 people in them when the tourists would stop by and feed the local economy. Now some of them have a handful of old timers living there while others have been completely abandoned.

[LWolf]

48. How do residents that are not

running one of the services in your village square make a living?

[Blue_In_AK]

49. That sounds like Bolinas, California

where I used to live in the early '70s, almost exactly. Those kinds of places are few and far between, and these days you almost have to be a millionaire to live there, unlike then.

[galledgoblin]

53. APA's great places:

http://planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/
http://planning.org/greatplaces/streets/

I suggest you check out the old downtown neighborhoods in your area.

my sister lives in Elmwood Village in Buffalo, NY: http://planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/elmwoodvillage.htm

I'm living in the Lark Street neighborhood in Albany, NY: http://www.larkstreet.org/

[RandomKoolzip]

54. Maybe it's just me, but that sounds awful.

Give me a big fucking city like Chicago any day. I want diversity, I want low-income housing, a living wage, and some goddamned night life.

It could be the reason why i think the small town life is anathema to me is that I grew up near a place like that and I hated the rich assholes who made up its populace. After all, who's gonna wash the dishes at the cafe and where's he/she gonna live? Outside the village?

In order to live in a place where you describe, you'd have to be rich. Most of us are not.

[Withywindle]

63. Yup. Pretty idealized picture in the OP.

I mean, obviously people want an ideal, that's why they're ideals.

But I live in Chicago and I love the bustle and crowds and energy of city life, wouldn't trade it for anything except maybe a bigger city.

Thing is, I have a lot of what the OP describes. Tasty groceries and fruit stands within walking distance? Check. (I live on the edge of the old Italian neighborhood on one side and a mostly Mexican neighborhood on the other.) corner grocery even has people who all know each other's names and sometimes spot me credit. (And they're from India, and their shop sells $2 instant Indian meals that are shockingly yummy, and a 10-lb sack of good quality basmati rice for $10.) Library nearby? Check. Mom and pop hardware store within a 10-minute bus ride? Check. Even the "big" grocery stores I go to (Jewel, Trader Joe's) are all very close to one of my jobs or my apartment - I go a couple times a week, buy enough to fill a shoulder tote bag and a handcarried sack, take the bus home.

I know the neighbors in my building. I hang out with regulars at corner bars and music venues - been seeing some of the same people for 15 years. I've lived here 16 years and never owned a car: too poor, but fortunately it's not necessary really.

There's even a beautiful park with lots of huge trees and a free public gym and swimming pool 4 blocks away.

[femrap]

55. I want this as well...

and I want a straw-baled house that offers great insulation. With solar panels, geothermal, and those composting toilets!

Let's go found one. Is that the right term? Or let's go start one....one where we have good access to underground, clean water for the wells. Any ideas?

[izquierdista]

57. You'll have to shoot the Planning & Zoning folks first

I would say that 99% of planners would shoot down straw-bale houses, or make it a living hell to try to build one. The same with composting toilets, grey water systems, biogas septic systems or anything that does not use at least one gallon per flush and send it to the sewer.

You practically have to take over a county and run the local rednecks out to give it a go. Not that it hasn't been tried. There was the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in one Oregon county, and there was the threat by gays to make Alpine county the first gay county in California. (I think they gave up when they looked at the snowfall there, and concentrated on Palm Springs. It is now the gayest city in the U.S by some objective measures.)

Lest it sound disheartening, all you need is numbers to succeed. The Sea Islands of South Carolina, once the province of the Gullah people, has been developed over for rich white people who like to play golf. They have effectively evicted the Gullah from the land they have been on for over a hundred years. There is no reason if you found a small, dying community and went in and bought it up piece by piece that you couldn't turn it into a thriving alternative community. But as with all progressive efforts, it is like herding cats, and while the Repubs can crank out master planned Stepfords where everyone obeys the rules, entropy turns similar progressive efforts into a Frank Geary like horror.

If anyone thinks I am wrong, by all means, tell me where you would like to site such a planned progressive community -- I might just want to get in on it.

[femrap]

77. I watched a documentary fairly

recently...it was about people up in Maine (I think) who refused to pay income taxes to the Feds. They were living on land along with many others that was part of a TRUST. I wonder if that would do anything.

