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How walkable is it where you live?

By
Real Estate Agent with Real Estate One

“Anything’s within walking distance, if you have enough time.” (Steven Wright)

But what if you don’t have all the time in the world to get to something? That’s where the “walkability” of your neighborhood comes in. I met the lady who wrote the book on “walkability”, which is a measurement of how convenient it is to walk to things from where you live. Out of her work a Web site was born that has the URL  http://www.Walkscore.com. The book focused upon what makes a neighborhood walkable – the places that you can reasonably walk to and the things you can do once you get there. Included in important places that you might be able family walkingto walk to are stores, libraries, parks, restaurants and more.

There are urban areas like Chicago and Boston and New York where you would see a very high walkscore, since they have very dense neighborhoods that have most of the things one needs integrated into the fabric of the neighborhood. Once you get out to the suburbs you often lose that ability to walk to the store or the restaurant.

I live in Milford, Michigan which has a very high walkscore of 77 (out of 100) when I type in my address. I used to live in Orchard Lake in a typical bedroom community and when I put in that address the score is 9, which means that it is almost a totally car-dependent neighborhood. Go to walkscore.com and type in your address. What score do you get? If you’d like to be in a more walkable place, call me and I’ll find you a home in Milford, where you can walk to almost anything you need.

Posted by

 

 Norm Werner

Real Estate One

 

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Norm Werner 2009-2011 All rights reserved

Comments (15)

Chris and Dick Dovorany
Homes for Sale in Naples, Bonita Springs and Estero, Florida - Naples, FL
Broker/Associate at Premiere Plus Realty
Thanks Norm I'm going to do just that. We do walk since Dicks heart attack. 2 miles to Publix.
Apr 19, 2013 10:22 PM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

Seems to me that the term "walkability" is relative.

I know folks who consider their attached garage a long walk.

The corner grocer?  Driving distance.

On the other hand, a 2 mile walk to the library is fine with me on a nice day.

Apr 19, 2013 11:54 PM
Helen and Larry Prier- Re-Max Gateway - Residential Real Estate
RE-MAX Gateway- Residential Real Estate Sales - Anacortes, WA
Anacortes & surrounding Skagit & Island Counties

Cool website. My address is a score of 5, totally car dependent but we make it up with great waterviews. I will explore some more. Thanks

Apr 20, 2013 12:18 AM
Anna Matsunaga
Team Momentum Keller Williams Realty Tacoma - Lakewood, WA
Seller specialist, Certified Negotiation Expert

My house scores an 83...a big part of the reason I love it!  Not alot of suburban neighborhoods would be so high.

Apr 20, 2013 01:08 AM
Wayne Zuhl
Remax First Realty II - Cranford, NJ
The Last Name You'll Ever Need in Real Estate

Walkscore.com is a great way to determine if a property really IS 'walkable.' Thanks for the suggestion!

Apr 20, 2013 03:03 AM
Bryan Robertson
Los Altos, CA

I like Walkscore and their score is included in all our MLS listings.  In many neighborhoods, the scores are relatively low because of how far away many services are.  It seems like a lot of California is too "spread out" to get the top scores.

Apr 20, 2013 04:12 AM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

Norm, WalkScore is very important for most suburban real estate - many buyers want to know how close the home is from grocery shop, commuter rail etc etc.

Apr 20, 2013 05:58 AM
Jane Chaulklin-Schott
TEAMCONNECT REALTY - (407) 394-9766 - Orlando, FL
TeamConnect Luxury Homes - Orlando, Florida, 32836

Just had a Buyer where this 'WalkScore' was very important. Believe he is buying in a northern state of his childhood where he could walk to everything. Sorry that Central Florida lakefront subdivisions and country club golf course communities, numerous well-known theme parks, famous 'Restaurant Row,' etc. wasn't attractive enough. Walkscore.com is a great site.

Apr 20, 2013 06:30 AM
Hillary Sheperd
Servpro of Scarsdale / Mount Vernon - Scarsdale, NY
Co-Owner ~ Servpro of Scarsdale / Mount Vernon, NY

Oh cool.  I have to check out that website.  I've lived in both very walkable and non walkable places.

Apr 20, 2013 08:27 AM
Tammie White, Broker
Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN
Franklin TN Homes for Sale

Hmm, I live on 5 acres. My acreage is walkable but I won't be walking any place else. Most of Franklin TN neighborhoods are going to have a low walkability score. However, there are some neighborhoods that would fit the bill. This is a great resource for those who require walkability.

Apr 20, 2013 10:52 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Do you mean people walk to places? When I tell people I walk from Land Park downtown to the Crest Theatre, they look at me like I said I just landed here from Mars. It's about a mile or so. What's the big deal? The big deal is they have to get their big fat butts outta that Lazy Boy chair, plant their feet in shoes and go out into the sunshine, one foot in front of the other. It's just too much work for some people.

Apr 20, 2013 11:45 AM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

Lenn  is so funny.  She is correct -- all depends on how you define "walkable"  LOL  and then it depends on your age and what shape you are in! :)

Apr 20, 2013 12:17 PM
Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS
Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA
South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

Many of my clients check out this website for every area we tour...

Apr 20, 2013 01:43 PM
Christine Donovan
Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA
Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M
Norm - I consider my home pretty walkable or bikeable though I suppose it could be more so.
Apr 20, 2013 01:51 PM
Norm Werner
Real Estate One - Milford, MI
Helping the first time and every time

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I think including the walkscore and a link to the Walkscore web site is a great idea for lsistings that have good scores, not so much for those totally auto dependent areas.

Apr 22, 2013 06:53 AM