About the neighborhood...
We have lived in three different homes since starting our family. Not a single one had a neighborhood of kids. The first was a house in a city where we had one neighbor my son's age. The next was on a suburban street where the houses were spread out and we had one family with kids the same age about the equivalent of six blocks away. Our current home is in a more rural area. We have more llamas and alpacas than children around here, and our other neighbors are a gay couple, an older woman, and a childless couple.
My kids and I are used to driving or having friends drive to see us. I don't really know anyone who lives in the sort of place I grew up in, with families so plentiful that there were always pick up games of kickball or capture the flag. Do kids still do impromptu playing this way? I don't know that even in more populated neighborhoods that kids have the same freedom that we did. My sisters and I used to ride our bikes 2 miles to the downtown area to go to the library or shop. I must have been six when I started riding or walking to the little candy shop that we used to frequent. I cannot imagine allowing my kids to do the same today; it's a different world.
I'd love to hear more about where everyone lives. Does anyone have children who have friends just next door or down the street?
