I have lived in my Raleigh home for almost 4 years. This is only the 2nd time in my entire life that I lived in the same place for that long. And I like it.
After far too many moves and new starts, it’s nice to have some stability. I like that I don’t have to learn new driving routes. I like that my grocery store, my vet, the parks and my walking routines are familiar. I like that I know my neighbors and my neighborhood. I like that I’m not the perpetual “newcomer”.
I used to think that I was unique. We’d move to a neighborhood. We’d be the newcomers. We’d fix up our house, make some acquaintances and a year later we’d sell the home and move on.
Now I can see that if I stick around for a few years, I’m not that unique. People are constantly moving in and out of my neighborhood. I never saw it before because I left too quickly.
On my block of 20 homes, in the past 4 years:
- I bought my home. It was was empty after being rented for a year by the granddaughter of the previous owners – one who died and the other who had moved to assisted living.
- My neighbor across the street moved full-time to her dream home on the beach. She rented her house out for a year and then sold it to a young newlywed couple.
- The house on the corner was sold by a woman who had lived there 8 years. The new owner is a young medical sales professional who I rarely see.
- The house down the street was renovated, rented to MGLN for a year and is now occupied by the owner’s mother.
- Another home down the street is being fixed up right now and will be on the market soon I suspect. The elderly owner, who has some health issues, is moving to live with her son.
There’s at least two or three other neighbors I predict will be moving in the next year or two due to health issues/aging out or because their families are growing or contracting.
Because I walk the surrounding neighborhood every day with Wiggles, I get see the many transitions throughout the area. I know of a few people who downsized due to age and a few others who upsized for more space for their kids. Another couple built a home on the the beach to spend their waning years. I’m seeing former high school kids going off to college.
I probably talk to a dozen people a week who recognize me from my many walks with Wiggles. Some know my name, some know hers and some we just have brief, pleasant chats.
I used to wonder what it would be like to have roots in a neighborhood. I thought it must be pretty great.
It is.