In between reconnecting with long-lost loved ones and loved ones they wish would stay lost, neighbors in
The Villages are connecting with each other on Facebook. And, in the process, they are doing that kind of social media voodoo that makes ad execs drool because it gets people talking about stuff.
West Village resident Kirsten Ussery, who is also a media guru for
Detroit Renaissance and sits on
The Villages CDC's board, started the thread as a way to get the word out about what residents love about living in the cluster of East Side neighborhoods (including West Village, Indian Village, Islandview Village, the Berry Subdivision and the Gold Coast riverfront areas).
Ussery sent out a call on Facebook, and now the CDC's page is filling up with posts like these, with neighbors listing -- Letterman style -- their 10 favorite things about the neighborhoods.
We like the idea so much we are borrowing it (well, if by borrowing I mean stealing). We could make you login and find them yourself, but some of you may still be resisting the cultural tide and that wouldn't be fair to Facebook resisters. So we've re-posted the Facebook posts below pretty much as they appear on the site, with minor edits and a couple notes in brackets for clarity.
You can find the entire thread
on Facebook here. And read more about The Villages
here. And if you copy the idea for your Detroit neighborhood, give us a holler
here.
10 Things I Love About The VillagesKirsten Ussery1. Diversity in all categories: race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.
2. It's a good mix of families, single people, and couples without children.
3. It is walkable ... I can walk to the nearest grocery store, to the RiverWalk, and I love just walking through the neighborhood.
4. All of my neighbors are interesting people.
5. I love that my neighborhood has a rich history.
6. It is eclectic.
7. I am 5 minutes from downtown Detroit, and 10 minutes from shops in Grosse Pointe.
8. My neighbors look out for each other.
9. We have pride in our neighborhood.
10. The homes are all different and beautiful.
Muffy Kroha 1. My neighbors.
2. Spring on the street, when everyone comes out of hibernation.
3. We are two inches from the Detroit Yacht Club.
4. My daily chat with the guy who picks my garbage before work every day.
5. Shopping at Warren and Connor.
6. Fall colors -- Seminole street, near my house is unreal.
7. It is not overtly trendy -- just fabulous and down to earth.
8. The architecture.
9. My friend's Polka party on Marathon Day when we give PBR to the runners.
10. Walking down the street to visit friends in my fur and pajamas.
Kimberly Ross Clayson1. The Villages neighbors socialize intergenerationally, interracially, intersexualoritenationally, intereconomically.
2. From single parent to nuclear family to dual income no kids to adopted, families of all types are welcomed.
3. Neighbors share resources, experiences and information for the good of the community.
4. Our community is engaged in the greater city and world we have historic district activists, school activists, neighborhood activity activists, gardening activists, community activists and any other type of activist you can think of.
5. Beautiful parks and green spaces throughout.
6. Beautiful housing from skyrises to mansions to multifamily housing to standard single family housing.
7. We generally know how to party, young and old.
8. Proximity to the Detroit River (views of water from my third floor!), Downtown, Belle Isle and Grosse Pointe are ideal.
9. Affordability/availability of low cost of living.
10. Opportunity.
Vittoria Katanski (in no particular order ...)
1. Proximity to Belle Isle.
2. Proximity to the water.
3. The fact I can take a bus (that's one bus) from the Villages to the front door of my job [in Southwest Detroit].
4. My neighbors ROCK.
5. Cooking night [friends and neighbors gather regularly to cook, eat and drink]
6. My house.
7. The smell of the Canadian Club plant in the early AM.
8. The sound of the freighters.
9. The Indian Village Tennis Club.
10. Detroit Pizza Factory delivery.
Leor Barak (in no particular order …)
1. Shipherd Greens (our own Community Garden).
2. The awesome people.
3. Across from Belle Isle.
4. Beautiful homes.
5. Biking distance from Downtown Detroit.
6. Mixed residential (single family to high rise).
7. Garalino's pizza.
8. The children playing everywhere.
9. Near the RiverWalk.
10. Best neighborhood in Detroit.
Bill Swanson1. The eastern entrance of the Detroit RiverWalk is four blocks from my front door.
2. The pheasants and foxes that have moved back into the city.
3. Taking two hours to walk two blocks because there are too many friends out on a nice day.
4. My neighbor, an urban cowboy, runs his horses in the alley after shows and before he takes them back the stables.
5. Belle Isle and the River, you really can’t beat having them in walking distance.
6 Walking through the neighborhoods and seeing something new and unique every time.
7. Bizarre and eclectic mix of mismatched neighbors.
8. Marathon parties and bands on Seminole (I never knew about the Polka Party).
9. My neighbors are always making news, mostly good, sometimes bad, but they are never on the sidelines.
10. Four major bus lines to downtown in our high-density neighborhood.
10.1. Three local supermarkets.
10.2. The neighborhood still grows, even in this housing bust.
Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey is editor of Model D, which has a Facebook
fan page and a
group. Send feedback
here.
Photos:
- Indian Village Colonial
- West Village resident Kirsten Ussery
- Muffy Kroha
- Belle Isle
- West Village Community Grden
- A walk along Seminole St.
Unless noted, All photographs by Detroit Photographer Marvin Shaouni Marvin Shaouni is the Managing Photographer for Metromode & Model D.