I finished the roll of Fomapan 100 on a photo stroll with Margaret. We have a few places we like to walk, and the original residential/commercial district in Zionsville, known locally as the Village, is one of them. There’s lots of great old architecture, and it’s all so well kept.
This little building, which has a shape consistent with being a log cabin beneath that wood siding, is tucked away on a side street. The sun was setting, making for sometimes challenging shooting with ISO 100 film.
We walked along Main Street and dreamed of how wonderful it would be to live here. Alas, neither of us is willing to spend what that would take. The least of the houses in the Village, such as an 800-square-foot bungalow, can set you back a quarter million. From the perspective of Indiana cost of living, that’s outrageous. The same house in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis would cost half that, and in a non-named neighborhood it would probably go for just less than $100k.
We’ve talked a lot about how much we’d like to live in a walkable neighborhood after we’re married. We’ve even casually priced some of those neighborhoods in Indy. The more we do that, the more we think maybe the ticket is to buy in a neighborhood just beginning to come back after years of neglect and decay. Get in on the ground floor.
It’s not that we can’t afford more. It’s just that I have a life goal of owning outright whatever home I live in at about age 65. I’m almost out of debt now — except for my mortgage and still paying to have my stupid dead ash trees removed last year. I’m not eager to get into debt I can’t pay off, just for the sake of living in a place like this.
Still, it’s too easy to be deeply drawn in by the Village’s aesthetic and walkability.
This house is so appealing to me. It faces Main Street at its very end. It’s forest green in real life, which makes it a great subject for black-and-white film.
Nikon F2AS, 35mm f/2.8 AI Nikkor, Foma Fomapan 100
