"Confessions of an Empty-Nester"

A Texan couple caught up in the American Dream of sprawl and consumption gives it all up, downsizes, and relocates to downtown Seattle! A great model for environmental stewards to look at.

Our everyday lives have changed in every way imaginable. We don't own a car, so we walk everywhere, including to and from work. We use the bus or ferry if we want to go farther afield. This has had a profound effect on how we interact with people. We realize now that the cocoons of our cars kept us well insulated from the people around us. Our genuine interactions were with family and coworkers, the only people who saw us stripped of the metal that clothed and protected us. Our neighbors, we discovered, were virtually strangers.

Now, we stand face-to-face with people in our building’s elevators, at our corner hangouts, and on the sidewalks. We chitchat and pet our neighbors’ dogs. We exchange “good mornings” with the people we pass everyday on our way to work. We’ve developed friendships with several proprietors and servers at our favorite restaurants.

Read the posting here: http://www.zillowblog.com/zillow_blog/2007/03/confessions_of_.html

(Thanks to Drew for pointing this out!)