Tuesday, July 19, 2011

why I love my new neighborhood

The neighborhood that we lived in out in Iowa was functional.  Most importantly, it was clean and safe so it was a good place to live.  We liked the area because we weren't right next to the university but were only about a 15 minute drive from downtown Iowa City.  However, the neighborhood was very boring.  All of the houses and condos were built within the last 10 years and most have no character whatsoever.  We were lucky to live in a brick building with the view of a pond.  That's about as exciting as it gets.  The other things that drove me nuts were that 1) the garages could face the street so you constantly looked at rows of garage doors and 2) there are whole stretches of the same type of building (i.e. 10 townhouses in a row).

Our new neighborhood is also clean and safe.  It's much more urban so we can't take the long, winding, quiet walks like we did in Iowa, but we can take city walks instead.  And the neighborhood has so much more character.  With that being said, I thought it would be fun to take pictures during one of my walks and create an inspirational walk post.  Any of you who craft know that inspiration can come from a wide variety of places.  Architecture and nature are definitely included.  Enjoy!

There are lots of houses with bay windows.


There are also lots of houses with rounded doors.  How cute is that?  I don't think I'd ever seen this before.  And there are tons of them.  There are at least 7 within 4 blocks of our house that I didn't photograph.


There's a lot of awesome stone work as well.  Bricks are great but the stone work is even cooler.

Some houses have both bay windows and round doors.


great corner lots


There are a few random houses that I love for no particular reason.


 How adorable is this?

 I love these little windows.

This house looks a lot like ours.  I hope that they have the awesome layout inside that we do.

EtsyBloggers, does anyone remember the fence posts?  Most fences in the neighborhood are chain links or plain woods, but this was different.

We live pretty near a big city park.  I know that this still looks very urban (and it is), but it's nice to have that little touch of nature nearby.


lawnmower patterns on the grass


 I also took a couple funny pictures.  Green Bay fans, we hope?

This house belongs in Iowa City!

13 comments:

  1. Rose, you moved to a charming neighbourhood! Those houses look wonderful.
    We have mostly red-brick houses mixed in with a few art-nouveau style houses (many were destroyed in the war).
    We have a park similar to yours.
    Looks like you have settled in well!

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  2. I love the houses that have the rounded bay windows along with the rounded doors. The rounded doors give that cottage feel, and the brickwork is really nice on some of them, cant see the stonework very well. The yellow house with green trim is happy looking, but surrounding neighbors likely think it ruins the visual appeal because it does not conform. Nice neighborhood!
    Thanks for sharing your walk.

    Danielle

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  3. They all have such character! I love brick houses...so pretty!
    So glad you're loving your new neighborhood!

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  4. That is my kind of neighborhood, and you gave me inspiration for our neighborhood too. Our home was built in 1925, so you might imagine some of the interesting & character. I too like the rounded, want that in our next home if possible.

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  5. You live in a lovely neighborhood! The houses do have a lot of character, especially the Green Bay fans one! Our neighborhood is from the 70s to brand new homes but they are all very different. Here in Oregon the landscaping makes everything so unique and beautiful which I love.

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  6. All those houses are gorgeous...

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  7. I love your new neighborhood, too... congratulations!

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  8. I love the architecture! Looks like a great place to live!

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  9. I enjoyed taking a walk together :)

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  10. bay windows are great, on the inside and out! And it looks like a bunch of large trees. That's always nice. Glad you're settling in. {:-D

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  11. What a charming neighborhood! The one I live in is similarly charming, but the southern California version, with lots of vintage craftsman, Mediterranean, Victorian, etc. homes. But of course, being an indoor-only kitty, I never get to see any of it, unless I am being driven to the vet!

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  12. Wow...what a beautiful new neighborhood! Looks like you all are enjoying it a lot. I'm so jealous...ours is gross and not even safe to walk in. Uk.

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  13. I'm glad that this post was so well received! I'm glad that I got to learn a little about a lot of your neighborhoods, too. :)

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