Going Green: A Snowbound Neighborhood
According to the commonly understood real estate definition, a neighborhood is an
area of a municipality which is identifiable by a common use, a common atmosphere or a common business area. 
When I think of neighborhood, I imagine ice cream socials, welcoming living spaces, community organic gardens, evening strolls on tree-lined sidewalks. Family. Friends. Pets and Parties.
It's a very attractive picture to me, especially at this time of year. I so enjoy sharing images and stories of life in our neighborhood in the mountains in Asheville. And for the past number of years I even have been setting aside time each week to journey out to other neighborhoods, to explore the lore of days gone by and then talk with the folks who live in a neighborhood now.
There seems to be a common thread in the neighborhoods that attract me. It is not that they have a common business area or a common atmosphere. It has more to do with the "neighborliness" of the neighbors.
We had a huge snow storm this week. We were snowed in. We hit the wood pile, chopped the logs, lit the fire, and helped out the neighbors. Then we settled down with a hot chocolate. Does that make us "identifiable by a common use" ? Possibly. But there is so much more energy around the notion of neighborhood.
Maybe it has more to do with the esprit de corps grilling outside in the snow is all about.
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Going Green Series: A Neighborhood. Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved the green real estate Asheville Journal
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"My Team and I specialize in homes on the GreenSide- golf course, second and vacation homes,
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janeAnne "Asheville's Greenolina" Narrin, M.A., CSW, is a golf enthusiast and real estate consultant specializing in eco-sensitive golf communities, mountain homes and land legacies. She is the author of numerous articles on Asheville's Homes on the GreenSide and has served on the Green Experts Board for the New Life Journal.She currently co-chairs the ECO Committee at the Asheville Board of REALTORS®. She is an avid putter!
Media:: HGTV filmed her Eco-All-Star Team for a show on sustainable innovation for HGTV's Green Week. "Asheville's Greenolina" real estate media interviews and articles appear in various print and online publications. Her nonfiction titles: Authentic Communication on the Worldwide Web and A Curriculum for Practical Real Estate. Narrin ("Asheville's Greenolina") holds the highly-regarded designations of NAR GREEN®, ECO Certified ® Real Estate Consultant, EcoBroker® and e-PRO®.
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janeAnne,
I really miss the old fashioned neighbourliness of my old farm neighbourhood. Neighbours always dropped in for a coffee or to bring a special gift, no matter the time of year. It might be a cherry cake, a slip from a favourite garden flower or something else. One time one of my neighbours had been to the fish hatchery and brought me a whole barrel of baby mudcat fish to put in my pond!
Somehow city life just isn't the same....
Jo
janeAnne, I find it particularly heartwarming when neighbors come together during adversity, even if it is just a snow storm. What a storm it was too! I live on a gravel road along the lake and about half of my neighbors are truly local retirees who have retained the old-fashion sense of neighborhood. We even share vegetables/berries at harvest time. This is what makes NC so special!