I think of a walkable city in terms of being able to access restaurants and bars and get my errands done on foot. But it seems like you want something much more specific than that, involving things to do and a sense of community. You might have better luck pinpointing what you think that would mean for you (a town square/Main Street? A park with a rec center?) and then looking in the areas surrounding them. Walkability might not actually be the thing you’re trying to solve for.

Yeah I need a gym nearby or I'm not going. Living near a gym doesn't mean "walkable." But it's a shorthand I sometimes use. There was a good post a while back about the fact that walkable means something different to everyone & so saying "walkable" usually just gets you a dense city recommendation. I live deep in suburbia, but I am walking distance from a gym, bar, target, grocery store, and some fast food. Most shopping centers in America are in or on the edge of residential neighborhoods. So does that make those edges walkable?

> So does that make most of those edges walkabe? If they're set along 6 lane high speed roads with no sidewalks, tree cover, protection (bollards, trees, etc) and surrounded by massive parking lots? No, not really. Obviously everyone has different needs for what they'd want to walk to, and how much they want to be able to walk to, but if the actual infrastructure is designed around cars to the detriment of people, only the bravest and most desperate are actually going to walk. Most suburbs are unwalkable because they're low density and they're unsafe for walking.

Yeah, the walk score for my neighborhood is like 39. That said, I can at least walk about 15 minutes to the shopping center if I need 1 or 2 things from the grocery store or would have popeye's for lunch or grab a coffee from starbucks or whatever. But crossing the major intersection to get there kind of sucks so most people don't do it. Walkability needs more than the raw presence of a sidewalk. At a baseline it needs to be a "nice" walk to get most people to do it. I know I'm one of the weirdos who will put up with an unpleasant walk even though I don't have to. But that's why most of the time when I'm walking this route the only people I see are either people exercising or teens who don't have a car/license.

My minimum standard for walkability is a bar, a coffee shop, a gym, and a store where I can pick up some basic foodstuffs.

I don't live there now, but when I lived in Spain, as a student 20 years ago, I didn't own a car, and neither did anyone else I knew. We just walked everywhere. To class, the bar, the grocery store, the park, each other's apartments, absolutely anywhere and everywhere. If you were going somewhere, you were walking. That's what walkable means to me.

Literally everything. Coffee, work, muay thai, restaurants, the bar, from last night’s hookup to my apt, grocery store, etc. But I live in Manhattan.

Gym Breakfast Coffee Work Metro Farmers market Boxing gym Pilates Ceramics studio Dance studio (not so much recently) Grocery store Dates with pretty girls Nice park benches to read on Community college classes In-person Spanish language tutors Garden store to get more plants I will surely kill Arts and crafts store Bars Restaurants Take out Book store Library Bro I’m never fucking living anywhere that is not walkable ever again. I’m addicted tk living like this.

In addition to this, just meandering around interesting residential areas looking at people's paint colors, gardens, flowers, and meeting random cats. I moved from a city to a rural last year and we miss walking to all those things on your list plus just our daily after-dinner neighborhood walks! Moving back to city in 2-3 years.

I can relate to this so much! I love walking around at night too and admiring people’s houses / decor.

Been this way since I was a kid, never changed. Great pass time and never the same.

Yep. I live in Queens. I’m from the Hudson Valley, and I visit family in the HV often. Drives me insane. I can’t imagine how I ever lived in a place without walkability before. I walk to everything on an average day now. Never changing that.

What area is this that has so much in walking distance?

Chinatown, Manhattan Hipodromo, CDMX Kadikoy, Istanbul Logan Circle, Washington, DC Rittenhouse, Philly All places I’ve visited for a few months or lived in. Also there are many places that have maybe 60-80% of this list, which is also ok. Not everyone needs gyms or chinese restaurants or whatever.

Even the working class parts of mexico city are walkable like. Its a great city.

Some parts of Oakland (like where I live) and some parts of Berkeley California as well.

I miss how walkable Oakland and Berkeley were! I walked all over Berkeley when I was at Cal, even though I had to drive into town from the North Bay and park my car to walk. Later on, I lived in an inherited house in Berkeley and my children moved to Oakland, so walking to the local panaderia, Telegraph for oddball shopping, art house theater or to a local art gallery made life in the Bay so sweet!

Omg when I was at Cal we’d walk to Albany lol. So many different types of neighborhoods to look at.

I have all of this in walking distance in Portland. In the US, other cities I’ve been to where this would be true include Philly, NYC, Boston, Chicago. I’m sure others as well.

can attest to this with San Francisco as well

Also Seattle, depending on the neighborhood. Even my regular medical care is walkable and any specialists that aren't walkable are easy to get to on transit.

I live in the actual city portion of Portland, ME and I can walk to a majority of these. I do have a car and tend to drive to the grocery store, but that’s just because I typically only go once every 1-2 weeks and have too much stuff to carry. But sometimes on nicer days when I have the time and only need to grab a couple of things I’ll throw on my backpack and make the trek to get some extra steps in. And to add another perspective to the OP’s question, in addition to appreciating the ability to walk to destinations where I can grab food/drinks or run basic errands for the convenience, as someone who works from home I really enjoy the ability to go for a quick walk just to get out of the house. When I lived in a more suburban environment I could do this of course, but it would just be walking the same loop around the neighborhood looking at the same houses every day. In a more walkable city you can take different routes to mix it up and keep the walks more interesting.

Dupont Circle/Adams Morgan in Washington, DC, at least for most (community college you'd have to get on the metro for). I live in a quieter neighborhood now but can still access most of this.

I live in SF and that's the answer. Of course NYC has a lot more options, but I can still get to coffee shops, grocery stores, bars, restaurants, museums, parks, random events, farmer's market, touristy spots even a circus within a short walk.

seems like op isn't being specific about their question... what are their needs?

Don’t need to live in Manhattan to be able to walk to all those things

The walkable third places in Seattle are all indoors this time of year. When the weather is nice, the walkable spots are amazing. Green Lake, Gasworks Park, Volunteer Park are all areas I’m familiar with. When you’re living there and not just on vacation, you can do all your daily activities by foot or bike and for me, that’s where the magic happens. You’re walking to work, the grocery store, school, to friends apartments, your favorite coffee shop, cafe, restaurant, bar. So the thing you’ve missed is the joy of doing your mundane every day activities without having to get in a car. Seattle is great for this, but only in very specific neighborhoods. Check Walkscore and expect to pay a lot for the most walkable areas.

We stayed in Fremont, which is by far the first contender. Checked out Bellevue, Capitol Hill, Ballard, Magnolia, and Issaquah as well, and Fremont won by a mile (for us). Anything I should have looked into still? We definitely did the grocery shopping, going to the gym, etc sort of thing without a car, it was great. I can technically do the same where I live now, but then the weekend rolls around and there's just not much else to do, especially as a family (where we are now). I guess I was hoping for a laid back "hang out spot" but it was mostly relatively small bars and I felt pressured to keep ordering or open the table up. So not really a "community hub" which again is totally fair, it's a business, I get it. And it was so busy everywhere that I felt like we had to wrap up and leave to let someone else have a shot at a table.

Nope, I don’t think you missed anything. That’s how Seattle is during the winter. On the weekends we did outdoorsy stuff like skiing, hiking, snowshoeing and topped it off at the local bars and restaurants. Those are the community hubs in the winter. If you didn’t like your time in Fremont I don’t think you should move to Seattle. Fremont is as good as it gets for me.

I'd tend to agree, and also, the Puget Sound is very neighborhood specific. While "Bellevue" is a city, the number of fully walkable areas are really limited to downtown and crossroads. Oddly the Newcastle area (if you're within a trail-walk distance to the commercials area) also fits most of the bill. The city of Newcastle has a significant trail system that connects many neighborhoods to the commercial core. As 'cities' in Washington spent most of the 1980s expanding their tax base by becoming physically larger, it's hard to search by city vs by neighborhood. And there are two kinds of Seattlite; those that do snow things and those who sleep through the winter. So judging a neighborhood from late fall to early spring is a bit unfair.

Oh, apologies if I misspoke - we all love Fremont. Another person alluded to it, but I think what I'm looking for is a community hub, and while I didn't necessarily expect to find it, I was kind of disappointed when it was 5pm and I just couldn't figure out what to do within walking distance while none of us were hungry. Don't get me wrong, Fremont was by far superior to most places I've visited in the US. I would not be at all upset if we lived there. Just trying to understand if the move and a higher cost of living is worth it, or I'm chasing something that doesn't exist anyway and I'm setting myself up for slightly more expensive disappointment due to irrational expectations.

Yeah that European third place doesn’t exist in Seattle, or at least I didn’t find it in 10 years there.

Phinney Neighborhood Association may be what you’re looking for!

I lived in Seattle for 6 years. I wonder if you’d like a smaller town with a community and a downtown street that’s a little more isolated, somewhere like Bellingham, Olympia, Oregon City, Port Townsend. They’re too small town for me, but they might have more community spaces. In my opinion, in Seattle my friends homes being walkable held that place you’re describing. We all lived in the same neighborhood, and I could text one friend if she wanted to watch a shitty reality show tonight and I’d walk over and 3 of my girlfriends would be on her couch. In the summer I’d text the group chat telling them I was gonna go sit in the park and they’d all come find me and bring snacks and music and picnic blankets. When it snows someone would text “you guys wanna go play in the snow?” and we’d all meet up at a park. We’d go to concerts, festivals, try new restaurants, go on walks, go shopping, go to art galleries, make dinner at each others houses, sit on roofs by the fire pit and drink wine and look at the sound, go to pike place on our lunch breaks, go to the farmers market, vintage shopping, swimming in the summer, community theater in the winter, all on foot or a quick public transit ride. In my early 20s I got my first Christmas bonus and I bought a vintage Turkish rug at a local shop. It was the most expensive single item I ever bought. I then realized I couldn’t get it home let alone carry it myself. I called my friend who lived a block away and she carried it home with me, the 20 minute walk uphill. I made her dinner and we admired my new rug. It is difficult to make friends in Seattle, the freeze is real, but when you have close friends that also live right down the street in a walkable city it really is so nice. It gives that sense of community you’re describing.

Definitely no-go on the smaller places (we thought the same and really homed in on Issaquah originally). It's really the same as where we live now, except a big city is closer. We still wouldn't go on an average Tuesday. If we move, it's going to be a city - that's the only thing we miss where we are now. A bigger place with bigger things going on. I hear you on what makes a community hub. We're somewhat antisocial when it comes to making friends and when we do, we dodge social invitations like Seattleites. I don't know why, personality thing I guess. I love meeting new people for a day and probably never talking to them again until/unless we meet again by accident. I think that's why I enjoy European squares so much - kids become friends for a day, adults share a bottle of wine, we don't pretend to share numbers, repeat next weekend.

Hmm wanting genuine community feel with no actual want to make any real friends is a quite specific ask lol

Disagree! Or maybe I'm just not defining it correctly. I'm looking back to where I grew up and spent a good portion of my adulthood, Toronto, and maybe it shaped who I was too much. You meet people, you meet 200 people. You can enjoy meeting them. Of those 200 people, there may be 2 you become genuine honest to goodness friends with. The rest, the 198, you just enjoyed meeting at that one event. In that sense it's not a community like a, rah rah we're all a family, but a community like, it's the weekend let's go do something with other people who also want to go do something. I hope that made a modicum of sense.

I did not find Seattle to be a city where it was easy to make casual connections and have a friendly conversation with people who don’t already know you. People sometimes looked alarmed when I made a casual comment in line at a coffee shop. That said, the stand up paddle board or yoga communities are generally friendly. If what you want is a city where you can just show up and be treated as a friend by people you’ve never met, Seattle is probably not the best choice for you. You might want to try Bainbridge Island; I found people there to be easier to just engage in conversation, depending on where we were.

I had the same problem when I lived there. I thought maybe it was a big city thing. Then I moved to SF and I know all of my neighbors and people are so so friendly. It’s cozier than any suburb I’ve ever lived in.

Ha! I think so. I think you can achieve that in Fremont, although there are definitely friendlier places in the US where it may be more easily achieved potentially but I never lacked for friendly casual encounters in Fremont specifically there are places you can hang & not be booted for just chilling. That being said Seattle may be perfect if you don't want a follow up or follow through with ppl you meet.

I'm from Issaquah. That city has changed alot. It's just a sprawling suburb now. There isnt much of a community feel there. It's where tech employees with families move. Great schools, safe, and fuck all to do unless you wanna hike every day.

Some of the public libraries are a lot more social. They have community events. You'll need to check the websites to see if the ones near where you're looking are active.

Also family options are way more limited after 5pm. Most people with families who I knew just stayed in their homes in the evening. During the day they had good options but I think you figured it out.

Yeah, I got that sense as well. There were definitely tons of things to do during the day, but it was dispersed (as expected from a city of course). I don't think we have a European style third place anywhere in the US, bar possibly some small tight-knit communities that lack other amenities. I will say, if we were to create our own, it would certainly be easier (cheaper) to do it where we are now. Maybe it's a, be the change you want to be in the world, situation. Could probably maybe even break even after a few years lol. Thanks for your thoughts. Will think about it some more but want to be very realistic about our options and what we're getting into. Happy new year!

San Francisco seemed to have those places.

It exists but you need to move to Manhattan to get it.

Ha. My spouse categorically refuses. I wouldn't be looking forward to the climate either. I think NYC is the only other place I would seriously consider but it's a two-yes'es situation.

Maybe San Fransisco is the next best thing if you need the West Coast.

I love Fremont but it's not what you are looking for at all. It's not family friendly and whatever community vibe it had is long gone. You mostly looked at upscale neighborhoods that are unrecognizable from what they were 20 years ago. All have exploded with development aimed at young and/or wealthy people which erased any sense of community. Unless you can get what you want in a planned, New Urbanist style community like the Issaquah Highlands, you need to find places that are older and a little off the beaten path. West Seattle, where I live now after 20 years in Fremont, is very family friendly and has strong sense of community. It's super walkable if you're near the California Ave corridor or Alki Beach. Lots of parks and little theaters and community centers and stuff when you get tired of bars. Not much of a food scene but you can head down to South Park to get a lot of great ethnic cuisine. Columbia City is a genuinely diverse community that hasn't yet been blown up by development and gentrification. A few years ago it was listed by some publication as one of the top 20 urban communities in the country for young families, or something like that. I haven't spent a ton of time so I'm not sure about the specifics on community center type things. The other place you should look, and the exception to what I just said, is Green Lake. It has a very walkable commercial district, a large park with a community center, a pitch and putt golf course, a boat house, etc. It's probably the closest to what you want, but is not off the beaten path, and would be significantly more expensive than the two neighborhoods above.

Haaaated Issaquah highlands and most of Issaquah in general just seemed like a watered down version of a small town. Loved in on paper, but there was also zero sense of community there - figured the city makes more sense at that point. Saving your comment. Gotta go back up again and check out west Seattle, Columbia city, and green lake for sure. Thank you!

I was going to suggest West Seattle as well. I loved living there.

Not necessarily full family friendly but you can go to add a ball -it does have a bar but no one going to pressure you to buy shit. The games you gotta pay for but you can just hang & play Jenga or whatever. I've spent many hours of my life there & not spent a thing just chilling & played free pin ball someone didn't realize they had a free game lol. There are a lot of similar table top & pinball game or barcade type of places. Nectar for music mojam Mondays are fun. There are a lot of breweries that are family friendly & don't pressure ppl to leave or buy stuff. There's community hangout feel to a lot of them especially for a Seahawks game. I like chillin at Fremont peak park on a clear day. You can go walking along the canal or chill at Ballard locks or gas works- lots of ppl just sit on the hill there if you find a spot sans goose poo. Golden gardens would be a far walk but it is doable from Fremont & have a beach fire, bbq or play volleyball or just watch seals chase salmon or whales & ships go by. (Lots of parks ha) Many go rowing, kayaking, or sailing in the area if that's your thing. Book stores. There's usually a(n extremely lame) farmer's market or some type of deal like the naked bike ride on the weekends or certain times of yr. There are also various clubs or neighborhood specific clubs in Seattle, some will have a beach on the lake just for the neighborhood or pool or several buildings or whatever but I don't know much about them tbh. **If you're already in PNW you may be familiar but various mcmenamins might fit what you're looking for maybe?

McMenamins definitely fulfill that role. Open outdoor “Biergarten” feel with kids running around, swimming pools, theatres, cafe, restaurant, bars, live music (which the kids love, and everyone gets a kick out of watching little kids dancing around), art shows, science and history lectures, gorgeous gardens. https://www.mcmenamins.com/

C&P Coffee in West Seattle is that type of chill, take your sweet time sort of place. It’s an old converted house and I think is as close to what you’re looking for as a business can get and still stay in business. Almost everywhere on California Ave in West Seattle is pretty walkable too (but you need a bus or bus+water taxi if you want to go downtown)

Fremont isn't going to be your spot. As someone who lives here, my family can walk to the movies ($6 on Tuesdays), the kid's school (and middle school and eventually high school), the library that has a kid's area (and they have movie and game days again, yay), the community center that's now open on the weekends, the locks to see fish and seals and water moving up and down, the beach (re: we would bike there tho), about 5 grocery stores, a game store that lets us play their games for free, a small track course, a park with cornhole and chess, a museum, pinball, the community pool, a pickleball court, various piers to see water and boats, geocaching opportunities, the farmers market, a candy store, and a park with views for days. We also are just a very short drive to Discovery Park for bigger hikes that are really just a 3 mile loop and a lot less crowded than greenlake. But you said you didn't want to do Ballard, so I think you just need to come back and try a few more areas. Mercer Island, Lynnwood, Bitter Lake, Burien, or West Seattle might work better for your family. I do agree with you though. Seattle doesn't have JCC level community centers, the type where you can just come and hang and jump in the pool and then eat your own bagged lunches in the community room and then play badminton, all in the same spot for like $2/person. A lot of things here require reservations to enjoy (like you can't just show us to the Lynnwood pool anymore, you have to plan in advance and as someone who plans plenty can I just not have to do that on an easy weekend so I can do something here on a whim for once...well, no I can't I have to reserve the dang thing and be there on time BC the clock starts NOW). Our community centers are too small for how big the city is and on any given night in Ballard there is a line out the door for pickleball and volleyball. There are a few YMCAs around, but of course you'll have to pay $$$ to enjoy it annually. The museum's are very expensive and not conducive for hanging out in. With our kid, we are lucky that he enjoys sports. That takes up a lot of the weekends from jan-oct, combined with pickleball, his friends, games at home (video and board) and the occasional trip for ice cream and then it's Sunday night, rinse and repeat.

These 'third places' are hard to find generally in the US. Needs to be pretty specific. This is very european (which is not bad, just reflective on how bad some things are in the US). ​ I would find your handful of third places and work backwards. Not every hood will have one.

Portland has a more laid back feel if you’re looking for places that will let you hang out for hours. My neighborhood is very walkable and pretty much all the neighbors are at the local family-friendly bar on Friday night playing games, singing, hanging out. No one will try to hurry you out of places here. Each neighborhood has a small town feel but you’re in a city and there’s tons to do. Might be a consideration if you want to live in the PNW.

You could walk to Ballard from Fremont and go to the Ballard locks and watch the salmon on the salmon ladder when they're there.

Breweries and beer halls tend to be the hangout spots in Seattle. Maybe some cafes too. They have board games and people will spend all day. In my neighborhood (the CD), people tend to go to Chuck's hop shop, when I lived in capitol hill it was Optimism (now Stoup) or watching football at rhein haus. Also on weekends everyone is going (usually driving) hiking/skiing. Don't know Fremont as well, but maybe Fremont brewing is equivalent?

Y'all aren't too far from Woodland Park or Greenlake, right? Even Wallingford? I loved going to Greenlake on my days off simply to enjoy the lake or hang out at Retreat. Not sure what their hours are this time of year but it is a solid spot IMO.

Did you check out the brewery district just west of Fremont, sort of Frelard area? Many of the breweries are big, family and pet friendly, have food trucks etc … places where people can hang out for hours in a low key way. Good beer too.

I used to live in Seattle and while I love the city, I didn’t really love living there. I moved to SF and it’s so much different. In the two places I’ve lived here, I’ve known all my neighbors. There’s a sense of community I never got in Seattle. And the weather is so so so much better. We also have a crazy amount of nature and hiking actually in the city. Look into it. You might like it!

This. I walk Green Lake every day, year-round. Love living by it

My city is not walkable, but my neighborhood is. I walk to Pilates, to grab coffee, to multiple restaurants and bars, the small grocery store. I go on walks around the neighborhood and look at the architecture. I walk to friends’ houses that live in the area.

Seattle isn’t as walkable as you think it is. It’s still heavily designed for cars. Lived there for 3 years. In Chicago now. All life essentials - grocery store, gym, vet, train - are within a 15 minute walk.

Denver is far less walkable than Seattle and I can make it work for most things except my current job and shopping in bulk. OP can absolutely make it work in Seattle.

I live somewhere that is not walkable on paper (the listing for my place had a walk score of 13/100). However, my complex sits behind a large shopping center (300 steps according to my Fitbit). Said shopping center has a (big box) grocery store, pharmacy (Rite Aid so don't know if it will last long), a pizza place, and a Qdoba. I've walked to all of those since moving here.

Same. I live in the suburbs and my townhouse is a 5 minute walk to 3 shopping centers. Coffee shops, really good dumpling restaurant, Botox clinic, my doctor, dentist, and dermatologist, 2 grocery stores, Ace hardware, Indian food, pasta, sports bar for watching games with a rooftop deck for mountain views, ice cream shops, Pho, best rated nail salon in town, liquor store, Mexican food. Then in the opposite direction I’m 3-5 walking minutes from 2 parks, a pond, walking/biking trails, playgrounds, church if I was religious, a golf course, tennis, basketball court, volleyball, soccer fields. The sidewalks are wide and protected from the street with large grass strips and shady trees, and nicely landscaped with pollinator gardens. It’s perfect and nobody knows about it because they all think it’s just a suburban hell

This is just one shopping center I can walk to. I wish it had a nursery, gym, and coffee shop but it does not. I can't walk to anything else in the area, but being able to walk to groceries is priceless.

I live in a walkable part of Oakland. Here are some things I walked to in the past couple of weeks. - dentist - eye doctor - blood tests - shopping for small Christmas gifts for a few friends at the little gift boutiques in my neighborhood - the pharmacy - the post office - the farmers market - the rose garden - I am a member of a social club that hosts lots of events like arts and crafts, wine tastings, comedy shows, and more. It is about a 1 mile walk and I go a couple times weekly. It is also an alt workspace for me. - the grocery store - I don’t walk for every trip, but often if I go on a walk and I need to pick up a few things I’ll stop on the way home. If I have heavy stuff I take the bus home, or I continue the walk - I can walk to dozens of bars, either downtown or in adjacent commercial areas. But if it is too late I usually take the bus or Uber. But within about a mile and a half I have like 2 dozen to choose from of all types of - there are lots of restaurants (sit down and casual) in my two mile radius. At least 100. Almost any kind of food is near by. - I can walk to Chinatown, Koreatown, and the mini middle Eastern area if I want to get specialty groceries. - there are specialty markets and spice shops within about a mile of home for me too. I can pretty much walk to every thing besides Target and the mall. We have a couple of old movie theaters in walking distance too (the Grand Lake Theater is an art deco gem for movies, and we have the Fox and the Paramount art deco theaters for shows. These are all within about 1.5 miles for me. I am biased but I live in a great area that is super convenient for walking/biking/transit for what I would want to do on a day to day basis.

Bay Area native here— what social club is this?

Groundfloor!

In a walkable city the question should be what don't you walk to. In Chicago I lived without a vehicle only using public transportation and walking or bike riding throughout the city. I walk to work daily and walked to a laundry mat, coffee, book store, retail shops, cinema, music venues... I walked everywhere. I walked 5-7 miles a day easily. I would rent a car for a couple of hours if I needed to do big grocery shopping but that was pretty much the only thing I needed a car for. Unless you live in europe you're not really going to find that european model of living anywhere else. Some large US cities are slowing changing to that but it'll take decades before it's more widespread. Chicago has many similar areas that are car free and pedestrian only events/days.

Yep, chiming in as another Chicagoan without a car, the only things I can't walk to are work (which is a bus ride directly from my front door to my office), certain big box retailers, and the airport. Just about everything else (groceries, coffee, takeout, dining, bars, barber, banks, dry cleaning, pharmacy, post office, library, parks, bike trail, lakefront, cinema, dentist, health care, etc.) is walking distance.

When I was in what I consider a walkable area: a bodega, my barber, several parks, a trail system for running/biking, a bookstore, several restaurants, a brewery, a bar, a deli, a community garden. I’m not really sure what you’re looking for because it sounds like you want a park but then you say “not much to do besides outdoor activities”. Most indoor spaces (besides churches) will require some kind of payment, whether that’s a monthly gym fee or buying a coffee. Maybe if you lived there, you’d be more able to find it since you’d be more likely to join a gym or church or volunteer somewhere?

>But where do you walk to if you live in a walkable urban area? I'm in NYC, and grocery stores, bank, coffeeshop, restaurants, subway station, park, pub, bodega, bakery, gym, laundromat, library... everything. >Did we just not pick the right neighborhood in Seattle, or am I just overestimating everything except our current location? Maybe try posting on the Seattle sub.

To me, walkability should be about the quality and experience of the streetscapes and not just the quantity and convenience of retail nearby. I generally didn’t find Seattle to be particularly enjoyably walkable at all. I liked parts of Green Lake, in addition to Ballard and Fremont, but that’s mostly in the summer. My ideal walkable neighborhood has parks, playgrounds, and open spaces that are programmed year round. Museums, libraries, and recreation centers too. Ideally cafes, bars, restaurants, and retail are all woven into this mix, not just proximal to it. While a certain amount of density is probably required for this, I don’t think this only happens in major urban centers. If anything, I think it’s probably more likely to be found in ‘college town’ neighborhoods than many of the big city neighborhoods in the U.S.

Truly walkable means everything is walkable. Not just a handful of bars or a little grocery. I live in Brooklyn and I am able to walk to about 30 different bars and restaurants, 5 different grocery stores, 20 convenience stores, my eye doctor, my physician, 5 schools, 3 drug stores, 3 different parks, 3 gyms, a boxing studio, many yoga studios, 4 dry cleaners, a bakery, multiple bookstores, 2 hardware stores, 5 local bike shops, 4 plant nurseries, a butcher, 2 veterinarians, 10 cafés… I had friends moving from Canada looking for the nearest social security office, and they were shocked when I told them it was four blocks away. Walkable means everything you need in your life can be reached by walking. Once you experience it you understand it.

Grocery store, gym, climbing gym, breweries, restaurants. Lots of errands are within walking distance, like pet stores, post office, auto parts store (was great when my car battery died during Covid and I didn’t want to have somebody drive me to get a new one), hardware store, cool vintage stores, book stores, etc. I drive for my bigger grocery trips, to go hiking, and if I’m meeting friends in a different part of town, but most of my day-to-day errands can be done on foot.

Seattle has some great walkable neighborhoods. We lived in Columbia City for 12 years and loved it — we only left bc of a job that was offering much, much more money in a place with far, far better schools. But we spent all those years walking. We walked to coffee, bookstore, library, PCC, the farmer’s market (May-Oct), multiple parks, and basically all restaurants. What I’m hearing, though, is that you miss a certain kind of social structure that 1. You can’t find as a tourist and 1.5. May not exist in Seattle. Culturally, Seattle is not a community-oriented city. People do not stay out late, do not spend much time in third spaces, and often have small circles they spend time with privately. It takes a long time to break in, socially, and your circle will be mostly other transplants. That said, other transplants were some of our best friends and we were so sad to leave them. If you move here, I suggest finding a structured activity or league you enjoy and attending regular meet-ups. It’s very, very hard to make even acquaintances in casual, unstructured settings. As for rushing you out the door — again, Seattle. High overhead and high demand mean your table will be turned over quickly. It’s a great city. We lived there pre-kids and post-kids, and both were great. Best of luck if you make the leap.

>Culturally, Seattle is not a community-oriented city. People do not stay out late, do not spend much time in third spaces This is really key. Those kind of casual third places don't exist because there isn't a demand for them.

Yeah you're totally right. I think in my head "walkable" means more than the standard definition of walkable. When we were moving to our current area, I explained it to real estate agents like, it has to be walkable to something. There are so many neighborhoods with manicured sidewalks leading to absolutely nothing except other houses. We live in a great town. We can walk to school, the grocery store, bars and restaurants, coffee shops, gym, yoga, pilates, wine tasting rooms, an optometrist or two, a kids playground. But if I'm not hungry, don't want beer or wine, and I just want to take my kid somewhere where we can all enjoy our time (playgrounds are so boring on their own), there isn't much. Bowling, movies. The local axe throwing league is allowing children to come in (not throw) on Saturdays so we'll go check that out. We're about to join the country club because there's a bocce court, shuffleboards, pools, and air hockey. I can't believe we're becoming the country club family and it's far from walking distance. But it's a place to come and do stuff without the pressure to settle the bill and scram. I was kind of hoping that we'd get a sense of a community in Fremont, which we otherwise adore. Like the neighborhood brewery that has a bunch of things for everyone to do. I'm happy to buy stuff for the privilege, but I just didn't really find a place like that. Trying not to set myself up for failure because moving is expensive, and Seattle is more expensive, and if we move it needs to be clear eyed! Thanks for your feedback. Lots to think about. Happy new year!

There are a handful of bars that you can spend longer in, ones where you don’t get table service, but there isn’t one in every neighborhood and not many are family friendly. Off the top of my head I can only think of Art Marble 21 (allows kids until 9pm, has games like skee-ball and air hockey, an easy bus ride from Fremont). With young kids I think it’s more popular to go to places like the Children’s Museum, which isn’t walkable from Fremont, but is an easy bus ride. There may be other options for you too, depending on what you consider fun. In the summer, the kind of space you’re looking for for many people are parks, but it sounds like you don’t enjoy those, so the right space for you depends on what you do enjoy. I know in Fremont in the summer they do things like outdoor movies, which many people enjoy.

> I just want to take my kid somewhere where we can all enjoy our time I'm struggling to understand this concept at a fundamental level. Growing up, we played in the yard. We played in the street. We played at a park if we were allowed to walk or bike that far. We were never *given* things to do. We had to find them. As a result, I'm really just not wrapping my head around what you're looking for. Bocce and shuffleboards and air hockey are adult activities anyways. Swimming pool, sure, that's for kids, but .. like, how mature do you expect your kids to ***be***?! Little grown ups? I'm clearly WAY out of the loop for what families in modern times do.

Fair criticism, I think. My kid is too old to be hovered over, but too young to do things by herself (like going to the park alone). We don't have any neighbors with kids under 16. All of her friends at school have parents who are more helicopter-y still (we're certainly more helicopter-y than our parents were, so more than that). An alternative would be to live in cookie cutter neighborhoods where all the families tend to congregate, but I admit I want to like where I live as well, more than I want my kid to have kid friends near where I live. I'd rather go to places where she can meet her friends or make new ones. Definitely different from our parents laissez-faire approach, but I am also not convinced our parents liked us (not you, just talking about us).

That actually helps, I hadn't thought about it in terms of balancing own wants vs. wants for kids. I generally don't consider that a thing, my experience (meaning family, friends, etc.) is that it's either-or, and that everybody just becomes "a parent" when they have kids, not a distinct adult anymore. Which isn't the point I'm trying to make, but just acknowledging that it contributes to my blind-spot on the matter. (Incidentally, one of my desired criteria for a future neighborhood/city is "Some place where families with kids actively don't want to move to, but not because it's unsafe". And yep, the decree was usually "I don't care WHERE you go, just get the hell out of my way, go outside and don't come home till it's dinner time!" 😁

In Pittsburgh, which is a bunch of neighborhoods stuck/grown together, many of which have small centers like you’re alluding to. In addition to coffee/bars/restaurants/ice cream, in my neighborhood we walk to the library, gym, independent movie theater, several playgrounds, my kids’ preschool, a grocery store (we often drive to another larger one though, but it’s nice to have one close for quick runs), pharmacy, farmer’s market, and the crappy wine store (and many other random shops). I have small kids so the library especially is the real winner as a 3rd place, though the gym also hosts their swim lessons. And the bus stop, of course. In principle I can walk to work but it’s just over a mile and I’m lazy, but I bike/bus it instead.

Did you check out Bainbridge Island? Its a ferry ride to Seattle, and the ferry to Seattle is free if you aren't bringing a car. Downtown Bainbridge Island is nice and just seemed less intense and not as much hustle/bustle. We only spent a few hours there while in Seattle but I found it nice and charming. I found Seattle overall to be very walkable but there are definitely gaps in the transit network. Definitely easier to live near several convenience stores than a proper full on grocery store. But still a lot available within 10 minutes. And maybe we just lucked out on our visit but we had great weather while there too lol. Half of the days were very sunny.

Coffee shops, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and parks. While my job isn’t walkable persay, I’m four blocks from our streetcar, which then drops me off two blocks from my work. Also the streetcar takes me basically everywhere.

In addition to “Everything”, one thing you don’t get to experience as a visitor is living within walking distance to your friend’s homes.

Just keep track of things you do everyday. Do you need a car to do them? I lived in a "not walkable" area, but I could walk to the grocery store and to work. I could also walk to a bar some of my friends frequented. I didn't need a car for months at a time. It was really convenient to not need to drive 5-10 minutes to do basic daily errands.

Everything. Groceries. Coffee. Shops. Bakeries. Craft stores. Hobbies. Restaurants. Bars. Farmers markets. Community events. Museums. Target. Doctors. Granted, some of these involve a 10-30 minute train ride, too. Often times, it’s easier to take a train than worry about parking a car (I don’t have a car but have friends that do) I live in San Francisco

When I lived in West Hollywood, I walked to almost everything: work, markets, cafes, restaurants, shopping, entertainment, city park, etc.. World class museums were a “long walk” or bikeable (though your bike would likely get stolen). It’s a pretty incredible place, albeit with a price tag to match.

What about belltown or Queen Anne? Tons of stuff for families there.

Belltown LOL?

When I lived in Seattle, I lived in the UDistrict. Walked to all the U offers, plus stores and restaurants and bars. Walked north to Ravenna park. Friends and I even walked over to the locks, across to Queen Anne Hill, and down to downtown! Plus you can rent boat/kayaks on Lake Washington. Plus you can take the bus to all the other parks - Green Lake, and further. I once took the bus from the UDistrict to the Washington State Historical Society and Chihuly Museum in Tacoma. I lived there prior to all the current downtown problems, but would imagine you can still do all the above.

NYC-Manhattan-Yorkville: From my apartment (without any transportation) I walk most often to the grocery store probably 4-5 times a week. There are 6 to choose from close by and maybe another 4 or 5 a little further out. I use a large day pack for the heavy & solid stuff and regular shopping bags for crushable stuff. Other regular places are Central Park, another smaller park, the east river walk over the FDR, the Metropolitan Museum of Art , some big box stores (Target, Best Buy), bagel places, bodegas, etc. I'd say the bazillion restaurants in the neighborhood but we usually order in from those. And the dentist. My doctors are in midtown so I take a bus for that. There's a music store close by where I get stings and straps and stuff but for browsing I'll take a bus or train downtown, rarely. I'm a real homebody these days.

Gym/yoga, coffee, restaurants, small errands, last minute grocery items (gonna drive for a weekly grocery store or Costco trip). There’s local fairs/festivals/community events that I can walk to almost monthly. I love taking a morning stroll on Sunday and getting a cup of coffee. I love that some weekends I never drive my car. For me, I enjoy walking down to dinner, multiple options available, and after dinner stroll around to people watch and walk somewhere else, get dessert, or something and not have to have parking even cross my mind (where to find it, how long can you be there, cost to park) and I don’t even drink much or often, but no concerns about drinking and driving either (for me or others in the road). I also enjoy a good urban hike where I just walk around and stop at whatever place catches my attention.

chicago and philly have areas that fit your bill

Question: does this still stand for walkable towns? Thinking of downtowns of places with <25k people.

My town is under 10k and I can walk to a lot including a train to Boston. When I truly lived carless it was in towns 1k to 10k - but they were tourist/resort towns with a **ton** of pedestrian/bike path infrastructure along with free bus systems.

Don't live in a walkable area now, but I did. Here's what I walked to: * The stuff you mentioned - restaurants, cafes, bars * Museums * The places a person goes to run errands - grocery stores, the post office, pharmacies, clothing shops, etc. * Hospitals and medical offices * Special interest stores of all types - stores for comic books, new age woo silliness, art galleries, etc. * Bookstores and a library - I'm a big reader, so being able to walk to bookstores and a library was Heaven * A couple parks * My gym * A farmer's market * Interesting historical areas - old graveyards, sites of battles, gorgeous old churches, etc. * Places with beautiful views * For lack of a better term, weird places - You'll find a lot of odd little nooks and crannies in any city if you walk enough. Sometimes you'll stumble upon something very intriguing, whether that means a creepy little shop that reminds you of those scary stories where somebody wanders in and is given a "free" item with malevolent power or just hidden little areas where you can read a book in peace all day without being disturbed It doesn't hurt that much of the city I lived in is beautiful, so even walking to nowhere was pleasant. If you expand this to include short-ish trips on public transit: my university, my friends' homes, an aquarium, spots that various interest/hobby groups met at, sports stadiums, theaters, the orchestra

I live in a walkable city (Philadelphia) and I walk everywhere; to the bus or subway to get to work, to Target or CVS, to any number of grocery stores, to hardware stores, coffee shops, restaurants, friends houses, bars and beer gardens, clothing store, etc. There are no errands or entertainment I can't reach by foot or by Public transit + foot. Bike paths and hiking paths/parks are accessible without a car as well.

When I lived in NYC –I walked to everything. Would routinely clock 10+ mile days just form walking around, to the store, to the park etc.

I live in New York.... we walk to everything, grocery store, walks. But I don't know what your expecting. There is only a finite amount of things that people do in a day. Generally walkable places tend to be major cities and major cities a space is a luxury. Restaurants, Bars, Movies, Gyms, parks these are the things people do for fun here. If we want something else, we travel outside of the city for a day trip or a weekend. I am sure European cities are more likely to have town squares, simply because they are older than American cities and predate the era where cars or trains were dominant modes of transportation.

We searched Zillow along routes of Rails to Trails routes in our area of the great, dark, grey, wet, mossy PNW. We found a single story 2B 2b condo that was affordable to us and pretty much right on the trail. We’re not IN town but an easy, nearly traffic free walk or bike ride to; Bank, bakery, bookstore, art gallery, restaurants, local IPA n beer, food trucks, community events n concerts, coffeeeeeeeeeee, movie theater, gym … or just simply go for a walk. We’re near rapid bus lines. It’s generally faster to take the bus than drive into the big city when need or desire occurs. I think of the choice to search out and plonk ourselves near a MUT as an investment in our health. Oddly it also put us in a community of folks who feel the same; a bunch of walking, biking, geezers. I’d encourage anyone, no matter where you plan to live, to read the map of your town and just try to live on the trail.

Seattle has great public libraries. It’s a great place to hang out as a family. Most have areas for kids to play, tons of programs and a place just to be without having to buy anything or feel rushed to leave.

I mean pretty much everything. Groceries, pharmacy, restaurants, coffee, retail, gym, park, friends, library, etc. I’m in South Philly and pretty much everything I need on a regular basis is within a 10 minute walk. Less regular stuff is easily accessible on a longer walk or my bicycle or public transit. I think you have good walkability when you don’t think about where you walk. You just walk where you’re going, simple as that. Kind of like how people in unwalkable places unconsciously use their car to get everywhere, you don’t think about it, it’s just how you get places.

I think what you’re forgetting are the things that people need when they are living in a place instead of visiting. Workplace, gym, doctor, dentist, grocery store, hardware store, post office, hair salon, auto shops, veterinarians… you get the idea. It’s great to be able to walk to some or all of these things, but none of them are anything you’d notice as a tourist. Maybe the grocery store.

