Location, Location, Location

           In Real Estate as well as in Business the saying goes that the three most important factors are location, location, location. That’s why when I moved to Winters 14 years ago I thought I had hit the jackpot.

            Winters was located a quick 10 minutes from where I worked 3 days a week in Vacaville and right off the freeway for the other 2 days I commuted down to the East Bay. Within a couple of hours we could be in San Francisco or at the Ocean or just sipping wine in Napa. Whatever leisure activity we fancied was just a day trip away.

            Talk about prime location, the house we bought was it. Right downtown within walking distance to all the amenities that were available back then. Restaurants, bars, video stores, hardware and drug stores, a bakery, the bank, the post office, the library, art galleries, and even community theater.

            We couldn’t believe our luck, and it just got better. The Palms came to town and we had live music to go with everything else. Berryessa Gap was building their tasting room and there was a vibrant art scene going on.

            In 2003 when they started renovating some buildings at Railroad & E. Main I thought that would be a perfect location to open a Coffee Bar. It was just a couple blocks from my house so I figured I could walk to work.

            At that point, my life was located in this perfect dream. But like so many dreams there can be some nightmarish qualities to it as well. What I recently realized is that for the last 12 years I have been living and working in a construction zone.

            It took over a year for the coffee house to be built out. As soon as we opened they started renovating the two buildings right next door as well as Ficelles behind us. Then the following year the City expanded the parking lot at the community center. For months we had heavy equipment and loose dirt and dust right across the street.

            Not to long after that, construction of the bulb outs commenced at Railroad & Main. Once again heavy equipment, dirt, dust, and ugly fencing. They even closed the intersection to traffic for what seemed like months. That sure didn’t help our business at the time.

            After we sold the coffee house and the economy tanked there was a short reprieve but then Preserve started construction just a few doors down from my house. Even after they opened they were still working on the patio.

            And finally in the last three years they took out a dam, built a temporary bridge, tore down a bridge and are now in the final phases of completing the new bridge and redoing the intersection at the end of our street.

            I almost forgot to mention that right next to where I work they’ve just demolished 3 businesses and the old fire station. They’re making room for a hotel, so I guess no end in sight as far as construction goes.

            So where am I going with all this talk about construction and location? The point I’m trying to make is that the location where I live and own my house is no longer the idyllic dream it once was, at least not for me.

            All the construction we’ve had Downtown has been great for the businesses and there are more visitors coming to Winters now than we could have ever imagined a decade ago. But like with almost everything there are two sides to the coin. With that growth of outside visitors there are now some quality of life issues for the locals.

            In the grand scheme of things our local’s problems are pretty minor. Sometimes we have to wait longer for a seat in the restaurants or wait a little longer at the ever increasing number of traffic lights. Parking can be a pain especially if you’re in a hurry. Everywhere downtown is more crowded and louder, not exactly the definition of quaint.

            Like I was saying, I’m not too happy about where I live but that really has more to do with me than with the location. I’m older, set in my ways, and somewhat socially awkward. If I was a hip Millennial who enjoyed the loud vibrancy of the new and improving downtown Winters I would love this location.

            So I think whoever coined the phrase “location, location, location” was a little off, it really should be “perception, perception, perception”.

Oh by the way if you know a Millennial with money to burn, feel free to give them my location, it could be a dream come true for both of us.

To view the column in it's original form go to page 13 of the following link. Winters Express 10/15/15