Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Paul posted on the Hinesburg Front Porch Forum the other day that opinions should be kept out of FPF postings, asking neighbors to “keep things kind and helpful.” A neighbor Frank replied… There are few forums for expressing opinions, besides at coffee shops, hair salons/barber shops and… on our front porches.
Front Porch Forum now in St. Albans City. Wow… 80 people signed up for Front Porch Forum in the first week in St. Albans City (#stalbansvt #VT). Here’s one of them who just wrote in…. When I moved the first things I did was look for Front Porch Forum. It is a vital key in any neighborhood and am so grateful to have it in Saint Albans.
It’s our hope that this kind of communication helps neighbors connect and build community locally… that comments on our virtual front porch lead to real face-to-face conversations on actual front porches (and country stores, town libraries, sidewalks, etc.).
Most of these points jibe with what we’re finding with Front Porch Forum. E.g., under point three he states that the purpose of online social networking is face-to-face interaction. That’s what Front Porch Forum is all about… and it works because the people on the online network by definition live in the same neighborhood.
Front Porch Forum is there for all us day in and day out. It makes sense that we help provide the regular financial support needed to keep this wonderful community resource alive and well. Besides bringing us important community news and events, FPF helped my wife and I sell our Peru Street home in 2006 and has been a great way to get the news ...
A Champlain College student recently conducted a survey of Front Porch Forum subscribers who live in Burlington, VT (about 30% of the households subscribe). About 390 responded (9%). Here are some of the results… 80% have recommended FPF to neighbors; 91% would be disappointed if FPF’s service stopped; 90% think FPF improves their neighborhood
Calais is a great example. Out of the 680 households in town, 570 people are members of the Calais Front Porch Forum, and they’ve shared 2,300 postings with neighbors since it began fifteen months ago. Dozens of lost pets have been reunited with owners, cars sold, used strollers given away, mechanics recommended, break-ins reported and much more.
After hosting visitors on their front porch during a thunderstorm, the author quotes his friend… “You know, we’ve lived in our house for more than 20 years and you just talked to your neighbors more in that 15 minutes than we have in the whole time we’ve lived there.” Such is the enchantment of front porches and swings.
New homes with front or rear porches has grown from 42% in 1992 to 65% in 2011, Census data show. The data also show that the percentage of homes built without a garage or carport is the highest since the late 1990s. At the housing boom peak in 2004, 8% of new homes had no car shelter. It hit 13% in 2010 and 2011.
Front porches are making a big comeback. It’s not quite a return to Norman Rockwell’s Americana, but the rise in the number of new homes with porches hints at a shift in the way Americans want to live: in smaller houses and dense neighborhoods that promote walking and social interaction.