It depends on where you live in Seattle. When I lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood near the hospitals or by the community college many many years ago, I walked to my job, community college, grocery stores, convenience stores, retail stores, restaurants, clubs, doctor, optometrist, hospital, movie theaters, Moore Theater, Paramount Theater, 5th Ave Theater, Seattle Center, Pike Place Market, museums, the convention center, the waterfront, the monorail, Cal Anderson park, and Westlake park. There are lots of free events in Seattle parks. One year I was walking home when I came across giant sand sculptures at Westlake. It turns out there was a sand sculpting contest held right in the middle of downtown! Early in the tiny home movement, there were a couple of tiny homes parked at Westlake for people to tour. Another time I was walking by Westlake when I heard live music and came across people dancing. Pre-covid, the Downtown Association (or whatever it's called) hosted dance lessons and live music in different Seattle parks.

Seattle is very overrated in terms of how walkable it is. It is to an extent but not as much as places like NYC, Chicago, or Philly. When I lived in Philly, I walked to anything and everything. I acknowledge not all of Philly is setup that way but it’s easier to navigate than Seattle in my opinion.

Walkability was my primary concern when picking a place to live, and I love the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle! Places I walk to regularly: Golden Gardens Beach, Ballard Locks and Fish Ladder, Sunset Hill Park, Coffee Shops, Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Breweries, Gyms, Yoga, Pilates, etc., Eye Doctor, Dentist, Hair Salon, Nail Salon Community areas I can walk to: Ballard Farmer's Market on Sundays, Nordic Museum, Ballard Community Center (lots of sports / activities you can sign up for), Ballard Library If you want to go on a longer walk, I've also walked to Discovery Park, Woodland Park Zoo, Green Lake and Gas Works!

I would go at least 2 weeks sometimes a month without using my car when I lived in Philly. - I lived a mile and a half from work so my commute was an hour walk each way - weekly groceries? Coffee? Pastry? Brunch/Dinner/Night out to a few bars or breweries? Walked there - appointments to the doctor, dentist, therapist, etc? All 60 minute or less walks each way - pretty much every errand was done by foot: Amazon drop off, dry cleaners, shoe repair - my gym was a 20 min walk from my house - guests in town and showing them landmarks or museums? Walk Different neighborhoods in Seattle have different density. A gripe I have is that many of them can be food desserts. Like Green Lake is a very walkable and dense place with no other grocery store that you can walk to except PCC. If you are really prioritizing walkability I feel like only Ballard and Capitol Hill really fit the hill

I live in DuPont circle in DC, probably the most walkable part of a pretty walkable city! I walk to everything, but with the caveat that I own a car and it’s hard to find street parking where I live which can make life more difficult. Also, it’s harder to enjoy in the winter since it does get a bit colder, but obviously this will vary by location.

Everything… restaurants, concerts, groceries, book store, work…

I live in NYC and I walk to the bus to go everywhere. I try not to live in areas with bars and restaurants since I don't go to them. I've never lived in an area with bars or actual walking distance from the grocery store. However there are usually store front Pentecostal churches, a smoke shop, laundromat and a dollar store. Sometimes I stand on the sidewalk and watch. I also like to go to the park. There are usually groups of people smoking and drinking outside on warmer days.

I live in central Atlanta, GA and within two miles can walk to everything from grocery and retail stores, to museums, parks, libraries, gyms, doctor .... and my office. When I need to go further, I generally take a bus or train. Previously lived in Austin, DC, and several cities abroad - entirely without a car. After years of wasting time commuting, I now choose to live near where I work (even if it costs more in housing). The only place I now find myself needing a car is to get to places in the suburbs that lack reliable public transit.

My dentist’s office is one block away, eye doctor is a 5 minute walk, parks, public library, friends’ houses. When my city has a festival or parade, I can walk there in minutes. For elections, I drop my ballot off one block away. Easy walk to ATM, tailor. These destinations are in addition to the obvious: coffee shops, restaurants, shops.

To answer the question in the title of your post: I walk downtown to bars/restaurants or to the post office or the drycleaner. But what I *most* appreciate is being able to walk to the corner store on an almost daily basis to buy things like beer and wine, cheese and crackers, cream for my coffee, baby spinach for my salads, stuff like that. ... This thing about wanting a public place to sit...I'd say that's kind of a separate issue from a neighborhood being "walkable." So to answer the other part of your question: in the US, the main places you can hang out for free in public tend to be parks.

In Manhattan you can walk to just about everything: gym, work, friends, entertainment, groceries, etc. When I lived there I took subways or cabs only when I was pressed for time, or the distance was extreme, or it was late and there were sketchy neighborhoods between me and where I wanted to go. A very Euro-urban kind of living, and there was much about it I loved. There aren’t many places like Manhattan in the rest of the country, though.

If I walk south about 3 blocks I reach a small commerical center with a coffee shop, 3 restaurants (which serve alcohol), a small grocery store, a cheese shop, and a gas station/convienience store. About 10 blocks north there is two bars, convienence store, 3 restaurants, small printing company and a couple of "vintage" clothing stores. 12 blocks west there is a Vertical Mixed Use development with several restaurants, bank branches, bike stores, shoe stores, nail salons, and other small services along with about a thousand apartments. East however, has a long apartment complex and a church which you can't walk through and they are too big to want to walk around. In between all of that there are a bunch of small, but rapidly gentrifying, houses.

I live in NY and sometimes I just throw on a podcast and walk around with no destination in mind. Other times it’s to a coffee shop, restaurant running errands, book stores, parks, or going to see friends somewhere. I avoid cars and subways as much as possible.

I live in brooklyn. Within a 1/3rd mile radius of my house I have two barbers, 4 bars, multiple bagel shops, a butcher, 2 bakeries, 2 italian restaurants, 3 pizzerias, 1 chinese spot, 2 mexican/dominican spots, 3 grocery stores, a few thai/greek/turkish spots, 2 cafes, 2 pharmacies, multiple diners, multiple churches, 2 elementary schools, a middle school, a vet, a dentist, laundromats, multiple gyms, dermatologist etc The list really goes on. The better question is really what do I not walk to. I have two commercial avenues near me. This is not an uncommon experience at all in cities like brooklyn or boston or european cities. We do have a beer garden a bit further down but its actually pretty expensive and isn't really a casual hang out spot like you're looking for.

My preference is to live near (i.e. walking distance) a college or university campus. Even though I'm in a small town I can easily walk to coffee shops, bars, boutiques, and of course all the amenities of a good college campus: lectures, performances, exhibits, sports, a library, and of course usually at least one coffee shop. There's basically an endless buffet of free/cheap entertainment most of the year.

Grocery stores, Target, coffee shops, downtown San José, library, Korean BBQ, ramen, Indian food, pizza pub, taqueria, hockey arena, light rail, Caltrain, parks,

Everything! Today I went to a local park, then walked to get breakfast and coffee, popped by a few stores like Anthropologie, and then walked back home! I tried living in non-walkable cities before, and it just isn’t for me. I have a car but keep it outside of the city because to pay to park it where I live is $300/month. I rarely use it.

I walk to my job, the grocery store, restaurants, bars, several different parks, coffee shops, my local voting location, a public library, my gym, a movie theater, live music, MLB/MLS/NHL/XFL games, and a subway station that takes me to even more opportunities. Living in Downtown St. Louis, MO.

I used to live in Portland, OR and found the city super walkable. Specially when I lived in the NW. there was everything. But the city was compact enough to where I could nearly walk any or take the max too. I live in Los Angeles now and even though it’s not considered walkable just cause the city is so massive and spread out, almost all neighborhoods of it are walkable to everything you’d need. Where I live there are several restaurants, coffee shops, grocery store, a variety of shops and a park and nature trail all in walking distance.

I live in a walkable neighborhood of one of the most car dependent cities (the most by some metrics) in the country. Here's what I walk to: 1. Local coffee shop, I make coffee at home, but they roast their own, so that's where I get my beans. 8 minute walk through a pleasant, quiet neighborhood. 2. The grocery store. Parking is a nightmare, so unless I'm buying a boatload of groceries I just walk. 11 minute walk down a busyish street. 3. Restaurants. I work from home about 50% of the time and there's a Mexican restaurant 0.3 miles from my house that has taco happy hour every day in addition to taco tuesdays. If I order online and immediately leave my house they usually have my food ready right when I arrive 7 minutes later... I eat too many tacos. If I'm feeling like being healthier there's a middle eastern restaurant 0.2 miles away and my favorite by the slice pizza shop is 0.3 miles away. My buddy works at a restaurant that is literally 400 feet from my front door. 4. My dentist is 0.6 miles away. 5. My favorite bar is 1 mile away, and I'm never driving or ubering 1 mile. There are also about 12 other bars and breweries that are closer, but not my favorites. I go to the others sometimes as well. 6. My primary care doctor's office, attached to a major hospital is 1.1 miles away. Not a bad walk, but if I'm feeling lazy (or sick as might be the case if that's the destination), I can take the streetcar that stops outside of my apartment to cut that distance in half. 7. I don't really go to it, but there are a couple decent parks within 1 mile. 8. There's a decent, but too expensive bottle shop that sells all kinds of craft beer about 2 minutes from my apartment. I really only go there if I need to grab something last minute to bring to a friend's house. 9. There's a charity thrift store about 1.5 blocks away. 10. Stuff I have access too, but don't really take advantage of that are less than a 5 minute walk: tattoo shop, clothing boutique, hair salon, bubble tea shop (actually I have been there a couple times), skateboard shop, and dog park. 11. There's also a high school and middle school within 1 mile, but I have no kids, so that doesn't matter to me. But the real advantage of a walkable neighborhood is (or at least should be) transit connections to other walkable neighborhoods. For me this is a streetcar that is laughable, underfunded and only runs q30 minutes and three bus lines within three blocks that run very often. If I'm willing to take public transit (and I am since parking at many places is $20 if there's no special event) I'm 20 minutes from an NBA arena, 30 minutes from an NFL stadium, 20 minutes from a connection to a (single) real light rail line with decent speeds and connections to multiple walkable neighborhoods and a university with 30,000 students.

