The other day, I read an article in the newspaper about an area's walk score.
Walk score is a number from 0-100, 100 being best, at how pedestrian friendly a neighborhood is. This is intriguing to me, because one of the reasons we love Annapolis and the areas surrounding the Historic District, is because we can walk there! We can stroll in and out of all the nooks and crannies that makes up the history of our city! Within a few minutes (and steps) you can be at some of the best restaurants in the state! But to people outside of Annapolis, does this really matter?
The resounding answer is YES. Many millennials are moving back to cities because of their ease of use. If you can walk out of your home and down to the corner market, who wouldn't find that appealing? If your kid's school is just 2 blocks away, isn't that ideal? It's not just New Yorkers who would love to give up their cars and have everything within convenient walking distance.
Inspired by this article, I went ahead and updated the neighborhood section of my website. Now each neighborhood has their walk score on it. If you click on it, it will show you what is nearby, including stores, restaurants, coffee shops, schools, errands, etc. There's even a Travel Time map that will show you how long it will take you to get somewhere on either foot, bike or car.
Besides proximity, there's health benefits to walking. It's been shown that by just getting outside and walking (not power walking either) it will improve your mood, your mental well being and of course it reduces your stress! Body wise, there's heart benefits, it will strengthen your bones, and you may even lose weight.
If you're looking for a home, it is definitely important to research the area you're planning on moving to, and here's just a new criteria for everyone to look at. I'm glad this is something I can provide to my clients. If you're in the downtown area, you will probably see me out and about walking my dog Maggie! Come join me!
Walk score is a number from 0-100, 100 being best, at how pedestrian friendly a neighborhood is. This is intriguing to me, because one of the reasons we love Annapolis and the areas surrounding the Historic District, is because we can walk there! We can stroll in and out of all the nooks and crannies that makes up the history of our city! Within a few minutes (and steps) you can be at some of the best restaurants in the state! But to people outside of Annapolis, does this really matter?
The resounding answer is YES. Many millennials are moving back to cities because of their ease of use. If you can walk out of your home and down to the corner market, who wouldn't find that appealing? If your kid's school is just 2 blocks away, isn't that ideal? It's not just New Yorkers who would love to give up their cars and have everything within convenient walking distance.
Inspired by this article, I went ahead and updated the neighborhood section of my website. Now each neighborhood has their walk score on it. If you click on it, it will show you what is nearby, including stores, restaurants, coffee shops, schools, errands, etc. There's even a Travel Time map that will show you how long it will take you to get somewhere on either foot, bike or car.
Besides proximity, there's health benefits to walking. It's been shown that by just getting outside and walking (not power walking either) it will improve your mood, your mental well being and of course it reduces your stress! Body wise, there's heart benefits, it will strengthen your bones, and you may even lose weight.
If you're looking for a home, it is definitely important to research the area you're planning on moving to, and here's just a new criteria for everyone to look at. I'm glad this is something I can provide to my clients. If you're in the downtown area, you will probably see me out and about walking my dog Maggie! Come join me!
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