Is This What YOU Mean?

This week we're going to take a departure from visiting my list of the Best Places to Live in North Carolina and South Carolina and start to talk about a topic I (Ask Bob) continue to get a lot of questions about.

Where are the best walkable towns?

And often within the same sentence;

Where are the best walkable small towns in North Car0lina and South Carolina?

What I have found out is that the term "walkable", "small town" or "town" does not mean the same thing to all people.

So, I thought it would be a good time to start to take a look at what “walkable”, "small town" and "town" may mean to you because how you define what you are looking for is going to affect your results.

When I'm asked about  the best “walkable” towns in North Carolina or South Carolina, I immediately think it has something to do with being able to get around on foot.

I envision a  town or planned community organized in such a way that most all the necessary goods and services are conveniently located within walking distance.

However, my next question has to be… within walking distance of what?

Your house?

Or do you want to drive into town and be able to walk around town from your car?

This is an important question.

And this raises the question of whether or not “walkable” is code for a small town or does size have really have anything to do with it at all?

Let me explain…

Large cities with a high population and well-defined neighborhoods definitely fit the definition of “walkable.”

Cities like Charlotte, NC, Asheville, NC, Chapel Hill, NC and Raleigh, NC as well as Charleston, South Carolina are in fact considered "walkable."

Maybe your best place to live in the Carolinas is living in one of these cities where you can walk from your home, down the block and find just about everything you need from green spaces to groceries.

On the other side of the coin, when you hear the term "walkable", you may be thinking in terms of a small town or planned community.  But still, the question remains.

Walkable from where?

Towns like Hendersonville, NC and Black Mountain, NC are small towns with well-defined neighborhoods within walking distance of the town center making it incredibly convenient and pedestrian friendly.

However, cities and towns alike, may have nice downtown's but they do not support what you may mean by walkable. Not all cities and towns are walkable from your home and…

To be very clear, small town doesn’t always mean “walkable”, because many of them although they are small do not contain a center or nucleus around which they are built!

In recent years there has been an increasing awareness of and growing movement for walkable community’s.  Whether it be defined as a city or town.

This movement has grown and there are plenty of organizations pushing the idea that we need to redevelop towns and cities in ways that enhance our lives and increase interaction among people.

The Walkable and Livable Communities Institute (www.walklive.org) and Walkable Communities, Inc. (www.walkable.org), both the brainchildren of community advocate Dan Burden, provide an abundance of information on how to make towns, cities, communities more walkable and even came up with a 12 step checklist of what to look for.

I’m not going to go into detail about all twelve steps (you can go to the websites for that) but in terms of basic principles,"the town is designed for people."

If you’ve looked through the Places of Value site, then you’ve already noticed that we covered similar if not the same ground last year when we looked at virtually the same principles under the banner of New Urbanism.

Visit our articles and other Carolina Reports on New Urbanism and New Urbanism planned communities for more information.

Okay…

So hopefully you’ve gained some new insights into what "walkable" means.

My definition of “walkable” came pretty close however,  I encourage you to take a look at the websites above and we’ll continue to talk about this topic real soon.

Remember, some of the cities and towns on our list of the Best Places to Live in North Carolina and South Carolina are among the towns or cities  listed as “walkable” by Walkable Communities, Inc.:

• Asheville, NC
• Charlotte, NC
• Chapel Hill, NC
• Raleigh, NC
• Hendersonville, NC
• Charleston, SC
• Black Mountain, NC

Have a great one and see you next week!

About Bob Bencivenga

Bob Bencivenga is a professional site locator and location analyst for major corporations and has been researching the growth of NC and SC to find the Best Places to Retire or Relocate that are still affordable.

Visit his blog The Carolina Report and sign up for FREE updates by email,his FREE Affordable Best Places To Live Report and, get FREE Expert Advice on how to find Your Best Place to Retire or Relocate to in North Carolina and South Carolina, additional resources, and a lot more. Bob does not sell real estate.

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