In September, 1993, I visit the only place on earth I consider to be a religious shrine: Seaside, Florida (a new urbanist Andres Duany creation). Seaside is a bit overdone with the architectural flair, bright colors, and other Disney-like factors, but it is still infinitely more pleasant than all of the horridly-designed communities around it (some of which are now haplessly trying to emulate it). It features narrow, gridded streets, pleasant vistas, front porches, picket fences, and backyard sidewalks.

In other words, it contains the pedestrian-oriented features that were traditionally in our towns before the emergence of our car-happy culture after World War II. Houses there sell for several times the amount of comparables in the area, demonstrating the strong market desire for a village with a sense of community, a feature we have largely lost in our never-ending quest to make cars happy.

Seaside also features deep blue ocean water with sugar-white sand beaches and crystal clear water.

To get to Seaside, take I-10 on the Florida panhandle (west of Tallahassee) to DeFuniak Springs and U.S. 331 south. Take this road 25 miles south to U.S. 98. Take this route east to County Road 395. Take this route south about 3 miles to County Road 30A. Seaside is along the coast on this Route. Look for signs.

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