I am sitting in my room with a light on and I just put a pair of socks in, in my room.. I rarely ever wear socks indoors. Do you know what that means? Fall is officially here. The weather here is quite dreary, I am happy that I did not go to New York City today like I had planned to. I wish I was drinking a warm beverage to keep me warm on this brisk Autumn afternoon.
I have come to the realization that I am a hypocrite, for the most part that is. Anybody who knows me well knows how anti-development I am here in northern Virginia. I have been living in my house for twenty years now. My neighborhood is fairly large (I live in a part of Oak Hill called Franklin Farm, which I think was once owned by Benjamin Franklin.), there are probably 600-700 houses here and I remember a time when the community here made an effort to know one another. Back then, this was a middle class area and was a wonderfully enchanting place to live; it's not like that anymore. All of the sudden, this area started booming with growth. New developments sprung up left and right, companies started all over the place and the next thing I knew, my parents salaries quadrupled and everybody started living a fancier and more comfortable life.
That sounds great, right? Wrong. I'm all for job growth and more money but at what cost? Neighborhoods here don't have the charm they once did. People value having a large home but don't value building that home on a decent-sized lot. So what happens? Kids grow up without a large backyard to toss the baseball with their fathers, kick a soccer ball around or just have mini-adventures in (all things I did as a kid). People in the area where I live make too much money for their own good. This area is culture-less.. it is without culture. I want the mindset to return to the days of small houses and large plots of land, not the other way around. At the same time, I don't like all this development destroying trees, degrading land and ruining the homes of all the natural wildlife around here. Just because human beings are the dominant species does not mean we have more entitlement than any other species.
So how does this make me a hypocrite? No, I have not caved and recommended that my parents buy a larger home (I've fought them on this for years). Anybody who knows me well also knows how much fondness I have for the coastal areas of California (primarily south). I absolutely love how eclectic that portion of the state is. Each town is different; for example, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach in Orange County. They are both upscale places to live. The average income is around $160,000 per household and they are right next to each other. Newport Beach is filled with old White conservative men driving Ferraris and Bentleys, living in 10,000 square foot Mediterranean and Tuscan style mansions, owning boats and having wives with unnecessary cosmetic enhancements,the area is filled with upscale chain restaurants. Once you cross that line from Pacific Coast Highway south into Laguna Beach, it's a different world. You see 10,000 square foot Art-Deco mansions, art galleries lining the side of the streets and more local tiny chain restaurants. They're both places with a lot of wealth. You have to wonder how places with such a similar landscape and cultural background can turn out so differently. That is just one example of the diversity along the beautiful California coast. I find it funny and appropos that the area I want to live most in the country is called Newport Coast, it's right in the middle of Newport and Laguna Beach; I think that is a metaphor for my own mentality.
($11,995,000 will get you a view like this in Newport Coast)
One other thing that draws me to the coastal parts of California is the great spectrum of creativity and originality. Homes are custom built, no two look exactly the same or are designed the same way. I fully support the development of pretty much all of coastal California. I want houses up and down the ocean side because with each town further developed, it strengthens the existing culture and may even add to it. The difference between developing land in California and Virginia is that there are little to no trees naturally in California so nothing is town down or destroyed. There is a lot of precious and rare wildlife in the canyon and hills of California though.
How can I support development in one area but want to keep another densely populated? I don't know. 'Tis another reason why I am constantly at war with myself.
I have come to the realization that I am a hypocrite, for the most part that is. Anybody who knows me well knows how anti-development I am here in northern Virginia. I have been living in my house for twenty years now. My neighborhood is fairly large (I live in a part of Oak Hill called Franklin Farm, which I think was once owned by Benjamin Franklin.), there are probably 600-700 houses here and I remember a time when the community here made an effort to know one another. Back then, this was a middle class area and was a wonderfully enchanting place to live; it's not like that anymore. All of the sudden, this area started booming with growth. New developments sprung up left and right, companies started all over the place and the next thing I knew, my parents salaries quadrupled and everybody started living a fancier and more comfortable life.
That sounds great, right? Wrong. I'm all for job growth and more money but at what cost? Neighborhoods here don't have the charm they once did. People value having a large home but don't value building that home on a decent-sized lot. So what happens? Kids grow up without a large backyard to toss the baseball with their fathers, kick a soccer ball around or just have mini-adventures in (all things I did as a kid). People in the area where I live make too much money for their own good. This area is culture-less.. it is without culture. I want the mindset to return to the days of small houses and large plots of land, not the other way around. At the same time, I don't like all this development destroying trees, degrading land and ruining the homes of all the natural wildlife around here. Just because human beings are the dominant species does not mean we have more entitlement than any other species.
So how does this make me a hypocrite? No, I have not caved and recommended that my parents buy a larger home (I've fought them on this for years). Anybody who knows me well also knows how much fondness I have for the coastal areas of California (primarily south). I absolutely love how eclectic that portion of the state is. Each town is different; for example, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach in Orange County. They are both upscale places to live. The average income is around $160,000 per household and they are right next to each other. Newport Beach is filled with old White conservative men driving Ferraris and Bentleys, living in 10,000 square foot Mediterranean and Tuscan style mansions, owning boats and having wives with unnecessary cosmetic enhancements,the area is filled with upscale chain restaurants. Once you cross that line from Pacific Coast Highway south into Laguna Beach, it's a different world. You see 10,000 square foot Art-Deco mansions, art galleries lining the side of the streets and more local tiny chain restaurants. They're both places with a lot of wealth. You have to wonder how places with such a similar landscape and cultural background can turn out so differently. That is just one example of the diversity along the beautiful California coast. I find it funny and appropos that the area I want to live most in the country is called Newport Coast, it's right in the middle of Newport and Laguna Beach; I think that is a metaphor for my own mentality.
One other thing that draws me to the coastal parts of California is the great spectrum of creativity and originality. Homes are custom built, no two look exactly the same or are designed the same way. I fully support the development of pretty much all of coastal California. I want houses up and down the ocean side because with each town further developed, it strengthens the existing culture and may even add to it. The difference between developing land in California and Virginia is that there are little to no trees naturally in California so nothing is town down or destroyed. There is a lot of precious and rare wildlife in the canyon and hills of California though.
How can I support development in one area but want to keep another densely populated? I don't know. 'Tis another reason why I am constantly at war with myself.
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