The Good Life ~ Sacramento
Exploring a City with a Small-Town Feel and World of PotentialArchive for Hustle ‘n Bustle
Loft Living, Pt. I
The World Wants In
We’ve been living in a loft for two months now. While that’s probably not enough time to call myself an expert on loft living, it’s already apparent to me how markedly different living in a loft is compared to being in a single-family dwelling – at street level – in a residential neighborhood.
During the day here, the streets are alive with people walking in and out of businesses, dogs barking from cars, and occasional speeding sirens. One thing I find curious is that people seldom look up. Nighttime brings both a calm and chaos, depending on what day of the week it is.
When I sit on my bed daydreaming, with a bird’s-eye view of all the rooftops, it reminds me of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and ‘Mary Poppins’, and provokes visions of old London. Since I’ve never been there, I wonder why it feels so familiar… Have I have been here before – “here” being so elevated from the rest of civilization? Or are those movies just so archetypal that they tap into something much larger than me?
This same window – the one I peer out of from my bedroom – also brings me eye level with a little hummingbird and her cocoon of cotton and feathers. I watch her in a windstorm, glued to her nest, rocking to and fro without an apparent care. I can see the larger birds, too – the blackbirds, pigeons and crows that traverse the sky and hop from rooftop to rooftop – and I feel somehow privileged.
Having no backyard or outdoor space of our own, I would have expected to be more removed from nature here… But I don’t feel that has been the case. In the short time that we’ve been here, I’ve seen the trees outside our windows go from winter bare to budding to blossoming to verdantly green. I’ve had that little red-throated, green-backed hummingbird all but knock on my window asking for food. And I’ve already watched a handful of small to large storms pass us by or come crashing sideways upon us.
The really, really quiet hours between 2 and 4AM provide unusually still time in which I can hear the street light click from red to green to yellow. But before that time, the restaurant and bar beneath us bring plenty of unwanted commotion, especially since the noise often rises to greet us when we’re not up for company.
But that’s the thing about loft living so far – it’s dynamic, the world is ever present around us, and yet there’s still time in the day for us to hear the echoes of our own intimate lives beating within. This is more than a new experience; it is a new perspective altogether.
There is something special about Sacramento; the rich land upon which it was built, the rivers that flow through, the bounty around it and the people who make the Sacramento area their home.
Life is good in California’s Capital City for many reasons, including climate and geography, community and amenities, nature and wildlife, and so much more. It’s hard to imagine a warmer feeling than a sunshine-drenched morning here, an easier feeling than a refreshing post-rain spring day, or a more engaging experience than a night on the town with friends or family.
There’s truly something here for everyone and every mood, for Sacramento is a shifting entity itself, with four distinct but relatively mild seasons, diverse neighborhoods and people, a ripening food and restaurant scene, year-round events and outdoor fun, and daytime and night-time adventures. Its magic is a blend of history and tradition, vision and reinvention. And there’s so much pleasure to be had here – with family and friends, food and wine, adventures and experiences – that they’re likely to create the kind of fond memories that might seem so familiar… but aren’t quite like any other.
