Someone once said (I’m almost sure of it): start where you live. I will do exactly that in a series of reflections on my home, hearth and heart, and how I keep in them glowing in tough times.
Not that I particularly like hardship, or economic recessions, or joblessness… but in all the crap that is inevitably part of downturns, I try to find (and perhaps cling to) the silver linings of these cloudy times.
Up until I recently moved, my home was the city — a bustling kaleidoscope of life with all its excitement and anxieties. It’s home to the rich, the poor, the good, the bad, the meek, the demanding, and me.
I lived in a colourful neighbourhood. Acquaintances call it ‘urban’ and ‘edgy’; friends admit it’s sketchy; and strangers, well they don’t come by much. However, it has recently been prime condo-boom territory… until the recession. I have nothing against redevelopment and greater residential density in a city-centre region well serviced by public transit and parks, but I do think gradual change is both more authentic and less disruptive of the current community. Especially since the anticipated community is young, single and wealthy while the existing community fabric is a mosaic of low-income families, high wealth individuals, artists and a significant marginal population who, while not home-owners, are very much tennants of the space.
Diatribe aside, I’m opening a crisp new chapter heading in my blog on home, with emphasis on making beautiful spaces on a dime. Keep your eyes peeled for new entries on how to pay like a pauper & live like a king.