But I don't think they were doing composting toilets, etc.

I visited a house that had just been built (this was maybe 3 years ago) outside of Cincinnati in the country that had EVERYTHING!!! The toilets, solar, heated floors, etc. The women who had it built, I believe, came from lots of inherited money but she was very cool. Her lane back to her house was fairly long. I wonder if she were interested in others building on her property so to have a bit of community.

Her house gave me the ideas....it had straw-baled insulation. Guess you just have to get outside of the city limits and into a township???

Wish I had kept that info on her. Let me do some digging.

[izquierdista]

80. It depends on the pace and density of development

The city of Las Vegas and Clark county are both horrible, putting average homeowners through the wringer and letting large developers put through any variance they want. If you go to an area where the building department is like the Maytag repairman, they will probably let you do more of what you want. If you go to the beach in Southern California where the only work left is infill, then you will get 4 or 5 inspectors showing up, each with a different idea of how you will have to meet code. Since they can't agree amongst themselves, that will effectively put a halt to anything you want to do, unless you have their supervisor sign it off personally.

As has been pointed out in this thread, building and zoning codes are much of the problem. The building code, which started out as being quality control for residential housing, has turned into a weapon to force people to buy mass produced housing which barely passes the parts of the code that the builder has not gotten a variance to get around. Zoning, which attempted to create livable communities, has become the driving force behind the ever increasing number of miles Americans have to put in each year, just to go about life. If you go to a rural area with a declining population, both building and zoning will be practically non-existent, so you can follow reason instead of rules in what you do.

[femrap]

82. Maybe I'll be OK since I

want to be 20 or 30 miles outside of a major city....or on the outskirts of a town that is maybe 20,000 in population.

Thx.

[bonito]

58. Great post

It can be done.

[knitter4democracy]

61. Traverse City, MI meets many of those requirements.

Wind power provides much of their electricity with more planned, as well as Ludington's big hydro plant.

The downtown has all of those, I think (I'm not sure about the hardware store), and is easy to get around in. They even have free places to tie up your boat if you boat over from the lake.

You'd still have to drive to the mall, the Target, and bigger stores or out to my fave orchard up there with Honeycrisps, but you'd drive a heck of a lot less.

You would have to deal with tourists, especially during the Cherry Festival, but other than that, it meets most of your needs.

[mnhtnbb]

62. Southern Village (in Chapel Hill, NC) where John Edwards had his national campaign office

has a small community owned grocery store http://www.weaverstreetmarket.coop/article/display.php?id=465). No post office, but you can ride the bus (for free)about 10-15 minutes into the main 'town' of Chapel Hill where there is a post office. You can have coffee either on Franklin Street
or back in Southern Village. http://www.southernvillage.com/

The buses run all over Chapel Hill and Carrboro (for free) which will get you to any medical/dental offices.
They will take you to the University Mall. You can get to all the theatres in town by bus (but you might want to see a matinee to assure getting home by bus).

The University of NC at Chapel Hill libraries are open to the public for a nominal annual fee ($20?).
The Chapel Hill public library is on the bus route.

There is a farmer's market in Carrboro during the summer; you can get there and back on the bus.

Come check it out.

[gateley]

64. Wow - I didn't know that.

I've only been to Chapel Hill to see a doctor at UNC there. I'll check it out!

Here in Clayton, no public transportation. Not even any sidewalks.

[Doctor Cynic]

68. Parts of inner Toronto resemble that to an extent.

Kensington Market is very, very, very genuine.

The streets are messy, but in a good way. Nothing plastic like Wal Mart.

All the stores are local, and for the most part chain stores aren't there.

It's in the middle of Toronto. You won't need a car.

The neighbourhood combines the vitality of a third-world market with the safety and clean-ness of Canada.

Not sure about the power aspect, since it's on the North American system.

You're also a streetcar ride away from a bustling highrise district.

It's really a hidden gem, and there are very few places like it in North America.

[kineneb]

69. almost like where I live

a nice village of around 2000 people, in rural northern California. Hubby and I looked around when we had to move, and found a place very similar to your ideal.

