The non-stop negative press and constant criticism of most civic activities in Dunwoody the past few months has become truly tiresome. My spouse and I chose Dunwoody as the place to raise our family because of its schools and proximity to our places of employment. We voted to become a city for more local control and a government closer to the people. I am not sure what changed for people between 2008 and 2013, but for me Dunwoody and its quality of life have only improved in the past few years. You don’t need to be an optimist to know that Dunwoody is a great place to live, work, and play.
It turns out I am not the only optimist in Dunwoody - there are many of us and we are all tired of the yard signs, the cranky-pants “letters to the editors”, and the inference that Dunwoody is in line to become the next Detroit. Enough already!
So here we are; those in favor of positivity have decided to start a blog to share all the good and great things in our city. We invite you to share your positive stories as well. I'll start.
My oldest child insisted he was old enough to ride his bike home
from school by himself. We live close to the school so I agreed to let him
spread his wings and ride home alone - besides many of his friends accompanied
him for part of the way. One day I
received a phone call he had fallen, was fine and would be home soon. A
stranger brought his bike home, a mom with older kids provided a popsicle and the
phone call. Another neighbor brought him
home with her kids. It does take a village to raise a child and we have a great
village - young, old, married, single. I'm thankful for everyone who contributes
to making Dunwoody a great place to live.
This blog will happily accept any “Dunwoody positive” stories or
pictures you’d like to share - school, athletic, religious, civic, whatever; if it’s a good story to demonstrate why we
live in Dunwoody, we’ll post it! Negative comments will be deleted. We'll try
and post once or twice a week with something we feel is worth sharing. We look
forward to spreading the positive feeling about being a Better Dunwoody.
My spouse says it's the endless supply of rainbows and ponies in Dunwoody with the occasional unicorn sighting that makes it great. Sigh, not as much of an optimist as I am.
I love this! It certainly mirrors how I feel about our city. Thanks for creating an outlet for people to see the positive. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteLove the blog - a great start! The folks who complain are the ones who don't get involved. The ones who do get involved don't have time to complain - they're too busy making this a better community.
ReplyDeleteMy advise - get involved in the process, and provide answers and not just criticisms. Be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.
Knowledge is power. Become powerful!
How about food truck Thursday? Gets better every week. The back entrance is open - plenty of parking if you are patient and know how to walk. The food is great and great music too. This past Thursday, super entertainment provided by Dunwoody-grown bands of our young people!
ReplyDeleteDunwoody has increased its' financial reserves, paved over $6M in streets, began governance, got State Farm to relocate here (Plus dozens of other businesses, including Moon Dogs and Village Burger!!!) in a time marked by the most drastic economic upheaval since the Great Depression.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, we have people that live here who care and know how to make things better, and are not bitter.
This is music to my ears. I feel like Dunwoody just gets better all the time, too.
ReplyDeleteI've lived overseas and in several large metropolitan cities in my life but my husband and I chose to live and raise our children in Dunwoody - we have great neighbors, great schools and great potential. Thank you for this positive blog.
ReplyDeleteSo very glad to see the positive side of life here in Dunwoody shared by kindred spirits ... because it really is good to live here! For too long, our "hometown" newspaper has been dominated by a few cranky folks who truly do not speak for all of us.
ReplyDeleteSo many examples of great things happening since we became a city:
more restaurant options, more biking, more businesses choosing to locate here, more sidewalks, more freshly paved streets, faster attention to storm damage on public areas, faster and more responsive police presence, more proactive thinking about future needs, more citizens volunteering on a wide range of policy-making committees, more community events like Food Truck Thursdays and the Arts Festival ...
You don't have to have lived here 25, 30, 35 years to stake a claim on this great community. It's a great place to live for everyone, longtimer and newcomer alike.
Good cities do not just happen. Just like a successful marriage, they require work on the part of those involved. I am grateful for all of the caring, talented and hard working people (past and present) who got us to where we are today. Chicago may great, but "Dunwoody is my kinda town!"
ReplyDeleteLove it! Can't wait to see and share with my neighbors!
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you! I knew there were happy Dunwoody citizens out there - but I was starting to feel like I was the only one.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should all order yard signs. One could say "we love our sidewalks - thanks, Dunwoody!" Another could say "we love the new path at Brook Run - thanks, Dunwoody!" Then another could just say "We love the new Dunwoody!"
Better PR in the newspapers, your blog, city website, etc. could serve the city well. By doing this the "cranky pants" won't have much of a platform. Now go hire a proper PR person, city of Dunwoody, it will be worth the money!
ReplyDelete