Friday, April 13, 2007

Inaugural Post

I was driven to create this blog. So many things are unique about Hoboken and I just can't keep my comments to myself anymore. Just walking down a city street here usually inspires some thought, sometimes negative, sometimes positive. Not just thoughts, but photography too since the city is also visually stimulating - particularly for someone who grew up largely in the suburbs.

Our family has been here for 5 years now and I feel like we've become part of that minority of the populace that actually lives here, not simply sleeps here until we can afford a place in Manhattan or the 'burbs. We've seen many of our friends with young children move away when their children reach school age. Our family, on the other hand, has decided to give Hoboken a chance and, so far, Hoboken has delivered. The public school that our son attends is as good as any of the schools I attended as a child in the suburbs. The parks here are a great place for children and adults to socialize. The street-life is vibrant. The population is diverse. It's simply a stimulating place to live. I often think that Hoboken comes close to the West Village of the 1950's that Jane Jacobs describes in The Life and Death of Great American Cities.

So to get things off to a start, here are some photos I took a couple of weeks ago on my way to the train station. I like to walk along the waterfront on my way to and from work. It's quieter than "the Avenue" and there is something soothing about the water that frees my thoughts. On this particular morning, warm air met with cold water to produce a low-lying fog over the Hudson.