1. The neighbors in the Flintwood neighborhood of Franklin Farm are very close, friendly and supportive. Some vacation together. In good weather, on every other Friday evening, one family in the neighborhood (people take turns) puts out a `flag indicating theirs is the house where those neighbors who want to, can gather outside and bring something to share and stay as long or as short as they want. These gatherings have really brought the neighbors together. One anonymous neighbor just bought a box of girl scout cookies for each house in the neighborhood, from a girl scout in the neighborhood. This is an amazing neighborhood and we will miss it, as have others who have moved away yet still stay in touch and come back just to visit the neighborhood. Our next door neighbors are particularly fantastic.
2. Our family has enjoyed our extra large (1/3 acre) lot that connects to other backyards for a large grassy play area. The lot's size allowed us to add a nice private screened porch, gazebo area, secluded garden area and two brick patios to enjoy the outdoors.
3. One of the reasons we selected the house 35 years ago is the long driveway that serves only our house and provided both privacy and a great area for our kids to learn to ride bike and play, along with the cul-de-sac where we live.
4. Because we live on a long private driveway with no houses directly on either side of our house like other homes, we have a beautiful window on the east side of house where most homes don't have windows because you would just be looking at your neighbor's house. We can see the colors of the sunrise out the east window. On the west side of the house is a very nice secluded private garden/patio area (we call it our "secret" garden) that is at the back of our neighbor's back yards, not next to any side yards. .
5. The very large two car garage. Most people don't even think about the garage. My neighbors often remark about how they wish they had our garage. It is especially wide and especially deep. The depth allows us to have shelving that is 4 feet deep at the back of the garage and an elevated workbench. I can easily store my snow blower, lawn mower, pressure washer at the bottom of the 4 foot deep shelving area and still have extra room for our vehicles, along with my table saw, bikes, wood storage above, storage cabinets, hanging storage for rakes, shovels, etc.
6. The landscaping is beautiful. The color provided by the azaleas, dogwood tree, Japanese red maple, very large pink cherry tree, Crepe Myrtle trees. and many bushes with berries and bright colors really make the yard look beautiful. The bluestone paved front porch, back screen porch, gazebo area, deck and two brick patio areas add to their enjoyment.
7. Storage, storage, storage. The extra large garage allows for lots of storage above with two separate access pull down stairs to the storage in addition to the added storage from the extra deep and wide garage. There is a large walk-in master closet, a storage area in the attic above the main part of the house, a large room just for storage with tons of built in shelving in the fully finished basement, storage space for fitness equipment in the fitness room, outdoor closed in storage under the gazebo area, lots of cabinets for storage in the kitchen and laundry rooms and maple custom built in storage cabinets and shelving in the family room
8. We are very happy with the many improvements we have made over the years. The renovated master bathroom with heated floors, large walk in closet, kitchen island, granite countertops, addition to garage, solid hardwood floors, and other improvements have turned out well and we have very much enjoyed them.
9. Fireplace insert. We regularly use our fireplace with insert for cozy fires all winter long. We enjoy seeing the fire and being able to adjust the heat with the insert.
10. We are within a few minutes walking distance of tennis courts, basketball courts, beach volleyball court, softball field, soccer field, Franklin Middle School, the community pool and lots of the great amenities Franklin Farm has to offer. Plus, there is convenient shopping in the Franklin Farm shopping center and there are wonderful, highly rated local schools which serve the community.