Good morning!
How are you guys doing today?
Ryan and I returned from our vacation late on Sunday night and ever since then we’ve been back in our normal routine with lots of catch-up going on!
Vacation was obviously amazing, but I sure did miss Sadie.
She had a great time at my parents’ house and gave us a warm welcome complete with whimpering and wiggling when we picked her up on Sunday evening.
It’s good to be back!
Vacation Workouts and Walking
During our entire 10-day vacation I managed to work out two times. Though I love a good workout, I didn’t really miss the gym too much because I still felt like I was moving a lot thanks to tons of walking. Ryan and I would map out our days ahead of time and figure out how to walk from point to point. We ended up covering a ton of ground, especially in the big cities like Dublin and London. It was a blast!
Whenever I visit my friend Merri in New York, I experience the same thing. Without a car to rely on, we walk everywhere and I love being outside and moving around throughout the day. While I am sure walking in the freezing cold and snow would get really old really fast, I hope Ryan and I can one day live in a very walkable town. (My current hometown received a walkability score of zero.)
Workout
Since I won’t be walking miles and miles today, I headed to the gym to work up a sweat this morning. Round five of Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp began on Monday and today’s workout focused on strength training in an unstable environment. Lots of Bosu ball action!
Breakfast
After my workout, it was breakfast time!
I dug into a bowl of peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough overnight oats that I prepped last night.
So good. So filling.
Question of the Morning
- Do you live in a walkable area?
- How important is it to you to live somewhere walkable?
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I live in San Francisco, which is very walkable for the most part. The whole city is 7 square miles big, which isn’t very big at all! Our awesome public transportation also helps.
Ooo! I visited San Francisco a few years ago and LOVED it. I walked everywhere it and it felt so healthy there. Everyone rode bikes and was walking around.
Welcome back, Julie! Your trips abroad seemed great, albeit cold! I don’t live in a super walkable area and it is frustrating at times. I live off a main road and even have to drive in my car to a neighborhood or park if I want to go running. It’s definitely a huge consideration when I go to buy a house!
I know EXACTLY how you feel! When I studied abroad in Spain, I loved the feel of being able to travel around our small town by foot. Coming back to Oklahoma and having to drive everywhere was quite the reverse culture shock for me, especially when I had grown so accustomed to walking all the time. Now, activity has to be scheduled in as part of my day instead of naturally weaved throughout it!
I absolutely love walking, I think if I could walk all day I would be really happy! I never really work out when I am holiday and know I can walk everywhere. So glad you had a good time!
I currently live in Scotland (but am moving to London this weekend). I am originally from Houston, so I was thrilled I move to a walkable city. Although it is really cold, I still end up sweating from the layers I pile on at the beginning if my journey. I always end up taking off my scarf and gloves and sometimes my coat. I love being able to walk everywhere and it is so nice to not have to worry about drinking and driving!
I think my city has a walkability rating in the negative numbers! But – I live just 3 miles from where I work and I’ve been thinking about trying to start biking to work a few days each week over the summer. Not sure how I feel about super hot days or the helmet hair I’ll have but even if I just started with one day a week and built from there, it saves gas and it gives me a nice little workout. I’m excited to try.
I live in Lincoln Park and of course it’s a great walkable area! I’m notorious for staying “inside my bubble” though and go to places that are close and I’m comfortable with. However, in 2 weeks I’ll be moving up to Kenosha, Wisconsin for work and I’ll have to drive everywhere! So sad about leaving the city 🙁 but good thing I can visit!
I have always wanted to live in a more walkable area. I would say my town is about a zero, too. Think of how much extra exercise you would get, just by getting to where you want to go.
I live in New York – and I love being able to walk everywhere. No need for a car – we usually grab a taxi after our trips to Trader Joes, but other than that – it’s walking and subway for us!
Calgary isn’t very walkable cause it’s so big, but transit recently got built next to my community, so that makes it a lot easier to take. No more buses to get to the train station. I never drive downtown, it’s too crazy, so I take transit to get there.
I like in a super bike-able town (Davis, California), which is pretty great! Lately, I’ve been walking to/from campus each day which equals about one hour of walking. I definitely don’t feel guilty if I miss a workout!
Walkability is really important to me- more than I ever thought it would be! I grew up in upstate New York, but now I live in the middle of DC and don’t have a car. I can walk 85% of the places I need to go- including work and grocery stores- and take public transportation or car shares for the rest. I often joke that if we moved somewhere that required a car I would immediately put on 10 pounds because now I’m walking at least 20 miles a week on average. I think in the future I’d like to live in a part of the city where we could have a driveway and a car, but still be able to walk most of the time.
You get to see so much more when you walk! I’d hate to live somewhere that you had to drive or use public transport all the time!
