I have lived in Norwood, New Jersey all my life. A town that many would consider small with a population of 5,600 people. I view my town from the perspective of being a longstanding resident and would consider myself an “engaged” resident. What makes it a small town is that everyone knows everyone else. My town is somewhere that nobody looks forward to going because it is almost primarily residential. Our downtown has been in cahoots with the mafia and is part of the reason why the downtown is relatively non-existent. With all of its strengths and weaknesses, my crummy little town of Norwood, New Jersey is a place where I am proud to call home.
Located around a half hour outside of New York City, Norwood has a small town feel with the busiest city in the world at our fingertips. Although I live so close to the city, it is rare to find people commuting daily into the city. It seems as though everyone who lives in Norwood has lived in NYC at some point in their lives, but the suburbs came calling when it was time to raise a family and purchase a house and live the American Dream. Norwood is an incredibly safe town where people don’t worry about crime. It is a town where the big event is a fireworks display on July 4th and there are more people marching in the Memorial Day parade than watching it. However, what I considered the dream when I was in middle school was riding my bike around town with my friends and going to either Mario’s Pizzeria or Cousin’s Pizzeria. Two pizzerias in a small town competing for the same clientele, but I would argue that Mario’s is better. My elementary school and middle school were relatively small with around 80-100 kids per grade, so, like I said before, everyone knew everyone else, whether they wanted to or not.
It seems as though many kids and friends within my neighborhood feel as though they need to leave our small town to experience the world and fly across the country to go to school. I chose a school 3 and a half hours away, which I believe is plenty far. With that notion, many people come to realize that Norwood is home, and will always be home. With access to the tri-state area so readily available, leaving honestly does not seem to make sense to me. Even if I move to New York City one day, I would not actually consider that leaving or moving. I would consider it, “I’ll be back shortly”. I may not move back to Norwood exactly, but definitely a suburb of New York City. I, for one, used to be one of those kids that wanted to see what other places had to offer but I quickly realized that home truly is where the heart is.
One might not think it, but knowing every detail of every single road in a 5 or even 10-mile radius presents a comfortable feeling to my soul. Knowing little shortcuts and using trails that nobody else would know but a young kid is a feeling like no other.
One drawback I might add is the lack of public transportation within my whole county. Cars are the only means to get anywhere and it hurts the soul of an urban planner. If I am being honest, my town is truly a nightmare for a planner. Our sidewalks are abysmal, our main roads are not bike or pedestrian friendly, which leads to resentment towards cyclists, especially in the summer. Me being someone who is an avid cyclist and interested in urban planning, it hurts to see both sides collide, but bike infrastructure was never on the minds of any planners within my town and will probably be ignored for the foreseeable future. Okay, planning was never the strong suit of my town because I am not even sure that we have a planner on a contract. However, a suburb like mine is in need of a planner and a new “master” plan, but, my town probably does not think twice about how poorly designed our streets are for pedestrians and the like.
To end this, I want to start by saying how much I love you Norwood. One day I will be 70 years old and will cherish those warm summer nights with my neighbor playing Classic Rock so that the whole neighborhood can hear it. I will cherish all of the times that I was berated by my basketball coaches and my baseball coaches - all in recreation leagues! I will cherish all the hours spent walking around 7-Eleven and pretty much loitering for no good reason. I think a small town and a city have many similarities and differences, but Norwood, Norwood is all about differences. These differences are what make me, me. Many people probably drive through my town and think nothing of it, and may even say it's ugly, but I know for a fact it is something special because they do not live in Norwood, New Jersey. For that, I am forever grateful for my home.
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