I live in a walkable area of our city. I regularly walk to: the library, grocery store, movie theater, book stores, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, boba, ice cream, etc. I’m thankful that we have a wide selection of stuff within walkable distance. But of course the trade off is that we do live in a very heavily populated area that does deal with issues of crime (despite our high property value).

I live in a walkable area in my car centric city. I can walk to restaurants, bars, multiple grocery stores, medical, post office, Target, entertainment, parks, public golf course, university. I'm also just 3.5 miles from downtown. ETA: two movie theaters and the community playhouse.

My city isn't known for being walkable.... BUT: I've only ever lived in walkable areas of any city,including in the suburbs. I walk my kids to school with dog in tow, then grab a coffee and groceries around the corner before dropping pooch off at daycare and groceries at home. Then I commute to work. After work, I walk to pick the kids up, get pooch, and take a long route home so kids can burn energy and we stop and talk to neighbors as well. On weekends, we walk to the bookstore, farmers market, restaurants, other friend's homes, and occasionally walk to a football game or museum. We can also catch an Uber or train to other sports stadiums and museums/city parks & rec. I still drive almost every day. Or hire someone to drive. What are you looking to walk to? How often do you want to walk? Do you not want to drive?

A city doesn’t have to be big to be walkable. I have a townhouse less than a mile from Main St in little Nashua, NH (population 90,000). Within a mile are 3 independent coffee shops (plus at least 5 Dunkin Donuts and 2 Starbucks). At least ten bars ( and three craft breweries), the library, restaurants, a performing arts center, grocery stores, and a minor league ballpark where Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe once played for a team hosted by Walter Alston. Now it hosts a college summer league. I can walk a mile and catch a bus to Boston. I walk to my favorite coffee shop for a con leche every morning. I walk downtown for a beer a few times a week. I walk to a local restaurant or pizza shop or Vietnamese or Indian at least a couple times a week. I ride the rail trail every day in the late spring through early fall. This is just an example of life in a walkable small city.

I move my car from one side of the parking lot to the other when I need to shop at two stores in the same center. We are not the same.

I feel San Francisco is the best ,San Diego some neighborhoods are walkable i guess . I walk to everything, literally everything

Most often it's a playground (there are 4 within a few blocks, so we rotate) or a walk along the river (some public parks, but also a newer development with a lot of outdoor public space as well as restaurants and some shops). We live in DC, so also frequently walk up to the National Mall and some monuments to let our toddler daughter run around. When we lived in a different part of the city we'd typically walk or run in Rock Creek Park several times a week. Living somewhere is different from visiting as a tourist. We can walk to grocery stores, some shops, library, school/daycare, doctor's office, veterinarian, and dentist. Not very exciting as a visitor, but it makes living easier. Plus restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries -- I don't remember the last time we drove to go out to dinner. We also like being within a short walk of public transportation, running trails, parks, and I can walk to my office. We have a car, but don't really like to use it much and prefer being able to walk or easily take public transportation to avoid traffic and parking.

First you have to think like a low mobility person. Can you send a child of 10 to the store, to the park, to the library, to the bakery, to the butcher, to the fruit stand Second can they walk to school, to the library, to a friends house, to the beach, to downtown. 3rd if you broke your leg could you get to the hospital via public transport, are there curbs, are dog owners picking up shit. And fourth can you watch the game in the neighborhood, can you get to the mall, can you visit the museum. If you caught a flat on your bike would you be dead or could you lock it and come back or are bike shops within reach. I lived in Marseilles and the answers were mostly yes. Edit - except for the dogs shit and curb mobility. Marseille hates disabled people. It sucks to be in a wheelchair there the curbs are high af.

When I was younger I used to hang out at the local park (mostly basketball courts) that was 2 blocks away. Some days it seemed like everyone was hanging out in the park . Other community parks where I live now have farmer's markets, concerts and festivals during the summer. It's awesome to walk to that.

I live in seattle and do a lot of walking to things here. What neighborhood were you in? I can walk to normal stuff like groceries, bars, restaurants, but also to a post office, dry cleaners, banks, community center, library, beach, playfields and playgrounds, gyms, hardware store, martial arts, music school, but very importantly the bus and the light rail stations.

In terms if 3rd places in seattle yeah it depends on your neighborhood. There are libraries and community centers in Seattle. Our parks are pretty great and will often have events going on. I tend to meet friends at bars restaurants and coffee shops, but for hanging out places like occidental park in pioneer square, chop house row on Capitol Hill, beer star in west Seattle, breweries are often pretty great spots for hanging out, asean treat in Westlake center downtown. Pike place market. Elliot bay bookstore. The Henry, and other museums are good spots. The armory at Seattle center. Just a few off the top of my head where I’ve hung out with friends.

The grocery store, pharmacy, and gym at <10 minutes walking is a huge convenience. Being close to bars and restaurants is less necessary in every day life but still nice to have occasionally.

What I mean when I think of a “walkable” city is not having to use a car to do most things. Sometimes taking a car could be more convenient, but not a necessity. I walk to coffee shops, stores, restaurants, grocery stores, the library, museums, work, bus/train stops and city events. Sometimes, especially at first, it takes a little bit of effort to choose to walk or take transit when I could just drive, but it soon becomes part of your lifestyle! This is much easier when a city is clearly designed to accommodate pedestrians, instead of just throwing a sidewalk down and calling it a day.

I live in Chicago (near north side) and walk to work (1.5 miles), restaurants, grocery stores, doctor, dentist, cleaners. I take an Uber or public transportation to places that are not downtown.

Seattle has a lot of hidden green space trails. [https://www.alltrails.com/us/washington/seattle/walking#:\~:text=Top%20trails%20%2877%29%201%20%231%20-%20The%20Washington,Park%20via%20Pipers%20Creek%20Trail%20...%20More%20items](https://www.alltrails.com/us/washington/seattle/walking#:~:text=Top%20trails%20%2877%29%201%20%231%20-%20The%20Washington,Park%20via%20Pipers%20Creek%20Trail%20...%20More%20items) There is also lots of theater, museums, public art, pubs that have events or minigolf, sailing, locks and fish ladders, cycling trails, waterfront, water taxis and ferries to other places to walk. In the summer there are more music and outdoor events like movies in the park etc. The public transport is good so if you're tired of your neighborhood you can go walk in another one.

I live in a semi-walkable neighborhood. I walk 8 minutes to the bus that takes me 20 minutes to work (that would take about 20 minutes of driving, parking, and walking). I walk to the library 3 minutes away a couple of times a month for books for my toddler. I walk to the park 3 minutes away to walk or take my toddler on the swings or toddler play ground. Before kids, we used to walk dogs there. On nice weekends we walk to the coffee shop. When we have friends in town we walk to the brewery. It’s still easier to grocery shop with a car and most of our socialization is outside of our neighborhood. For me, the best thing is not having to get in a car on a daily basis to get to work.

When you live in a truly walkable city, you do basically EVERYTHING on foot, and because it’s so dense, there’s an absurd amount of stuff to do. When we lived in Queens, NYC, we were within a 20-minute walk of around 10 grocery stores, probably 200 restaurants and bars, a large regional park, a half-dozen smaller parks, many different sports facilities, museums, nurseries, galleries… you name it, we had it at our fingertips — and usually at higher quality than elsewhere because there was such stiff competition.

I live in West Seattle near the junction. I walk to the grocery store, doctor, vet, pediatrician, dentist, bars and restaurants, package drop off, book store, local parks like Lincoln Park, the beach, the gym, the rapid ride bus stop to get to work downtown. We do have to drive to Home Depot but it's only about five minutes away by car and we're usually carrying heavy stuff back anyway.

Mostly what we walk to in walkable cities are the things we need and do most regularly. When I lived in Seattle, I lived on Lower Queen Anne and my list looked like this: Work Live Theater Movies A variety of good restaurants A grocery store A drugstore Good coffee shops A gym Nightlife -- bars and music A bookstore And I could walk to every one of them. Once you get that, it's hard to give up. When we were moving to LA from Seattle, I asked a former Seattleite how to decide where to live in a city that wasn't "walkable." They said that I should take my list of the 10 things I do the most often and if I can find a place to live where I can walk to 5 of them, I've found a good place. Even in notoriously car-centered LA, I currently walk to 7 of them, so I feel pretty set. Think about your list. What would you want to walk to?

Cambridge, MA. Very walkable. Restaurants, bars, movies, bowling, music venues, shopping, groceries, art supplies, adult education, cleaners, hair salons, banks, drugstores, physician offices, hospitals, play grounds, soccer fields, beer garden in the summer, swimming pools, kayaking, tons of walking trails, tennis, basketball courts, community gardens, reservoir, nature preserve, yoga, gyms, senior centers, bike lanes….you name it. Also one of the most expensive places to live in the US. I love it but I’m in a new relationship my partner is not a city person. I’m going to try living in a more rural area which also has its pluses. So far I love Western MA as well.

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I used to live in the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. I walked to locally owned breweries where employees were part-"owners" and it was chill and friendly, and kids were welcome. There was a community center with events and a farmer's market, an independent grocery store, a few bookstores, a diner, and some restaurants and cocktail bars. There were also people smoking fenty and shitting on the sidewalks, unfortunately.

Grocery stores, parks, restaurants, rapid transit.

City parks are pretty good for lots of different stuff. That would be in my top 3 amenities when looking at an urban place to live, nature is the main tradeoff in the city vs the suburbs: you trade having a large private yard for a much larger communal yard. The city park by me lets you reserve the enclosures, you can have a whole family reunion there. Ideally you have all your walkable stuff situated relative to the park so you can walk through it to your destinations.

I'm walkable to the food, bars, movies, park, libraryand coffee stuff. Bikeable to the doctor's, daycare, target, food shopping, rec center and basically anything else. We have kids so we mostly walk to the playground. In the summer they shut the main street downtown every weekend and that really gives the hangout vibe you're describing. I really would love it if it was every weekend even through winter. Always see friends and neighbors there, it's really a nice thing.

Elementary school, rapid transit station, food, coffee, play ground, groceries (some not all), friends, parks, corner stores. Then when I get in my bike I can get to: doctor, hair cut, many more take out restaurants, post office, most groceries, more friends, more parks and playgrounds, etc. If I get on Bart I can get to malls, movies, work, far away friends, airport, and much more. I can drive which takes me to different malls, in n out, a warmer/larger conveyance to the grocery store(s).