I wouldn’t say that I live in a very walkable city, especially considering how long and cold our winters are. It’s a shame because walking is pretty much my go-to workout, but my city does have a really gorgeous river valley with some amazing trails that just happen to be a short walk from my place.
I love the walkability factor of living in Boston. Before I moved here 3 years ago, I lived in NYC. Add it all up and I haven’t owned a car in 8 years and now I can’t remember what it’s like NOT to walk everywhere!
I live in between Dallas and Ft. Worth. The suburbs are not very walkable and public transportation is awful here (compared to NY or SF). However, we just recently moved into a loft because we desired a more walkable lifestyle. We are in a short walking distance to lots of restaurants, a grocery store, spa, dog store, etc. While it isn’t NY (I travel there often), it is the closest thing we will get in the burbs!
I live in a VERY walkable city – Chicago! I don’t have a car, although I do take the bus to get to and from school and downtown since that’s a few miles. I love being able to walk around to the gym, store, etc. Although it DOES get tiring in the cold and it makes carrying purchases more difficult. For example, I can only go to one grocery store at a time, and then I have to go home, because 1) I usually have too much stuff and 2) I feel awkward walking into one grocery store with my purchases from another!
I wish I lived in a more walkable area also. I do have a grocery store I could walk to, but that’s only happened once when we were snowed in and couldn’t drive the car on our icy neighborhood road, haha!
I started BBB today too! I heard about it on your blog and so I was so excited to start it this week!! I live in NYC – and although I walk a ton on weekends – sometimes the week is super tough because I sit at the desk for 9 hours… so the workouts are still very necessary for me mentally! I definitely love living in a walkable city and can’t say I miss suburban life too much – however occassionally I miss being able to just pop all of the groceries in the car and head home… I find myself at the store 3 times a week just so I can carry things! That is the most frustrating part.
ANYWAY— BBB – awesome and thank you!!
I wish I lived in a walkable area. One of my jobs is in a walkable neighborhood which is fun. Glad you guys had a good trip!
I wish we lived somewhere walkable. I did the WalkScore and got a 3 for where we live. I love visiting places where you can walk everywhere you go!
I love visiting cities where you can walk everywhere like New York and London but feel like I need my own space too. I don’t know that I would do well living in one of the tiny, expensive apartments in those cities. Like Ocala, my current town isn’t walking friendly.
PBF-Love your blog girl!
I live in Chicago and walk as much as possible… It’s such a walkable city. I walk to work, which is an amazing way to start my day.
yummmmmmmm those cookie dough oats are so good 🙂 glad you made it home safely!! it’s always so nice to be back home no matter how awesome the trip!
Wow, those oats sound amazing. I love vacation, but you’re right, it’s always nice to be back!! I do miss vacationing right now though, so where’s the balance?! lol
I wish I lived in a walkable area, but I definitely don’t. I would love to actually live somewhere someday that at least has some hiking/biking/running trails!
Whenever I visited my sister when she lived in The Netherlands, we walked EVERYWHERE and I loved it! I live in rural Western KY and the walkability is basically zero as well…I do love where I live because it is a beautiful area but I do think I would enjoy being able to walk everywhere as well.
Sometimes it’s nice to take a little fitness break because everything feels so much more challenging when you start back! After my honeymoon I remember being so sore after my first workout back after 1.5 weeks…and loving it!
I live in a very unwalkable place. My husband and I always say we’d love to live in a city but it has to be a walkable one like New York or Washington D.C. Driving in big cities is a nightmare!
I live in a “neighborhood” of Pittsburgh (the Burgh is known for their city neighborhoods) and my apartment is close to everything! The grocery store, my gym, the pharmacy, my apartment’s leasing office, good restaurants, bars, shops, etc. I feel very fortunate for this and I love it. Of course, my rent costs an arm and leg because of it.
I’m also a wimp with the cold and so I refuse to actually walk anywhere until the temps warm up… 🙂
I live in Boston, a very walkable city for sure! I love being able to walk to restaurants, bars & the gym! I actually live right next to Fenway Park, so I find myself walking downtown, to Cambridge, and around the Charles River. The Fenway location is an ideal spot for walking lovers, with close access to everywhere in the big city! I would not trade my location for anything! Well…maybe a cheaper place?? 🙂
A walkable neighborhood is really important to me. I much rather run outside in the fresh air and sunshine than on a treadmill in front of a TV, so having a neighborhood I can do that is a must. Luckily I have always had a good neighborhood to run in despite it being REALLY hilly. More hill training for me I guess : D
I’m lucky to live nearby a little town that I can walk or ride bikes to. It’s nice to get some fresh air and step out of the car.
I live in Washington, DC, so yes..very walkable! When I first moved here, I LOVED that I could walk most places. But, after 2 years without a car, it’s getting a little old. Especially on days where I’m sick or exhausted, or going to the grocery store, I wish I could just hop in a car! We walk a mile to and from the grocery store each week which is an AWESOME workout, but can be really annoying at times.
