Generic Small Town and/or Suburb Real Estate Hype Piece
When Victoria and Joseph Byrne first started toying with the idea of leaving the city, the last place on their radar was Townville.
“Joseph and I never thought we were going to be those people that gave up on the city,” Victoria explained, “but when the pandemic hit and we found ourselves trapped with a two-year-old and a four-year-old in a three-bedroom flex, we realized it might be time to abandon our beloved neighborhood of Upper Pricington.”
After about seven minutes of discussion, Victoria and Joseph decided they wanted to relocate. “I never thought it would be important for my kids to have a front lawn to run around on,” Joseph added, “But now I think it is important. You know, because of the pandemic.”
Shortly after they started their search, friends suggested Townville as an up-and-coming new area. “Honestly, I didn’t really know where that was at first,” Victoria told us. “But then I looked it up on Google Maps, so now I do.”
Formerly the home of the nation’s booming typewriter key industry, the oft-overlooked town of Townville boasts affordably-priced Victorian homes, two historic districts, and a bustling downtown, while only being a few short hours from nearby Big City. Recently, Townville and its neighboring villes have been experiencing a real estate boom as young couples abandon their urban jungles for a quaint and deeply specific charm.
“Yeah, we’ve seen a lot new people moving here recently,” said Pete Gomez, the owner of a local grocery store, Food Market. “They’re moving here from the city. Townville has a lot to offer, I guess. There’s the park, which is pretty nice. Some people like to go to the typewriter museum.”
Beyond its illustrious typewriter history, what really makes Townville unique is the sense of community. “Yeah, this place has been through a lot,” Gomez explained, “but people look out for each other, you know?”
Years of political mismanagement coupled with the inopportune decline of the typewriter industry left Townville in seemingly dire straits. But thanks to key urban improvement projects, the past ten years have breathed life into Townville, including the designation of a new historic district by the Greater Townville Board of Historic Districts, and an influx of new local businesses to Townville’s main street, Main Street.
“They opened up a new nail salon and a movie theater,” Gomez told us. “There was the bowling alley too, but I forget when that was. It was recent, though. Wait, have you guys talked to anyone else here or just me?”
After a week and a half of searching, Joseph and Victoria found their dream home in Townville: a sprawling eight-bedroom Colonial with a sticker price of fifty-seven dollars. “As a novelist, this is somewhere I can really see myself, you know, as a novelist,” Victoria explained.
Lots of couples have made new homes in Townville just like Victoria and Joseph. With its houses, stores, schools, and more, Townville offers that quintessential regional charm that is increasingly hard to come by in urban areas.
Since making their big move, Victoria and Joseph haven’t looked back. “It’s funny,” said Joseph. “I really never thought we’d move out of the city. But then we did.”
