[dugmartin]

US anecdata:

I also live in a small town of around 2000 in rural Massachusetts. Within the same walking distance I have: full elementary school (kindergarten through 6th grade), public tennis and basketball courts, a public indoor gym, a grocery store, several restaurants, several bookstores, several banks, a pharmacy, a bowling alley and a few more misc stores. We also have public transport to the nearest big town but it is only a few times a day.

The only reason my town is dense and walkable is due to geography. It was settled 250 years ago and it is nestled on a river between two "mountains" (really just big hills) so once all the available space filled up 100 years ago it just stopped growing (my house is on the outskirts of town and was built 115 years ago).

In comparison I grew up in a sprawling small town in the US midwest which has embraced even more sprawl since I moved 30+ years ago and I hate going back. Its just souless and unwalkable as it has endless land to expand into and no plan to keep it human scale.

[thatfrenchguy]

> The only reason my town is dense and walkable is due to geography. It was settled 250 years ago and it is nestled on a river between two "mountains" (really just big hills) so once all the available space filled up 100 years ago it just stopped growing (my house is on the outskirts of town and was built 115 years ago).

It's not geography, it's history. The only nice places in the US are places that were built before cars.

[detourdog]

More or less the same demographics and same experience. The North Western Mass town I'm in was founded as the gateway to the west. It is nestled in low land between three mountain ranges. Our side of one range drains to the Atlantic through Hudson River the other side drains to the Long Island Sound. The public transportation is tough for us if you want to leave town. We are so mobile that I find it an odd expectation to live close to your friends.

[jbullock35]

Multiple bookstores in a U.S. town of 2000 people? Is it a college town?

[mtalantikite]

There are a lot of small towns like that in western massachusetts, which are in proximity to the five colleges, but aren't in them. Places like Montague or Shelburne Falls have areas of density in town that you can walk around in and get to things, and then you can drive 20-30 minutes into Amherst or Northampton or another larger town, closer to the universities.

I went to school out there and have friends from the surrounding areas, it's nice if you're wanting something more rural but still near things. The key to it is a lot of the towns were built 100-200 or so years ago, when it actually was necessary to build close to each other in community.

[detourdog]

Western Massachusetts is unique I have 2 world class art museums and a couple of other smaller museums within biking distance of my house.

[jbullock35]

Williamstown area?

[detourdog]

Yes.

[jbullock35]

I don't think that's a sufficient condition. I too am from a New England town that was incorporated more than 200 years ago. But it doesn't have the density or the amenities that you're describing. (I wish that it did!)

[detourdog]

Yes, we have more Art Museums than anything we need in our daily lives. What I like about it is the lack of access to high consumption. What is bad is that the large chain stores killed the local businesses and then realized the market is too small to really care. Jbullock35 how about some clues about your town so we can try to guess.

[mtalantikite]

Yeah that's fair, it's never just one thing and not all old towns are going to be like that, but it's pretty common in at least Massachusetts, particularly if you're in proximity to a larger town. It's also a much denser state in general than Vermont/Maine/New Hampshire, from what I remember growing up there.

[dugmartin]

You nailed it - I live in Shelburne Falls.

[prottog]

> Within the same walking distance

Aye, but I bet GP's home town in Spain is much more pleasant to walk in from November to March ;-)

That aside, there are some real gems among Western Mass towns! I wonder, with all the empty land in this country (even in places very hospitable to human life), if it's possible to found new towns built in the "European" model of a central plaza surrounded by multifamily, mixed-use developments within walking distance? Were I a billionaire, this is the sort of stuff I would explore.

[newhaus1994]

I really do love New England towns in general. I went to undergrad at a small Vermont college and being walkable or bikeable to restaurants, bars, grocery stores, etc. but also being immersed in nature was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had.