Category: Downtown Living (Page 10 of 11)

If you haven’t joined us for one of our general meetings or mixers, you may wonder who you’d find at one of these gatherings.  The answer is anyone living, working or supporting Downtown Raleigh, from any of ten neighborhoods and ranging in age from 20 to 55+.  Here are some of our statistics:

As the DLA begins our second year, we are very happy to have so many of you joining us.  We can measure our growth in terms of the increase in “fans” on Facebook, Twitter “followers” and blog visitors. Though we’ve only just started on our mission, it’s already evolved and grown in accordance with the interests and talents you all bring.

We are always looking for ways to continue to build our relationship with the City Council and Planning Department, and currently have DLA members serving on the Advisory Group for the Unified Development Ordinance, and expect to have a member also join the Mayor’s new Train Task Force.

We are also building our partnership with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, and have held joint meetings to assist in planning and promoting this year’s Raleigh Home Tour and Artsplosure.

But our most important relationship is with you, as fellow Downtown residents.  Our membership has expanded throughout the Downtown area, and we are looking to begin new committees that will allow you to become involved in areas of interest that are important to our city’s revitalization and Downtown living.  And of course we all love our social mixers, as a means to providing a fun way to meet and get together.

Pie slices in proportion to number of members, 123 as Mar 22nd, 2010

We send out a monthly newsletter that describes our events, activities and opportunities for you to get involved with us.  The easiest way for you to get on the distribution list is to Become a Member, but you can also Contact Us, and we will be happy to add you to our list.

Each month, usually the 4th Tuesday, our General Meetings are held so that we can talk and learn from each other on ways we can continue to support and advocate for Downtown Living.  The agenda for our next meeting is listed below.  We look forward to seeing you there, and at our next mixer at Tir na Nog!

I keep hearing that the demand for the lifestyle associated with Downtown living is high and growing.  But when I talk with Boomers who live in big houses in the suburbs, there is a real reluctance to make the shift . . . and it’s mainly about the challenges of downsizing!

My wife and I are empty nesters, and made the leap from a large single family home to apartment/condo type living over 10 years ago, and we’re very happy we did.  I know many of you Boomers out there are thinking about it too . . . so I wanted to share my own perspective and thoughts about it.

First, are the many benefits of an urban lifestyle.  I attended a lecture last week on ‘Transit in the Triangle’, which reported that the public demand for “walkable urbanism” or Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is growing in the Triangle and across the country, and is projected to represent at least 1/3  of the U.S. Housing Market by 2030.  Like those surveyed, my wife and I see walkable communities as providing a better quality of life and healthier lifestyle.  We want the choice of not taking the car to do routine errands.

There are overwhelming environmental and economic benefits to steering development away from living patterns that gobble up green space and add to our increasing transport cost and time spent on over crowded roads.  But moving to a higher density area usually means downsizing to a much smaller space.  And that can be a major obstacle and a real challenge for many people.  Boomers typically trade-up in house size several times as the family grows and the kids get older.  But when the kids leave, you may find ourselves like us, asking your selves . . . Do I really need all this space?

When the kids leave . . . Do I really need all this space?

So what does it mean to downsize?  It means getting rid of all the extraneous things and noise in your life that are not contributing to your happiness.   My wife’s philosophy comes back to an Asian aesthetic about art and design.  She says “you aim for one focal point in each room and clear out the rest..  Get rid of the clutter, and everything around you becomes the things you love.”

I put it a little differently.  If your house has become merely a large storage container, go through all your treasures and enjoy the trip down memory lane . . . then sell the “crap”.

Happy downsizing!

Click here to download a copy of the ‘Transit in the Triangle’ presentation

If you live or work Downtown, you probably have some interesting stories that our readers would love to know about.

Have a favorite place to dine or shop?  Tell our readers about it.  What makes this place special?  Friends with the business owner?  They will appreciate your gift of sharing.

What do you like best about your Downtown building or neighborhood?  Others are curious about what its like to live Downtown and would love to know.

As you walk around Downtown, what do you notice that others would find interesting?  There is so much happening and changing Downtown, it can be fun to keep others informed.

Know some interesting people that make their home or own a business Downtown?  It’s these people that bring character and energy to the Downtown, and people love hearing other people’s stories.

Our blog is a place for conversations.  So just write the way you talk and don’t get hung up about writing style.  We appreciate you taking the time to send us your stories.

Use this link to Submit a Blog Post.  And, it’s also easy to add a photo or two to go with your story.  Be sure to also add your own website and we will be happy to include the link.

So go ahead and write something, and tell your friends to look for  . . . Your Story Here.