in nyc: SUBWAY (the train one, not the sandwich one)

Everything.

1. Grocery Store
2. Restaurants and Bars
3. Park or good walking space for the dog
4. Shops (post office, clothing stores, hardware store, etc.)
5. Walgreen's or other drug store
5.

Definitely a grocery store, public transportation (no car!), and being near a pharmacy is nice in case you're sick and don't want to walk far.

really just these three:
Grocery Store
Great running route (i.e. green space)
Public Transit

but a bar and a restaurant are also nice to haves. and friends too.

Meant to also say that in Houston, we don't walk much. Sad but true!

Bars/restaurants. I like being able to go out and have a few drinks or meet a date without worrying about transportation or sober drivers.

Also, sidewalks. It's amazing how in some areas even if something is physically close, it's impossible to get to. When I lived in Dallas I could see a gas station from my apartment windows but getting there meant climbing a fence, crossing a drainage ditch, and then a 6 lane road. It was easier and faster to just drive.

Coffee shop, transit, cool bars/restaurants, park, grocery store :-)

1. My school
2. Grocery store
3. Public transportation (since I don't own a car)
4. Library
5. Green space

Subway, but the sandwich one :)

1) laundry within a block (if there isn't one in the building)
2) grocery store
3) a large body of water
4) pharmacy
5) bank
6) resturants
7) book/music/clothing stores

Coffee-house, ATM/bank, bars, restaurants, farmers market.

One of my favorite things about working for a hotel was the dry cleaning drop off in the lobby!

Can't really walk anywhere where I live but I need the following in a short drive distance...
1)grocery store
2)dry cleaner
3)pharmecy
4)not so unhealthy takeout
5)good sushi bar
6)da big blue Pacific ocean for my weekly dose of Vitamin Sea!
7)some place to work out, gym, good walking trails...

Well when I lived in a place that believed in public transportation then it was public transportation stops. But now I have to drive everywhere if I don't want to get run over. The only place I walk to is the parking lot :(

Within a 10 min foulest-weather-imaginable walking distance I need the following: bus/subway, a utility bar (that is perfect for: happy hour, starting the night, ending the night, killing 30 minutes while you wait for someone, etc.); a grocery store; a liquor store; green space/bike/foot trail. Even closer than that--like within a block: laundromat; 24 drug/convenience store.

i also live in kc, and between our car, scooters, and bikes, not much *needs* to be within walking distance. i'd call my only MUST greenspace - a good park or route to walk or dogs in, and luckily our backyard abuts gillham park. but i'm a much happier girl in a walkable area, and am pleased we're within walking distance of several bus routes, a grocery store, and all the shopping and dining of the plaza and westport.

With the new walkability principle in planning, one can ideally get to their important amenities (most mentioned here already) within 400-500 m or a 10-minute walking distance. Planners across North America are now trying to implement this in various neighbourhoods and subdivisions, but as we all know, it seemed to happen organically in downtown cores and older neighourhoods and it's virtually impossible to achieve in more recent suburbs (1970s to 2000s).

And, of course, some cities haven't even clued in yet that this is a) a movement; b) important to the health of their population; c) required to curb urban sprawl and d) necessary to reduce dependence on cars and e) improve the environment. :)

1. Grocery Store
2. Work (This is really important. Walking wakes me up in the morning and puts me in a goodish mood to deal with the day ahead. Both things are necessary to be successfully functional at work, for me at least.)
3. Coffee Shop/Good Neighborhood Bar
4. YMCA
5. Something green, preferably with a few trees.

1. Public transportation
2. Green space for dog
3. Cafe
4. Cafe
5. Cafe

Yep:

1. Public transit
2. Grocery Store
3. Green space (even though I have a yard)
4. Doctor's office within reach of public transit (this becomes important if you rely on public transit and need to get there when you don't feel so great)

Ideally, a liquor store. I made a big mistake about that one when I bought my place. It's very inconvenient living in a town that barely permits them and locates them not conveniently to my neighborhood at all. Schlepping wine bottles is a drag. Fortunately we have one that delivers within town but you have to buy a case.

Library would be on the list except I work in one. When/if I retire I hope there is a public library near by.

The absolute most important one for me is a party store or some other place to buy beer. Having a late night restaurant near by is also nice.

1. A dog park or open space for the dog, which luckily isn't too hard in Chicago. We've got a plethora of dog parks.

2. Grocery store. The farthest away I'd like to live is half a mile, since we don't own a car.

That's about it for essentials. We really love neighborhoods with lots of restaurants but again, this being Chicago, they're restaurants everywhere!

