Why Villebois residents LOVE where they LIVE

Villebois residents are passionate about their community.  Do you LOVE where you LIVE?

“My name is Dan and my wife is Allison.

We have two daughters, (8 and 3). I mention their names because they factor greatly when we delve into the reasons we love Villebois. It’s a GREAT community to live in if you have kids. But let’s see… where to start….

Let’s start with the unique architecture. Let’s pretend you had magical powers and you took any average American observant female (let’s use a female since males can’t typically tell you what color socks they’re wearing at that moment) and you could snap your fingers and she would appear in our neighborhood for 1 minute and then she was magically transported to other neighborhoods around here and around Portland for 1 minute each. Let’s say she saw 20 neighborhoods in this magical ride she was on. The only one she’d remember is Villebois. It reeks of authenticity and uniqueness. Almost every other neighborhood’s designers, for whatever reason, love to operate from the same architectural playbook. I don’t know why that is. When we went looking for a home, almost every place we came to was either a craftsman or the garage sticking out with front door recessed…etc. Villebois, although we do have standardized plans, doesn’t look so bland and blah. Especially with the intricate European flavored details. Of course, the emphasis on green space is important, too, but it’s the front and center front doors, in relation to the sidewalk, that gives the architecture it’s crowning friendliness.

Now let’s get to the people. In any other neighborhood I’ve lived in, you would typically know some people around you. Either through your kids or from being out front… over time. We’ve lived here about 3 years and as I sit here and count, I can tell you the first and last names (and their kid’s names if they have them) of the residents of 27 houses, that are within a 1 minute walk from my house. In any previous location we’ve lived, that number would probably be, at the max, five.

When the word “community” is used in Villebois, you could capitalize it. It’s on steroids here. There is no other place, that I’ve ever seen or even visited or read about, that has the same sense of community that this place does. During the summer, it’s not unusual to see 3 or 4 families closing down a park with the kids playing and the parents talking at the park bench. We have a camp out each summer, in one of the parks, and roast marshmallows and watch a movie on a big screen projector. This last one we had probably over 100 campers participating. We have an Easter Egg hunt each year and the Easter bunny actually shows up. We’ve had an ice cream social, I’m sure you’ve heard about. We even had a touch football “turkey bowl”, in the rain, Thanksgiving morning. Then there’s the 4th of July parade we have each year (our own… not a joint one.) Not many cities have their own parade, let alone a subdivision. Every year, we have a Christmas party where all the kids come to our house and then grownups go to someone else’s house and all the attendees live within a 500 ft radius from one another. This last year, we had about 40 adults attend. We had over 30 kids at our house that night. That was just the party we attended. There were others going on, too, with different demographics attending each.

What Costa Pacific has done with Villebois is just short of amazing. Wilsonville probably deserves some credit too, for supporting such a unique concept in community living. I just wish the economy had not got in the way of the build out. It would be even more incredible if we had the resources for the community center and pool…etc. But it’ll come with time, I’m sure.

It’ll be exciting to see Villebois in 20 years, with mature vegetation and everything built out. It’ll be a very, very sought after community, then. Even more than it is today.

I once tried to characterize Villebois to my brother-in-law and I said, for lack of a better term… we just have “quality” people living here. Then of course, that became a joke for him, as if I was implying all other places didn’t have “quality” people. But it’s an apt phrase. There’s not one person I’ve met, who lives in Villebois, that I wouldn’t be happy to call my friend. Again, I’ve not had that experience anywhere else I’ve lived.

My only complaint (gotta have ONE, right?) is that the master plan didn’t call for another category of house that would have been larger (maybe in the 6000 to 8000 sq ft) with a larger plot of land. There are plenty of folks out there, with enough resources to purchase a mansion on the river, that would LOVE to live in a community like this, but they want something a bit more substantial then a 4000 sq ft home, on a 6000 sq ft plot. Too bad, because it would have been a crowning jewel in an already beautiful crown.”

Dan & Allison – Happy Villebois Residents

Click here to find out what others are saying about living in their new home and community Villebois Testimonials.

Villebois residents of all ages and lifestyles discuss what their families enjoy the most about the unique Wilsonville, Oregon, neighborhood from the close-knit social atmosphere to the variety of community events and activities that bring neighbors together.

For more information about the Villebois community, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com. You may also visit ChangeHowYouLive.com.