I live in Chicago, which is definitely super walkable. I don’t have a car and very rarely have I wished I had a car since I moved about nine months ago. Between the CTA and my own two legs, I can almost always get exactly where I need to be without trouble. I love it! Not needing a car is fantastic.
I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia which is a very walkable city. Work, grocery stores, banks, movie theatre, restaurants are all a ten minute walk away which I love. Plus our apartment is just a few minutes away from the waterfront which is great in the summer. It’s very hilly too, great for the booty! 🙂 It’s nice
P.S. love your blog and especially all the adorable Sadie pics! 🙂
We just moved from Boston (where we could walk to restaurants, CVS, even the grocery if we’d like) to Knoxville (where we don’t even have sidewalks). We definitely miss the walkability that we used to have.
I recently went to a seminar about the changing way that cities are being planned, and it’s apparently our generation that is truly longing for walkability. There’s a new area of town outside of Charlotte where you don’t have to drive much of anywhere (including to work). We’ll see what urban planners are doing about the future.
I live in the city (Providence) and love it for being in my twenties! It’s awesome to walk to bars, restaurants, shopping etc. on the weekends. Last weekend I walked down the street to get my haircut, couldn’t be easier. Someday I’m sure I’ll move to the burbs but for now I love being able to walk everywhere!
I live in Ballard, Washington and I can walk to the beach (Seattle style), bars, Trader Joe’s, restaurants, etc.! It will be hard to transition one day to driving places again.
Welcome back Julie,
I lived in 4 countries in total (Serbia, USA, Belgium and Germany) and my biggest clutural shock in Norwich, Connecticut (right next to Mohegan Sun) was that walking was almost impossible. I lived there 5 months, so it did not make sense buying a car and it was so annoying to depend on my friends for groceries, errands and even getting back home from work on Sunday (no busses on Sunday afternoon). I walked and biked a lot out of necessity, but swear, little children were pointing to their parents from the yard “Look mom, a bicycle on the road”
This is what I love about Europe. We live in pedestrian zone of Bonn right now. We walk/bike/use trains a lot. The only thing for which we use car sharing are groceries and Ikea.
Lots of European cities are super walkable–and they usually have awesome public transportation, which makes it even better. But of course, that’s all usually a lot smaller in area than any American areas….I would love a walkable place! But it’s also nice to be able to go places further away in a car. I wish I could walk to more stores though!
I completely agree with you about walking more in day-to-day life. I often think about college days and when I studied abroad in Spain, if I couldn’t walk to a place, I more often didn’t go. I miss the ability to just get out the door and use my legs to get to where I need to go. I hope walkability in towns becomes more of a trend in the future. I feel that outside of large cities, many communities are highly car dependent.
I live in Seattle which is SUPER walkabke. Irs very important to me to have a walkabke town. Even when it rains, I am out walking! I love it and couldn’t ever live somewhere it wasn’t an option again!
I’d love to live somewhere that’s both walkable & has public transit! I love driving, but think it would be great to only use a car for weekend trips, etc. I’d like to live in DC 🙂
Walk-ability is VERY important to me! I am currently working on my masters in urban planning and one of the most important things in creating more sustainable, healthy, better cities is walk-ability. My goal after I finish school is to live/work in a city where I can walk/bike/take public transit to work and potentially not own a car!
Walkability is DEFINITELY going to be important to me once I decide to settle in once I’m done with college. My boyfriend and I would LOVE to live in a city/town where we can walk to everything. I live in Duluth, MN, and the walking is “so-so”. I make it work. =)
I used to live around St. Louis which was a very nice walkable area. However, I recently moved to the Houston, TX area and it is not walkable AT ALL! I miss it. I just feel like I have a better day and feel better when I get to walk around in the fresh air.
Madison is very walkable…I walk to work – which I love.
Welcome home! Always a good feeling, even when you had fun being away 🙂 I live in Tampa NOT walkable! My husband however walks to work (we live in a condo complex literally next door to his building) so I’m always a lil jealous in the a.m. When I’m getting ready for my drive 🙂 thankfully though, the area we live in has sidewalks galore along the water for great evening walks…win!
I feel very fortunate to live in downtown Santa Barbara, Ca, where I can walk almost everywhere that I need to go. In one day, it’s not unusual for me to walk to the gym, the post office, the grocery store, to lunch, to the mall, and then out for dinner! We can even walk to church. It really is a dream of mine come true.
It’s a really big deal to me that where I live is walkable. I live a ten minute walk from the beach and about twenty minutes walk from all the stores I need, which means I can get home from work on a Friday and not get back in the car until Monday. Bliss! It also makes getting my 10000 steps a day much easier.