--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@...> wrote: > > On 07/26/2012 12:41 PM, turquoiseb wrote: > > I'm still clearly in the "honeymoon period" w.r.t. my > > new town. I just love it. > > > > Sometimes it's the Little Things. Like how the primary > > mode of transportation is the bicycle. You are actually > > penalized to some extent for living in the Centrum of > > Leiden and having a car. To park it, you have to get a > > permit, which costs 40 Euros a quarter for the first > > car, and 80 Euros per quarter for the second car. It > > is a policy clearly aimed at reducing the amount of > > auto traffic and presence within Leiden, and it is > > clearly working. > > > > Living here, a car is superfluous. I still have my old > > but eternal Peugeot 306, but it will probably remain > > sitting in its parking space for the full duration of > > my first parking permit. I will probably never need it. > > Everything I need is within walking or biking distance, > > and both walking and biking are more fun than driving. > > It's sort of a no-brainer. If this happens, and I wind > > up not needing my car for a full quarter of the year, > > I will most likely sell the car. > > > > My story is kinda normal around here. Now compare it to > > the story of moving to a new community in most places > > in the United States. In how many of them could you > > live a quality life without a car? > > > > One of the reasons that I enjoy staying in touch with > > the Fairfield community is that I sense that -- should > > the shit hit the fan and autos not really be as avail- > > able or affordable as they are today -- you could prob- > > ably get by, and comfortably, without a car in Fairfield. > > > > I like that in a town. I could say that about several > > of the places I've lived, including tiny little Sauve, > > France, or much larger Sitges, Spain, or even larger > > still Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's really *neat* to live > > in a town that you can live in successfully and > > comfortably without a car. > > > > All of that said, the "takeaway" I have from my walk > > tonight is still the silence. > > > > On foot, on a bicycle, or probably even in a car, this > > is one of the most *silent* burbs I've ever lived in. > > Whatever is going on on the surface of life -- dogs > > barking, the rare car horn honking, party boats on > > the river blaring tasteless music at high volumes -- > > *whatever*, the silence is still there. > > > > It's like there is nothing in the environment that > > can *overshadow* the silence. > > > > I have no explanation for how this could be, only > > that it seems to be. > > Let me guess, the city is probably fairly flat and no hills > to climb with a bike? Hills would sure put a damper on biking. > It does around here.
Duh. It's a country mainly reclaimed from the sea. Flat as a pancake. I've seen the "highest point in the Netherlands." It's a landfill, human-created, maybe ten stories high. :-) > Let's face it, Europe is compact. It's easier to do mass > transit there and walk places. Not so much for the good > ol' USA. After all it was built with a "cowboy" mentality. True. I live within the Centrum, which is to say within the fortress walls that surrounded the city in the 16th century. Different mindset entirely.
