Walkability

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Would you prefer to walk along the serene path of a country road or through a park in a bustling city?

I start out everyday with a jog along Boulevard, past Martin Luther King Jr’s neighborhood, through Freedom Park and back to Cabbagetown through the Krog Tunnel. It’s a varied scene of beauty, busyness, art and decay.

I grew up with 98 acres of farmland to romp around on.   My siblings and I splashed in the creek, built tepees in the woods and steered clear of the cow patties. It was a varied scene of beauty, serenity, stillness and dirt.

So why do I choose to live in the city today?  Because I love all the places my lifestyle ITP (i.e. inside the perimeter) allows me to walk to. I can pick up a gallon of milk at Little’s Food Store, a meal at the Carroll Street Cafe, and a beer at Milltown Arms. Many of my friends and City Church-Eastside are all in walking distance as well.

The best advantage of all is that I can still slip back into the country at times, and also expose some country folk to the glamour of the city!

 

Diversity. Do you embrace it?

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I grew up on a farm in rural Sugarcreek, Ohio.  Today I live in the heart of the thriving metropolis of Atlanta, Georgia.  You may say the city is infinitely more diverse, but let’s take a look at what diversity really is.

Growing up in Sugarcreek my first measurement of diversity was how many people in a room were Amish, Mennonite or high. No, not high on drugs. Amish people refer to non-Amish people as “high” or “English”. High is a literal translation from Pennsylvania Dutch, but refers to a less conservative lifestyle. English is referring to the English language since most Amish people’s first language is a dialect of German (i.e. Pennsylvania Dutch).  Essentially diversity was measured by what church you attended, which also dictated your lifestyle.

In Atlanta there are many more ways people are categorized.  Nationality, social status, and career are much more influential symbols in the city.  With a larger population of diverse people you also have the opportunity to find more like minded people. One of the reasons I love living in the city is I’m on the Board of Directors for the American Marketing Association where I get to know marketers from a huge variety of industries and niches within marketing.  In Sugarcreek I rarely run into anyone with a career in marketing, and when I went to business association meetings I was the only one under 40.

I encourage you to appreciate the differences of those around you. You don’t have to look far. Think back to the diverse faces and opinions we saw in the Republican Presidential Debate this week.  Notice your neighbors and the diversity they bring to your surroundings everyday.  In many cases you measure diversity in a room by how the different people around you look. I don’t know about you, but I value that not everyone looks like me.  Variety truly is the spice of life.