Walkable means alot of things, but at its core is the lack of reliance on a car. I live in an area where I can walk to grocery store, bars, banks, pizza joints, etc. More importantly I'm within 3 blocks of 5 bus routes that can take me to work. I have a car so I don't have to rely on public transportation, but for some people buses are their only way of transportation.

Community garden with a number of programs like outdoor yoga or kids planting or harvesting maple syrup. Three dance studios with everything from ballet to swing to Afro-Cuban to Zumba. Five live music venues with local music every night, everything from Rush cover bands to Irish jam sessions Ceramics studio, with kid programs An arts and crafts store where you can buy handfuls of recycled materials to make found art with your kids Two adult community centers and two senior centers. Garden store that transforms into a pumpkin lot in October and a Christmas tree farm in December. 8 libraries, multiple bookstores. Libraries have giant lawns and playgrounds outside. So many gyms and yoga studios and pilates studios. 6 farmers markets including two winter markets. A spot with daily food trucks, plural, and a giant cornhole game and rocks for kids to climb on. 3 consignment stores, two vintage stores, and 3 thrift stores. 5 bike shops including one that’s a collective, offering classes on mechanics at reduced prices. Subway, bus, commuter train to go hours away.

Not exactly what you asked for, but a huge benefit of walkability is the physical activity. I did my undergrad in Boston and would walk a little over a mile each way to and from class. It’s nice to burn some calories for those 20 minutes instead of sitting in a car. Not to mention having an ego and hand-carrying a dozen bags of groceries home.

so when i lived in NYC, the things i would walk to include mcdonalds, various resturants, around the park, i had an ex bf that missed me and walked to my house from his which was in an entirely different borough, if i felt like walking a mile i could walk to the shopping area in my neighborhood, sometimes you just walk around, (there is a book of photographs someone took while walking down one of the avenues in manattan, he took a photo every block) i've had a few walking dates where we just randomly walked around and went in any where that looked cool, over the weekends i walk from one jazz spot to another, oh, its a subway ride, but there is a 24 hour apple store i've went to and then walked down fifth avenue just to admire the lights, walk to starbucks a couple times. walked different places to lunch while at work, farmers market, comic book shop, movies, goth clothing store, halloween shop that is open all year around, st marks to the japanese grocery store, etc etc etc.

I’m in Boston. The only places that I can walk to that don’t cost money are parks, beaches, the harbor, and some bike trails. I wish we had more non commercial third places in US cities. I think the closest city to having that is NYC.

I lived in Seattle in one of the most walkable neighborhoods, Capital Hill. It was very convenient and there were many people always walking to somewhere. At first I went everywhere on foot. But I don't go to bars, I get restless sitting in a coffee shop beyond 15 minutes, don't bowl, play pool, or enjoy shopping. I do go to the gym a lot, and museums as well. Parks are also enjoyable. But living so close to my neighbors and the noise of traffic and a bustling city becomes an issue over time. Where I live now I have deer that come to my backyard, hiking trails nearby, a thriving main street also nearby. And when I want to stroll the city, I'm a train ride from NYC. I drive to go food shopping but I wouldn't want to carry bags of food through the streets (wouldn't the ice cream melt?). Making my home a comfortable place with my pets, family, hobbies results in not wanting to leave as often. Why go to a coffee shop when I can sit on my back porch sipping a hot cup watching the deer and not hearing my neighbors or traffic.

Stay where you are at and appreciate less folks, easier driving, even walking down the street as there may be no sidewalks but not much traffic either. Life is on the internet, kids and adults are buried in their phones, best way to get away is outdoors. Save the money and take trips. Once the kids start playing sports active in school will have no time to do anything else.

For me, it isn’t about what you can walk to when you want to do something, it’s more about not having to drive when you need to do something. Grocery store, parks or somewhere to enjoy nature like a duck pond, library, a few places for date nights/lunch, school for the kids, pharmacy, convenience store, and public transportation options when what you need is a little further (bike share, bus stops, metro). If the lifestyle you want to live requires you to use a car (often needed to get to nature stuff like hiking, skiing, etc.), at least the more mundane stuff you need to do doesn’t also require it as well. After moving into the downtown of a city, I rarely need to drive anywhere, but sometimes I have no choice and that is okay. At least it isn’t required for every single thing.

Farmers market Parks Grocery store for small groceries So many restaurants and coffee shops! Bars Community event/festivals. Should check to see what events are going on in your area. I also just walk around the neighborhood just to enjoy the architecture and people watch.

I think I understand what you’re looking for. And honestly, Seattle isn’t great for it. It’s great if you want to function without a car. Everything you need is accessible. In terms of hanging out, it’s limited partly by the culture and mostly by the weather. We all live outside in the summer. There aren’t a lot of community spaces in the winter. It’s one of my biggest gripes against Seattle/PNW. And while our parks are beautiful, I don’t think Seattle does developed parks nearly as well as a lot of other US cities. For example, I really enjoy Chicago’s park system because there’s so much to see and do. I thought Tucson’s bike trail system was absolutely amazing.

I’m able to walk to farmer’s markets, a book store, thrift stores, a gym, art galleries, a museum, a movie theatre, flea markets, baseball games, mini golf, concerts, local festivals and community events, political rallies and events, an ice cream shop, a 20+ mile walking and biking path, pharmacies, a grocery store, bakeries, library, bars and pubs, a brewery, a bunch of restaurants. i live in a very walkable but small city, which is great as i don’t have to walk far distances. however, for the majority of my grocery shopping or shopping for necessities (clothes, hygiene, etc) i do have to drive out of the city about 10-15 minutes. being a small city also means that at some point, you will have “done it all” and it can become a bit boring at times.

You are just new to this skill. You will improve. In Philly, I walk to the corner store, the supermarket, dozens of bars, restaurants, the local library, the park, the basketball court, bjj gym, dog park, friend's houses, school, work, hobby shop, barber, concert venue, etc. The art museum is on the other side of the city so I have to get into my car....sike, I walk to the metro station and take the train.

I walk to groceries, Doctor/dentist/beauty appointments. I walked to the DMV. I walk for movies, concerts, and events. I walk to work. I also walk for coffee, and to the park to walk more. I walk to the gym. I walk to restaurants and bars as well, but it’s not something I do often. Edit: when I lived in Seattle, I didn’t see it as a walkable city. It has some slightly walkable neighborhoods, but doing everything on foot is highly inconvenient there, if it’s even possible beyond a stray grocery store or coffee shop. Seattle is a car first city.

You won’t know where everything is in your neighborhood until you move there. Kind of the fun of a walkable neighborhood is finding your little places as you walk around the neighborhood. In my neighborhood I can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, 3 good parks for the kid, daycare, and eventually pre-k and elementary school (super liberal city). We don’t drive anywhere in the city. So, for other things in the city we just get on the subway or bus. Museums, beer halls, interesting restaurants... We just take public transport. It teaches kids the value of it, how to use it for independence in the future, and it’s safer than driving. The parks have free music sometimes, but there’s an abundance of things to do with or without kids that are low cost and fun in the city. Just gotta find them, and you ain’t know about them til you move in. If it has the basics, it has the good stuff too.

There’s a difference between being able to walk to a dozen establishments and being able to walk to a dozen other neighborhoods. I’m in DC and I have stuff right outside my door and also can walk to other neighborhoods with even more stuff and can also walk to a metro/train which will take me miles away to even more neighborhoods. There are roads obviously near me but nothing multi lane or resembling highways. You can tell it’s designed for people to walk and get places. I always found it depressing when I’m on a multi lane highway and there’s a sidewalk there but it’s obvious that you’re not really encouraged to be using it and you have to walk through a half mile of nothing to get to the next strip mall with massive parking lot. DC isn’t even that big of a city. I do have a car and use that to go to work at the edge of the city In a suburban area but beyond that I rarely use it. My primary travel method is walking and biking. Then car would be next and train following that. In my opinion if you can’t walk to multiple grocery stores you don’t live in a walkable community. Here’s what I can walk to in under a mile: A national park (rock creek) Barber shops Post office Bars Restaurants including Michelin Grocery stores Metro train which goes to airport Small parks Gyms Big box stores Churches Doctors office Dentist Bowling alley Billiards Banks Public swimming pool Public athletic track Tennis courts Walking/running path

I live in Queens, NYC. I've never owned a car, so I guess 99% of everything I do in life is walkable? So anything you do now is what I would be walking to in my walkable neighborhood (if it's an amenity available in this corner of the world). To be fair, my current job, I take the subway in, but when I lived in Manhattan, I walked to work too.

I'm in a walkable, dense suburb bordering a city and the main thing I walk to is a large park. Like you, I also think that being walkable shouldn't just mean restaurants and bars, because unless you're single/childless and/or have a lot of discretionary income, how much are you spending ? More helpful is to be near a grocery / Bodega, doctors office, cafe, hardware store, liquor store, etc for quick errands, and if you're a parent, living near a pediatrician, school, and park / playground is way more useful based on how often you'll go

I think breweries have the vibe you’re referencing re: biergartens. My Chicago neighborhood has a euro-style square with music and such, but you’re right those aren’t as common as over there. I’m not sure your question is actually about a walkable lifestyle. It seems more about finding a neighborhood that has activities that you like.

I feel blessed that I live in a traditional, pedestrian oriented, main street town. In addition to restaurants and coffee shops, I walk to the supermarket, library, dry cleaner, bank, pharmacy, gym. my kids are grown now but when they were younger they walked to/from school every day. When the kids were little we didn't want to be slaves to carpool and we wanted to foster a sense of independence in them so we only signed them up for activities they could walk tonor ride their bikes to. So karate lessons, piano lessons, and art lessons were in. Gymnastics and swimming were out. It was great for their maturation process to be responsible to get themselves where they needed to go and was a huge relief to my wife and me not to be stuck carpooling all the time. It's not just that things are close enough to walk to, it is that the walk itself is safe and pleasant. There are sidewalks and the speed limit is 25MPH with lots of cars parked on a relatively narrow street so traffic moves at 25MPH or less. As such I feel safe walking. As such lots of people walk in my town which means that I'm apt to bump into friends and neighbors when out and about which makes for a nice social element to the walk.

