Some of us are living in the home and community of our dreams, others are still looking. If price is a factor for you here is yet another reason to look at your urban centers and the new urbanist communities that are springing up around the country.
The thing about new urbanism is that it forces us to look again at our urban areas through the eyes of those of with the creativity, passion and ability to renew old communities. Terra not Terror is a great blog about environmentally friendly lifestyles that I came across yesterday because of blogger Terra’s discussion of the recent Akron Metro Living Tour.
Anyhow that began my odyssey of discovering a gem of an old city named
If you need to understand what kind of benefits there are to gain in living in an urban center like this, besides the great financial bargain to be had, take a look at this site for an example of urban living that might be available near to where you live. Many of the Akron neighborhoods featured are situated close to downtown
Price tag: There are many neighborhoods, but among the best deals are those featured in West Hill. These homes range in price from $40,000 to $180,000. The neighborhood has also become a project of the Cleveland Restoration Society’s Heritage Home Program. The program serves as a benefit for rehabilitating and remodeling these gorgeous homes.
Best of all “The presence of the Historic District at West Hill has increased the value of the area in terms of city awareness, neighborhood pride and reclamation of housing stock and increased property value.”
Akron homes are beautiful! I live in West Akron, and the homes near me are amazing. They have beautiful yards. And if not, they all have the potential for a beautiful yard.
You may enjoy David Giffels’ new book (coming out in a few months). It’s called “All the way home,” and it’s about him buying an old, condemned tudor revival mansion on Portage Path in Akron, and restoring the home to it’s glory. David is a columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal, and his writing is really fun (he’s also my husband’s cousin). His home is beautiful. Here’s a tidbit… they were working on the bathroom during the first few weeks, and found a tin box with thousands of dollars in it – dated from 1929, the year of the stock market crash. He can only imagine that the husband stashed a bunch of cash in the bathroom, and then passed away without telling his wife. There are lots of fun stories like this in his renovation project, and if you appreciate Akron’s old homes, you may enjoy this book.