Every wondered how your neighbourhood ranks in terms of walkability? Go to Walk Score, type in your address and see your grade. Sadly my home gets a poor walk score of 28 out of 100 which means I am car-dependent. The only place I can easily walk to is a convenience store.

Unfortunately the city I live in is a shining example of urban sprawl—it has expanded outwards rather than upwards encouraging car dependency. Luckily the public transportation in my neighbourhood is decent with the addition of a new bus station and light rail transit system which can get you downtown in 20 minutes.

Before I was married and had a baby, I lived and worked downtown. My little shoebox of a condo got a walk score of 75 out of 100. How I miss being able to walk down the street to get a coffee, go shopping and eat at a restaurant! But with 450 sq. ft. of living space, it was barely big enough to fit me and all my stuff let alone a husband, baby and puppy.