Personal Neighborhood Connection Summary

Example Overview: PERSONAL NEIGHBORHOOD

Walking down the street in Park Slope I am bound to run into someone that I know, be it an acquaintance or a good friend. It is rare that I take a straight path home because I want to dip into any number of stores or coffee shops, to grab a cup of tea, a coffee, or to say hello to someone. When I moved here 15 years ago it was hard to imagine that this neighborhood, let alone NYC, would ever feel like home, but it has become so. Park Slope is the place where I matured into an adult, where I became truly independent, and where I began building my private New York.
Over the 15 years that I have lived here I have seen the neighborhood change a great deal. Fifth Avenue has sprouted into a boutique store and restaurant mecca, the rents have gotten much higher, and the amount of young families has at least doubled. Its hard to believe that the “fancying up” of Park Slope has happened, as the neighborhood when I moved here was still affordable for a young person making very little money in a non-profit job. At that time there were more mom-and-pop shops, and more of a funky vibe that has all but disappeared. Still, there are things that have remained the same, and for which I am thankful. Prospect Park continues to be a haven for all of the communities that surround it, and the neighborhood maintains its community feel – whether that means organizing block parties, watching any number of parades down Seventh Avenue, or just going out on errands and seeing people stopping to chat with each other on the sidewalk.
Park Slope holds numerous places that have become part of my personal landscape and where I have developed layers of memories. Like all people, the memories I hold are both joyful and painful, but that just makes my experience in the area all the more rich. I am grateful for what the neighborhood has offered me and am glad that after so many years I am still living here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE PERSONAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Include the following details in personal neighborhood piece:

What you like to do in the neighborhood
How long you have lived there
Whether or not you feel a part of your community
Why the neighborhood is important to you (if it is)
FEEL FREE TO ADD OTHER DETAILS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU