How Lucky Am I?

Nephew (he, of the foot from previous posts) was over the other day and mentioned that the real estate prices in my neighborhood had shot up and perhaps I should consider selling and moving. When he recovered from the percussion therapy I administered to his head, I asked: to what end? Where would I go with my new found wealth?

I live in a perfect neighborhood.

I am a five minute (or under) walk to the library, the hospital, David & Wanda (my wonderful pharmacists at Trinity,) the Caldense bakery (garlic bread, Portuguese custard tarts) and various and sundry coffee/fast food mongers (Tim's, Coffee Time, Starbucks, McD as well as local dineries: Musa, Caribbean Fish Shak and Yu-Shan's heavenly dumplings) and all the trendy College St restaurants.

I am a ten minute (or under) walk to my dentist, my doctor, my lawyer, computer stores, movie theatres, Kensington Market, Chinatown and Queen Street.

I am a fifteen minute walk to the Art Gallery of Ontario or Honest Ed's.

I am a twenty minute walk to hospital row on University Ave, to U of T and its lectures, more movie theatres, to the Eaton Centre and shopping, to the ROM and trendy Yorkville, chic Bloor Street and even Whole Foods or Fiesta Farms.

And this isn't power walking, this is leisurely listening to podcasts and smelling the roses walking.

Doesn't do anything to get my heart rate up, 'cos I'd rather pay to do that at the Y (I mean the JCC, but I grew up with it as the "Y", so "Y" it remains -- a twelve minute walk.)

That's just during clement winter weather. In summer I'm on the bike for anything more than a five minute walk.

I'm lazy that way.

So in order not to antagonize the lucky gods: It's a shitty neighborhood, there's never anywhere to park, too many of the wrong people are moving into the neighborhood (people with money, they're going to, you know, expect things...I'll be getting notes in my mailbox that I'd better paint 'cos I'm bring down the real estate prices...) it's too close to trendy College St.

I hate my neighborhood (*turns head away and spits three times, peh, peh, peh*.)

How lucky am I?