I love St. Elmo!

1) community. I like that I know a lot of my neighbors (near and far). I like that we're not all the same. I like that there's a rockin playground around the corner (and that we helped fund it and build it). not to mention the rec center, etc. I like that we can take a walk and run into lots of people we know. I like that our church is an active part of the neighborhood (still a long way to go of course)

2) proximity to downtown (5 miles). if I take the car, it's about 10 minutes. for the work car, I'd only need to fill up the tank once a month. now I take the bus, and the line is only a block from my house. couldnt be much easier. most things we want to get to arent very far at all.

3) intangables. historic houses are cool. and I like living in the shadow of Lookout. the post office, fire hall, police station and library are right around the corner.

now the drawbacks:

1) crappy public school district. but: lots of folks love the Battle magnet elementary school. and there's a grassroots effort starting to improve the elementary school we're zoned for.

2) if your mom lives in the sticks, she'll think this is the ghetto. some blocks are a little iffy. it's really block-by-block though. dont tell, but we seldom lock all the doors.

3) do NOT (I repeat) do NOT live on St. Elmo Ave. the traffic noise will drive you nuts. yet we live 4 doors away from the avenue, and it's no big deal.

What if I don't want you as a neighbor?

I've lived in Highland Park for a year and a half. It's awesome. The neighborhood association is active, with events throughout the year, the neighbors do lots of stuff together (supper club, walking, cookouts), we have sidewalks and two parks (one's a playground), and I've made friends here (in previous homes, I didn't even meet many of the neighbors, as all we ever did is drive by