--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> 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.
Nothing in Holland is far from Vlodrop, including Leiden :-)
