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Our new townhome is just south of downtown Jacksonville in an area of town call San Marco. While not as urban as New York, Chicago, or Boston, it is much more urban than our previous gated suburban houses over the last thirty years.

Last night I was awakened by loud bass music. You know, the kind you can feel when the offending car drives beside you – the joys of living in an urban setting! Which made me think, what are the pros and cons of living in an urban setting?

Pros of Urban Living

There is a certain vibrancy from living in a denser setting.

• This includes interesting people watching
• Lots of people walking their dogs (including me)
  
• A unique sense of community living closely to 27 households in our enclave.

Lots within walking distance.

• The grocery store – one block away!
• A multitude of restaurants, wine bars and brew pubs
• Boutique shops
• Fitness studios
• Art galleries
• The river taxi to the sporting events

Short Uber Drive

• Downtown amenities
• The preforming art center for ballet, plays and the symphony
• The historic Florida Theater for concerts
• More dining

Unique views

• From our 4th floor roof deck, we can see downtown Jacksonville
• This includes fireworks they shoot over the river on July 4th and New Years Eve.
• View of the upcoming Blue Angles
• The views of the adjacent city park.

Challenges of Urban Living

It’s noisy!

• This includes traffic noise from the adjacent street
• Turns out folks on the other end of the building – closest to Publix – get to hear the delivery trucks arriving at 4 and 5 am, making that awesome beeping noise as they back up.
• The rumble of trucks on the interstate a quarter mile away
• Sirens from the nearby fire station
• Train whistles two blocks away as they blow three times at the intersection

Privacy

• Our windows directly align with our neighbors – just 30’ away
• Bright at night
• We seem to be surrounded by streetlights. Great for security, not so much for sleeping

Parking

• We have a two-car garage, which is ample for the two of us. Unlike New York or Boston, our public transportation isn’t robust.
• Guest parking is on the street

Solutions for Urban Living

Noise Solutions

• During the day, we play music throughout the entire townhome for most of the day.
• At night a bought a large box fan to provide white noise. Close – but bulky and not quite enough to drown out the town. I have several white noise sound machines in my Amazon cart.

Privacy Solutions

• Shutters: We just had shutters installed that allow us to control the light and views – out as well as in.
• Roman shades: We have ordered shades that can open from the top or the bottom allowing us a clear view of the sky and treetops without seeing our neighbors – or our neighbors seeing us.
  
• Both shutters and Roman shades have blackout options for sleeping!

Most of our challenges can be overcome. Except for the train whistle. So far, the fan hasn’t blocked that noise out. And it comes all hours of the day and night. Last night around midnight the train blew its whistle a whopping 7 times instead of the usual 3. I’m told soon I won’t even hear it. I hope that is true for me and the dogs.

With the increase in land costs, more of our clients are looking for denser solutions and looking at more urban infill sites. If this is you, give me a call and let’s talk.