Writing more about change would be a good thing. I think the at the center of a lot of resistance is the fear of change and the concept of loss aversion, i.e. any change is though of as being "bad". But in reality it might actually be "good". I agree with those comments that I might not always like it emotionally, perhaps because it's culturally different, but allowing incremental change both lets you get used to it more easily and is more resilient to course corrections if it is indeed "bad".
Since this is a "to work on" post--where do your related reading links come from in your posts? Is that something Substack does for you, or do you do it yourself, and if so, do you have posts tagged/archived, or do you happen to remember related posts more organically? Thanks neighbor ;-)
I have an Excel sheet I keep of every piece I've published with the title, URL, and my own category tag. I have not used Substack's own tagging system, I probably should. Related Reading is a thing I format by hand and I typically can recall a handful of pieces that fit into the loose topic at hand.
Earlier in the century, a few of the older Safeways reminded me of some of the older stores I'd see at the Jersey Shore.
The Magruders chain seemed frozen in ember from sometime before the Mercury program. There was even a store in Alexandria that was so old that even Safeway had to abandon it for Magruders. That closed around 2015 I think.
There is so little in Northern Virginia that predates WWII. Vienna feels quaint for NoVa, but in the Northeast it probably wouldn't be noteworthy.
There's a small independent grocery in Silver Spring that, when I first moved here, felt to me like it was actually in NYC via some kind of wormhole. And not just because they sell Mallomars and TempTee cream cheese and have chopped liver at the deli counter - it's something about the small size and layout. So that thing about the geographical differences really interests me. The style of homes differs a lot more obviously in different regions but I never conciously noticed before going to that store that retail has like a local accent too.
Oh cool. Is it still there? That would be fun to check out. I wonder if it was started by a former New Yorker. There's a bagel deli in Germantown someone recommended online that was started by New Yorkers, and I haven't been there but it looks closer to a NY deli than any other place I've seen around here
Yeah, it's called Sniders, on Seminary Road just inside the beltway off Georgia Ave. It was sold to new owners a few years ago and the vibe has changed a bit. I would be interested to read about its history. The website doesn't say much more than that it's been there since 1946 https://www.sniderfoods.com/about
There's also a good bagel store right nearby, just to make the trip more worth your while (goldbergsnybagels.com note, closed on Saturdays!) in case you don't get a blog post out of it.
"Another theme I’ve been thinking a lot about is the 'urban' character of older suburbs." I would benefit from discussions of what "urban" means. We all equivocate on "urban" and "city" and some definitional precision would introduce more clarity to the conceptual mush. English vernacular provides urbanists with an awkward tool kit. We are sometimes hammering with a monkey wrench. This is not the only source creating points of resistance to our movement, but it's one of them.
Writing more about change would be a good thing. I think the at the center of a lot of resistance is the fear of change and the concept of loss aversion, i.e. any change is though of as being "bad". But in reality it might actually be "good". I agree with those comments that I might not always like it emotionally, perhaps because it's culturally different, but allowing incremental change both lets you get used to it more easily and is more resilient to course corrections if it is indeed "bad".
Since this is a "to work on" post--where do your related reading links come from in your posts? Is that something Substack does for you, or do you do it yourself, and if so, do you have posts tagged/archived, or do you happen to remember related posts more organically? Thanks neighbor ;-)
I have an Excel sheet I keep of every piece I've published with the title, URL, and my own category tag. I have not used Substack's own tagging system, I probably should. Related Reading is a thing I format by hand and I typically can recall a handful of pieces that fit into the loose topic at hand.
Earlier in the century, a few of the older Safeways reminded me of some of the older stores I'd see at the Jersey Shore.
The Magruders chain seemed frozen in ember from sometime before the Mercury program. There was even a store in Alexandria that was so old that even Safeway had to abandon it for Magruders. That closed around 2015 I think.
There is so little in Northern Virginia that predates WWII. Vienna feels quaint for NoVa, but in the Northeast it probably wouldn't be noteworthy.
There's a small independent grocery in Silver Spring that, when I first moved here, felt to me like it was actually in NYC via some kind of wormhole. And not just because they sell Mallomars and TempTee cream cheese and have chopped liver at the deli counter - it's something about the small size and layout. So that thing about the geographical differences really interests me. The style of homes differs a lot more obviously in different regions but I never conciously noticed before going to that store that retail has like a local accent too.
Oh cool. Is it still there? That would be fun to check out. I wonder if it was started by a former New Yorker. There's a bagel deli in Germantown someone recommended online that was started by New Yorkers, and I haven't been there but it looks closer to a NY deli than any other place I've seen around here
Yeah, it's called Sniders, on Seminary Road just inside the beltway off Georgia Ave. It was sold to new owners a few years ago and the vibe has changed a bit. I would be interested to read about its history. The website doesn't say much more than that it's been there since 1946 https://www.sniderfoods.com/about
There's also a good bagel store right nearby, just to make the trip more worth your while (goldbergsnybagels.com note, closed on Saturdays!) in case you don't get a blog post out of it.
"Another theme I’ve been thinking a lot about is the 'urban' character of older suburbs." I would benefit from discussions of what "urban" means. We all equivocate on "urban" and "city" and some definitional precision would introduce more clarity to the conceptual mush. English vernacular provides urbanists with an awkward tool kit. We are sometimes hammering with a monkey wrench. This is not the only source creating points of resistance to our movement, but it's one of them.