It isn't off the grid, and lacks some of the amenities you mention. But I can walk to the grocery store, the post office (which does not deliver), a pizza parlor, and three restaurants (breakfast place, Chinese/Thai, and a nice deli/restaurant with Guinness on tap). The closest town has the library, supermarkets, hardware stores, and a variety of small shops; it also has the unfortunate MallWart. Everything I cannot find locally, I can order online.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

70. Bad Hersfeld, Germany

You'd love it. In the US I believe you may be out of luck.

David

[RevolutionStartsNow]

95. I've been there, I think

or at least towns just like it Germany.

I used to live in Starberg, near Munich. It was very much like the OP described. Not solar, but just about everything else. It was wonderful.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

74. Come live in THE Village with me.

You can have your very own apartment, set up to look exactly like the place you live in now. They'll give you your very own number, and they'll take care of all your needs- they even guarantee you'll sleep deeply every single night!

However, once you're there you may find it difficult to leave, and the mayor seems to change every single week for some reason. As for the man behind the man, nobody seems to know who it is.

And believe me, I HAVE tried to find out...

Oh, BTW, it helps if you're a fan of Oompa music- all the musicians in The Village seem to like it the best....

:evilgrin:

[gateley]

81. Thanks for the invite, but

no thanks.

[dionysus]

76. i like the sound fo that

[trof]

85. I may have found my 'village'. But it's a farm/land conservancy.

http://www.dauerwalden.com/

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M20324

[trof]

86. But...but... I've FOUND my 'village'!

No one cares?
No one is HAPPY for me?
jeez

[izquierdista]

88. It looks nice

But as with all master plans, this master plan only talks about where to plop houses. How are they going to build a sense of community among the neighbors? How are all the things in your original post going to appear?

[trof]

89. I talked to the owner yesterday. Going up next week.

The guy is a PhD.
He says "I'm not a farmer, I'm an ecologist. But I do farm."
All homes MUST use passive solar, and 'active' solar/wind is encouraged.

25 homesites on 1150 acres ain't a very big footprint.
His aim is to eventually have 1000+ acres in a nature conservancy trust. About 600 acres already are.

His aim is to keep the land from being bulldozed/clear cut and/or developed into more McMansion subdivisions. He's a grandson of the man who first began buying up the land at the turn of the last century.

The POA 'dues' are $100 a month, but for that you get a share of all food produced on the farm, which is considerable.
http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M20324

The farm is only 3 miles from the county seat of Bay Minette.
Small, sleepy southern town, but with all the necessaries not produced on the farm.

[mnhtnbb]

97. "The property also fronts Hurricane Road" Not for me, thanks.

[BreweryYardRat]

87. Your choice, but I'll pass.

Give me a place in the woods near a city. I won't mind the commute. But a village? No thank you. Everyone knows everyone else's business somewhere that small. I'm an extremely private person -- I couldn't stand that.

[Muttocracy]

90. Ecovillages already exist in U.S.

www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/

http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/ecovillages/index.html

[marshall]

93. You wouldn't be on the internet if you were in a place like that.

Lots of people live there, we just don't read posts from them because they are out gardening or enjoying nature.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

96. My sister has a house in Italy..

and her little town is just like that. It's so small it's not even in the guidebooks for the region.

She tells me that every evening about 5pm you can walk up to the town square and a little shop opens its doors to sell gelato, espresso and snacks. Residents gather to chat and enjoy the evening.

We're visiting next year, I can't wait.

[Sequoia]

98. Windsor, CA might come close.

But not with the post office not delivering, come on, they save falling babies. And, it isn't solar powered yet, but they're working on it. Plus they have a cool skate park for kids, and no I don't live there (close) but either Ford or Chevy is running a commerical right now they filmed in the town. They were actually looking for another town and got lost in Windsor and since it was so pretty they decided to tape the commercial there.

[Matariki]

100. I lived in a town in Maine like that

The isolation and lack of culture drove me away (not to mention the gossip that happens in small towns). I lived there before the 'invention' of the internet, so perhaps it feels less isolated there now. There were also a lot of things I liked about the place, but not enough to keep me there...

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

101. There is always Jonestown...