On one side a nosey old bitchy woman, that watches everything everybody does. Depending on who she’s by, she bitches about the other person not there. She said my former neighbor was a lesbian, because before she got married, woman would visit at the house. Her and now her husband were my friends. I told them she was a lesbian, then not to tell this lady anything personal.
On the other side, a person that was stealing a criticaly ill womans medicines and using them. She also wrote many checks from this ladies account and cashed them. In other words, she spent a year in jail for stealing. She dumps her full ash trays in the street, so the butts are in everybody’s yard. They also mow some of the yard at least once every six weeks.
I don’t do anything in my yard anymore, than mow the grass.
I live across the street from a small, private liberal arts college, St. Thomas University, and a block away from the Rothko Chapel (whose defining works are rapidly deteriorating due to the “master”'s use of inferior materials). Another block over we find the Menil Collection, a privately funded art museum that features, amongst other things, a genuinely great collection of surrealist and 20th century works. It’s a trip to see something you’ve seen reproduced a thousand times a foot away from your face. Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Salvador Dali and others (DeSade, all the little brits with there bowlers and umbrellas falling through a blue sky, etc.) are resting, in their original, about 70 yards from right here.
The intervening block holds a low rent apartment complex that serves as the first stop in El Norte for many.
That’s to the south.
To the north is a middle class neighborhood of which my duplex (I’m the Duke of Earl) sits on the edge. This part of town is generally called Montrose and has been the Greenwich Village area of Houston for ~35 years, with a mix of residential and outland bars, art boutiques, tattoo parlors and whatever. Also known as the “gay” part of town, but I just think that goes with being the arty part of town.
The last few years have seen big changes, as the single family dwellings are being bought up (2 bdr bungalows went for ~$85K 6-8 years ago) by developers and torn down to be replaced by 3-4 townhomes on a lot that sell in the $200-$300K range. The population density has doubled in the last 3 years and the neighborhood is becoming less tolerant of the transvestite bars and the like. The neighborhood association is becoming somewhat nazified.
I’ll try not to make this political; suffice to say that a conservative atheist has found that, of late, the recent infusion of moneyed Democrats is threatening the bohemian character of a neighborhood I’ve loved and enjoyed for quite some time.
We live in an older neighborhood- it’s nice and quiet (if the guy across the street isn’t drinking ). The land in between my backyard and the street was sold and low rent townhouses were built. If you’re in my front yard, it’s a nice little neighborhood. If you’re in my backyard, run the hell back inside before you get shot.
Although the punkin chunkin sounds pretty dangerous to live nearby,too.
I live in an ordinary country town nestled in between other houses. Just up the street (about 100 metres) is scrub and that goes on for about 2000 km. Really exiting huh?
I have across the street from my building a very large Lutheran church, which my grandmother brings up every time she visits, “why don’t you go to church? you live so close to one…”
To my left is a grocery store, to my right another apartment building.
Within three blocks is the Mayo Clinic campus.
My apartment is also in close proximity to two hospitals, we’re talking ambulance sirens screaming, helicopters flying overhead, hospitals. You get used to it, but it takes a while, coming from the middle of nowhere on a farm.
I also apparently have morons having target practice with their handguns in the apartment building next door’s parking lot. That is, when they’re not screaming obscenities at each other and honking their horns.
Well, at least I’m right near a hospital should I get hit by a stray bullet…
In my immediate neighborhood, there is almost a bar on every corner. There is a bowling alley, a church, and some small businesses. If you are looking for landmarks, though, I live about 4 miles from the University of Notre Dame.
i live across the street from an elementary school. this one has a bomb shelter inside. there used to be one of those air raid/emergency sirens outside, but they took it down a few years ago.
A park with a swimming pool and parking I can use overnight for free are across the street. There’s this tacit agreement: the people on my block keep an eye on the park and the park cops don’t ticket us. I even got off a ticket written by an overzealous town cop with that argument. I pretend it’s my front lawn that some people cut for free every week. I’m nice and let folks play baseball there.
I also live between two Rails to Trails bike and walking paths. The original one, the Illinois Prarie Path, is two blocks south and the Great Western Path is about five doors north. Biking on a railroad grade has ruined my hill climbing abilities. Cars and people can climb a steeper grade than a locomotive, so streets are steeper than these paths. Not like ANYTHING is steep in northern Illinois!
Kilgore- you sound like one of the luckiest SOB’s ever… living close to Mr. Coombs aka Mr. Dressup would be the coolest thing. So much better than living next to Mr. Rogers… :0)
What do I live by?
A unique set of morals and beliefs developed over a lifetime… and a school.
I live next door to the Singapore embassy in NYC. (Remember when there was that “international incident” a few years back, with the American kid who was going to be caned because he had committed some act of vandalism in Singapore? Well, the city stationed a cop outside the embassy during the entire episode lest any vengeful yanks tried to cane their building.)
The United Nations is a few blocks southeast, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a few blocks west, and Kate the Great Hepburn lives a couple of blocks south – though she spends most of the time at her CT summerhome these days, I’m told.
Also, some historians believed that Nathan “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” Hale was hanged a couple of blocks east of me; but now the prevailing opinion is that, though he was probably imprisioned nearby, he actually “swung” about ten blocks north of here.
8 blocks from the Mississippi River; 4 blocks from work (the Main library); 6-7 blocks from the entertainment area of downtown. It really is just about ideal.
Kinda neat: a large island in the river is a military installation; several commands are housed there. Lots of huge, old yellow sandstone buildings and houses. Plenty of civilian workers are employed there, so the atmosphere is pretty laid back. It’s a favorite place to jog, walk the dog, etc. Gorgeous in fall, as the trails and roads go right beside the river.
Once in a while we get the huge whuump! whuump! whuump! helicopters going overhead, and more rarely the heavy BOOM when they test cannons or something.
My house could be considered the hub of several places. Specifically, a high school, elementary school, the highway, and a mall. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
I live two houses away from the old route 66, a few miles from the Cadillac Ranch, and a few miles from the Big Texan (FREE 72 OUNCE STEAK! dinner if eaten in one hour).
The drunk guy in the duplex across the street has a special ramp so he can ride his Harley up the porch steps and into his living room.
I live on a golf course within spitting distance of the second green (not good when the novices come through), across the street from a Power House Gym (not good when the muscle heads have steroid induced rages in the parking lot), and next to a pizza parlor & liquor store (never a bad thing). Also 4 freeways converge a quarter mile from my door (very convenient).
Thats freekin awesome!! L …if it wasnt the former site I’d trade ya houses!
I live by Nellis Airforce Base… thats pretty cool… you can just sit back and watch F-16’s due manuvers.
I also live by a mountain… Sunrise mountain. …and a 7-11, but you can’t live in Vegas and NOT live by a 7-11 …so that doesn’t count.
). The land in between my backyard and the street was sold and low rent townhouses were built. If you’re in my front yard, it’s a nice little neighborhood. If you’re in my backyard, run the hell back inside before you get shot.