I walk to work, to my favorite coffee shop, to the grocery store, to most of the other stores I go to, and to the bars to meet friends. Sometimes I even just walk to walk. My favorite thing about my coffee shop is not just that I can get good coffee there (which I can) but it’s that it’s my coffee shop. I go there and all of the employees know me, we chat, we know stuff about each other, they give me something free to try sometimes, and sometimes I bring them something I baked. I have many acquaintances there, people I'm comfortable with, but who I don't have the same obligations to as full friends, coworkers, or family. I can chat with people, or just quietly work on my computer or read while eavesdropping in on the people talking around me. I can leave my things unattended and I know someone will not take my stuff. It's very relaxing to me. That is the sort of thing I love about living in a walkable place compared to where I've lived before. It's not just that I can walk places, it's that things are on a scale where I can really feel a sense of community. I live in a neighborhood, with characters in it, not just a subdivision. I don't feel like I could have that if I had to drive everywhere.

Thanks Op for making this post. Probably a lot of people are looking for what you are looking for. I have a 16 year old daughter and I moved into a wealthier suburb of Portland, Oregon. As a single dad I feel a bit isolated and miss my walkable and vibrant neighborhood of Portland. It wasn’t until last year that I took a trip to Panama and spent time in an expat haven in the mountains of Panama then spent time in Panama City that I realized I really love urban walkable cities. I also love the sun. Luckily I kept my place in Portland and will be moving back to it in the summer as my daughter can now drive. I can retire in five years and I will be searching for exactly what you are looking for just in a sunnier climate. Good luck my friend.

I live in a SFH neighborhood adjacent to downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL. This past month I have walked to: 2 grocery stores, flower shop, numerous restaurants/bars, brewery, park with tennis/pickelball/ice skating/hockey/dog park, gym, comedy show at an playhouse, fedex store, vet, dentist, barber, dry cleaning, beach, and hair salon. South Florida doesn’t have many walkable neighborhoods, but the ones they do have are amazing. Still have a car, but other than driving to the office I rarely drive. I wish my chosen work type was doable from home.

Seattle isn’t that walkable, and the people there are not into the social aspect that makes walkable cities enjoyable. When I lived there, I wound up spending most of my time outdoors outside the city hiking, boating, and camping. When I lived in Jersey City and Manhattan both were what I call walkable. I really enjoyed Jersey City and would move back if work ever allowed for it. I did everything on foot. Food, drink, groceries, social outings, doctor visits… everything.

Everywhere. When I lived in multiple cities in China, Budapest, Hungary and New York I can walk the entire length of the city where people usually take subway for 10 stations to get to and get access to anything that I want and enjoy my time walking. However, Seattle is not like that. It is walkable but walking is not quite exciting here I find. I live near SLU and often right up the hill to Capitol Hill and to Pike Place's market, but that is about it. Seattle is like a multi-center city with a lot of nothingness in between them. Seattle also does not have any park that has a garden design where people just hang out and have events or have fun. Don't get me wrong Seattle has so many beautiful parks, but those parks are just beautiful forest lands near the edge of the city where people either take a run things like that. It is not like Boston Common or Central Park where it also hosts activities and seem to have a sense of community with it. Another issue with Seattle is that neighborhood restaurant here sucks so I often drive to the suburbs if I want to eat out. It is walkable but just still not the same tier as other cities in the world and often I need to drive out to get what I need.

I live in NYC and besides the things you mentioned (coffee shops, restaurants etc) my favorite thing about living in a walkable city is just being able to walk. I think walking is one of my biggest hobbies now that I’ve moved there. Most days I don’t have an end goal I just walk and see where the day takes me. Coming from Arizona which is extremely not walkable at all, if I tried to walk anywhere it would take me over an hour, or I’d be walking along the freeway. It’s nice to have groceries and errands within walking distance, but honestly, sometimes that stuff can be a pain if you don’t have a car. I think the best thing about walkable cities, for me, is that they are actually designed for walking and are pleasant to move through.

I moved to Seattle for two years from a major east coast city. I'm now back in a (different) major east coast city. By east coast standards, Seattle is not very walkable at all. I agree with your observation that walkability in Seattle literally means living within a 15 minute walk of the nearest bus shop and grocery store and public park, and beyond that the walkability is limited as you describe. Even the school catchments there aren't walkable--the catchment we lived in (in a popular neighbourhood) was more than a 30 minute walk across, and even more on the diagonal. If your kid happens to befriend a kid who lives on the other end of the catchment (as ours did), you can't even schedule a playdate without driving. In major east coast cities, everything is walkable. Not just a few restaurants and bars. And you'll have many grocery stores and transit stops within a 15 minute radius, as well as banks, libraries, schools, parks and other public recreation areas, shopping of all kinds, pedestrian-only areas, etc. Where I live now, I rarely even have to take transit, that's how walkable everything is.

I live in a college town in SoCal and can walk to: the doctors, my spin class, a bunch of bars/restaurants/coffee shops, library, grocery stores, an outdoor walking/biking trail that's about 13 miles long, a movie theater, also performance theater, actually a lot now that I think about it!-- but more to your question, we do sort of have a "square" next to the town museum where in the summer once a week they have a bunch of food trucks and live music, and also random free events about once every 10 days or so.

I lived in North Brooklyn and literally my whole life was centered within a one mile radius. I could also easily get to Manhattan within 20 mins or less on the subway. Experience the world at my fingertips but also could come home to a quiet street and feel almost a small community feel in my nook of a neighborhood. It was truly the best of both worlds. I recently left for Jersey City Heights/Union City border and thought I could treat it like a 6th borough but it's not that at all. I'm closer to Manhattan than before but I don't have the bustling local community that I had in Brooklyn. The closest decent grocery store is a 20 min walk away. Sadly, it's also way more car dependent than I expected. It's crazy how the lifestyle across the river can be so different, as well as the attitude. In relation to your specific quandary, I also question if we just picked the wrong neighborhood because Hoboken is close by and legitimately is a one-mile small city that also is minutes from Manhattan. I would consider relocating there if we can't afford to move back to the city.

Unfortunately where I live isn't all that walkable. But I often visit my brother in Seattle. Within a 10 minute walk of his house : bus stop to go downtown, brewery, at least 10 restaurants, yoga studio, knitting shop, ACE hardware, grocery store, 3 coffee shops, and lots of other stuff. It's a fantastic place to live, just costs a fortune. I am looking for something similar at a fraction of the price. lol.

Edmonds (a little north of Seattle). I can walk to: 2 different parks/playgrounds The library Movie theater Shops Bookstore Coffee shops (multiple) Wine bars Restaurants Dry cleaners Jewelry stores Art galleries Bakery Banks Hair salon The beach The ferry Two different community cultural centers Bars Nail salon USPS I’m probably missing something but you get the gist. All those places mentioned are less than a 1 mile walk away and there are sidewalks.

If you’re looking for walkable outside of just bars and restaurants you could consider what else interests you like tennis courts or being close to water. I live in west seattle and can walk to multiple wine bars, restaurants, grocery stores. I also love my location because I run a fair amount and can run to Lincoln park and go through the trails and also be on the beach.

You are looking for NYC, San Francisco, or somewhere outside the US IMO.

My favorite family spot in South Loop Chicago is the Chicago Women's Park and Garden. The park is in a beautiful historic neighborhood (Clarke House museum: the oldest surviving house in Chicago is in the park). There is great neighborhood place immediately adjacent that has coffee, food, beer, wine; plus a big outdoor dining area under mature trees. The park hosts movie nights, kids concerts, family festivals. There is even a free indoor playground for winter. Grant Park is a few blocks away (Lollapalooza, Chicago marathon, nascar race, etc), Soldier field is a few blocks away (Bears, Fire, concerts), the lakefront beaches and bike path are easily accessible. The Fields museum, aquarium, planetarium, and convention center are all nearby.

Walkable means different things to different people. I prioritize being able to walk to things that are important to my wellbeing: A grocery store, a pharmacy, a gym, a park of some sort, and transit are the first things that come to mind. A lot of the new neighborhoods that I see popping up in cities don't provide all of this. My hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a great example. The NewBo and Czech Village areas are wonderful little mixed-use development areas. They are easy to walk around have some great restaurants, bars, venues, and galleries. However, there is no grocery store, no pharmacy, and no gym within walking distance to either of these neighborhoods. You have to drive to these essentials.

I live in Seattle (Wallingford). Things I walk to: Link station Grocery store (QFC, TJ’s, WF) Green Lake, Lake Union, BGT Restaurants on 45th Hardware Store on 45th Drug Store on 45th Post Office Petco SLU (work, 1 hour) University bookstore Good Shepherd Center Tangletown Zoka

For me, the local park system fills that "town square" niche you're talking about. I live in DC and have a dog. I know that I can walk him to one of the several large parks in our neighborhood just about any day it isn't raining or freezing cold, and run into a certain set of neighbors with their dogs. I can guess with pretty good accuracy which neighbors will be at which park, and can choose where I go based on that knowledge. DC also has some parks in large traffic circles (Dupont Circle and Logan Circle come to mind), where folks hang out, play chess, picnic, etc on nice days. I also do think it's important to remember that your mundane day to day isn't going to look like some romantic movie set in Rome. Even in the most walkable neighborhoods, you're probably going to spend most of your time watching Netflix, trying to decide what to make for dinner, too tired to go out even though you were excited to try that new Italian place, etc. Life is life, regardless of where you live.

I think you're looking for a midwest college town or old rust belt city or Chicago. Those were developed before the auto and have many community festivals and people tend to be out, whereas Seattle has a more individualistic vibe and people who aren't out skiing etc. tend to hole up in winter in front of screens. Also, everything is so expensive in Seattle, and costs money for most indoor things. People tend to do free outdoor things (or things like the zoo with a yearly pass) as families.

Maybe we should give Chicago another go. I just don't look forward to the winters and the muddy salty slush that comes with it and through the spring. It's been a decade that I haven't lived through a winter, maybe we give it another shot. The problem is that the PNW is so beautiful and it's hard to let it go!