Trends: what women want in a condo

[shootingstar]

That was my thought too. I am a huge dog lover (and to be perfectly honest, not a fan of children), but I certainly don't equate my 3 dogs with children at all. In fact, I literally cringed every time my brother or his wife referred to themselves as their new puppy's mommy or daddy.

What I tend to have issue with (and this has come to light recently for us as dog owners in a brand new condo community) is when people disregard our rights as dog owners because 'they are just dogs' and not children. There tends to be a lot of jumping to conclusions from opposing sides, so I agree that it is nice to be in a place where there are others who understand your perspective. Though I will say that I have MUCH greater annoyance with people who are irresponsible dog owners than I do with irresponsible cyclists!

This is still related to the original topic of what things some women look for when buying a home in a particular area.... from a safety perspective, for certain I appreciate dogs in the neighbourhood than...people owning guns (and thinking they can shoot straight when under duress/stress/emergency situations). There, I've said it.

And I appreciate the solo person walking or jogging with their dog by themselvs, particularily when it's dark outside ---- as long as they short-leash their dog when I ride by.

[Crankin]

Yes, I know my comment was off topic for this thread. GLC, I have a friend who constantly refers to herself as her dog's "mommy." Of course, she still refers to herself as her 22 y/o son's mommy. Sigh. You are right, there are irresponsible people of all kinds. I mostly blame owners for poor pet behavior (my above friend was dismissed from the animal behaviorist, as she wouldn't do what the person was trying to teach her). We had a cat for 14 years and she grew on me, but I chose not to get another when she died.

[OakLeaf]

I'm late to this thread, but what I saw in the comment about dogs is how they foster social interaction and thus, build community - and they do so among more people, and in a different way, than children ever can.

Obviously there are people who isolate their kids and themselves, and people who isolate their pets and themselves. But walking a dog, or going to a dog park, puts you in public with people of all ages, family structures and backgrounds. You see, and likely meet and talk to, your neighbors, whether or not they have dogs (or kids) of their own. Taking your kids to play group or participating in their school activities only lets you interact with parents of children of similar ages - who may not be your neighbors at all.

[NbyNW]

I just think it's interesting that the planner who made the comment about dogs is based in Edmonton, and having lived there I would take his point of view with a grain of salt. Edmonton has been developing its light rail, but it is still a very car-oriented city. I think it will be some time before it develops the critical mass and density for it to realize some of the things that are working in other North American cities regarding the proximity of jobs, housing and amenities. It is especially hard to densify cities built on flat lands.

Edmonton has an incredible amount of green space set aside as off-leash dog parks. I don't think there's anything else like it in North America. But I'm not sure how much they foster social interaction. Two winters there of walking our dog day in and day out, and we definitely took advantage of those parks ... we found people to be quite antisocial. I think it's the extreme cold. Park usage was definitely way down in winter, and we frequented some of the larger, more well-known parks. Our neighborhood also seemed to empty out in winter. We're talking more than 6 months of the year here. But even when the weather was nice it was hard to really connect with people beyond a superficial greeting. My impression was that people were just very set in their existing social groups and not very open to newcomers.

[shootingstar]

I'm not a dog owner, so can't comment on dogs and socialization with neighbours/others.

As soon as the term "densify" is mentioned, some people used to lots of land around them to separate themselves from others, they just turn off their ears. I honestly do believe that many people in North America, haven't quite experienced at all, what it means to live in neighbourhoods where it's close to transit, walking to shops and restaurants. If one has been brought up in a household that was car dependent, then that's what alot of people base their preferred housing choices.

And if people don't bike as transportation, they don't even know what to look for in cycling infrastructure in their own community area.

I was shocked to learn that some places in our area are priced over $800,000...and the only way I can see why: it's part of a bigger trend that in our city which is mirroring Vancouver, Toronto...if you want a big condo, townhouse with a park greenbelt, waterfront view.

[smilingcat]

dogs as a social ice breaker depends on the kind of dog you have and what you are like as a person. Are you approachable or do you look like you don't want to be bothered?

Having dogs out of control doesn't do it. a barking dog doesn't... Common sense here, if your dog looks happy, wagging tail and you don't own dog breed with reputation, yes it can be a ice breaker. Pitbull, dobbies, Akita, chows, German shepherd are less of an ice breaker. toy sized and smaller dogs do better. Golden we have are good for that and even our Pyrenees mix attracted people. The pure bred Great Pyrenees I had to return was so big and people didn't know what he was stayed away. They would ask what he was from across the street. And next question was always "Is he friendly?" His sheer size made him a great dog to have as a deterrent from attack.

We do feel safer with our two dogs in the house. A dog with deep loud WOOF. This wouldn't stop a determined burglar though. An experienced burglar would throw a big T-bone steak to the dog. That is what a burglar behind the bar said when he was interviewed. He said a trained dog would ignore the meat. Don't have false sense of security just because you have a dog.

[tulip]

No mention of affordability. Interesting, because if its not affordable, the rest doesn't matter.