I was destined to live here

I've always had a soft spot for Multnomah Village. Since I moved to Oregon, Multnomah is one of the places that has struck a chord in me. I realized some time ago that it's probably because of the similarities beween the Village and the town in which I grew up.

The Villager is from Leonia, New Jersey. Leonia is a small town just outisde of New York City (like the first exit on the Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge). It's a little older than Multnomah, having been settled in 1668! But the main street through town, with shops on either side, and the community events, the residential streets just out of "downtown" - very similar to Multnomah.

I really enjoy being able to walk to things like coffee shops, bookstores and the like. Yeah, it'd be great to have certain suburban perks - like a driveway - but having to drive everywhere would be a hard trade. I remember during the big snowstorm several years ago, the one on Christmas Eve I think, Mrs. Villager and I walked up to O'Connors for breakfast and then wandered down the street looking in shop windows before watching a Tri-Met bus slide back-end first through the fence next to the antique store on 35th and Capitol.

Or the other day when I threw on some shorts, and grabbed Jr. Villager's scooter, and walked up to West Hills, then let him scooter home along the sidewalks, stopping to pet dogs at Starbuck's and Village Coffee, as I walked alongside.

No, even though he asked, we didn't stop into the toy store to buy something - but just knowing that we could have, is part of the reason I like living here so much.