Remember when you were a kid? Back then, you probably played games in the street and rode your bike with abandon. You knew your neighbours by name and chatted to them over the garden fence. During the holidays, you had a ball with your friends and your parents didn’t worry too much about where you were as long as you were at the dinner table on time. The neighbourhood was a fun place for you and your friends. You felt safe.
Fast-forward some decades. Things have changed. You probably have kids or grandchildren of your own. You constantly worry about their safety. They can’t walk or cycle to school or to their friends and you mostly drive them wherever they need to go. They spend most of their time indoors in front of the TV or computer and they don’t get enough exercise. Your home is permanently locked and the alarm is switched on, even when you are inside.
You don’t really know your neighbours and you hardly ever see them. Welcome to suburbia 21st-century style! Do you sometimes long for those slower, happier, more dependable times or do you grudgingly accept their disappearance as the price we pay for progress? Well, you can have both. Welcome to our Thesen Islands community. We’ve re-invented the 21st century – perhaps you’d like to join us?