1) buses / public transporation
2) quality grocery store
3) laundromat (if not in the building)
4) banks
5) stores (coffee shops, drug store, post office)
7) green open space, body of water
8) city services e.g. hospital, library, police etc.

Public transport, supermarket, bakery, ethnic grocery store, green space.

1. Good breakfast joint/bar
2. Green space/lake
3. Grocery or convenience store
4. Take-out pizza and chinese
5. Bus stop!

Ah well. I'd like to live within "walking distance" of work, church, schools, library, grocery store, restaurants, et cetera, but I have lived my entire life in Texas, and even little towns tend to sprawl every which way, and may not have sidewalks or paved roads.

Ethnic grocer, liquor store, subway, and preferably about 5-10 decent taco joints.

Green Space is a must!!!

Chicago InThirty is a great app to figure out neighborhood's/specific apartment's accessibility to parks via walking, biking and public transit http://chicago.inthirty.com/

Explains my experience in Kansas City when, while attending a technical show, it took a bus and a mile walk to get to a grocery store from my hotel. Nice fountains, though.,

I just registered to point out a really useful website I found for this sort of thing: www.walkscore.com. I've used it to judge the walkability of my last two apartments. Plug your address in and see if your place is walkable or car-dependent!

But to answer the question, definitely Green Space, a grocery store, some type of night life, and public transportation.

I know they only asked for 5, but here's what I currently live within walking distance from that I can no longer live without:

1) acupuncture
2) best BBQ restaurant ever
3) two grocery stores - 1 "regular" and 1 "healthy/fancy"
4) decent comic book shop
5) local nursery and greenhouse
6) spa and hair salon
7) Jazz nightclub
8) deli opened 24 hours that serves awesome baklava!
9) Tarot card place (I get free readings bc I live just around the corner!)
10) flea market

1. Grocery store
2. public transit
3. pharmacy/post office/hardware store
4. restaurants/cafes

Now that I live in a house and my husband and I share a car, it's still really important for us to be close to stuff, but the priorities have changed. We MUST be within walking distance of:

1. Interesting things to walk to (green space, in our city we have the cute downtown and waterfront)
2. gym
3. Convenience store
4. restaraunts/bars
5. Coffee

Grocery store has actually fallen off the list, since we cook sooo much at home and are too lazy to go every day. I'd probably drive even if it were close enough to walk.

At my new place, I'm four blocks from the train, five blocks from a huge public park, one block from laundry, three blocks from the beergarden, and two blocks from two of my closest friends. Groceries and pharmacy are a subway stop away, but it's worth the compromise, especially for the BFF neighbors :)

I found out the hard way (public transit strike) that my neighborhood isn't very walkalbe. Without a car or public transit, you really get to know your area. Here's what I need nearby:
1. Grocery Store!!!
2. Greenspace/sidewalks
3. Café
4. Restaurants/bars
5. Work (this was the hardest thing to manage during a strike, but thankfully I'm about an hour's walk from work. That isn't ideal, but it's possible).

Coffee Shop
Post office

1) Cool downtown area that includes full grocery store and/or year round farmer's market.

2) Green space with trails

3) Work/schools for my kids

I am thankful I have all this :-)

Here's my list. I'm very happy to report that my home got a WalkScore.com score of 88 (thanks to magnoliamorning for the link).

1. Transit (both train and bus)
2. Gym (4 blocks away)
3. Coffee/restaurants/bars
4. Movies
5. Groceries (I have 3 within 4 blocks and a 4th is opening up next month)

1. Subway
2. Market
3. Pharmacy
4. Hardware Store
5. Coffee Shop

1. Supermarket
2. Transit (both bus and train)
3. Schools (for kids)
4. Coffee shops
5. Parks for running

-trader joe's
-cafe
-walking trail/hike
-couple of good restaurants
-public trans

i have it all! i love my neighborhood!

I'm lucky, I have these within walking distance now and when I was growing up.

1. Market
2. Drug store
3. Library
4. Coffee shops
5. Green space

I walk 5+ miles a day though to run errands and go to work (and I do have a car) my co-workers think I'm crazy.

I currently live in Downtown KC where I am happy to say that I am within walking distance of most of the things mentioned. What I looked for when I moved back last year was:

1) Grocery
2) Transit (although I wish they had something more than buses....light rail or streetcars are needed!!)
3) Restuarants/bars
4) Pharmacy
5) ATM/banking

I also got the downtown library, physician, dentist, hair salon, and green space close by!

Now if I could just eliminate the humidity while walking to these places, I would be set! ; )

1. Farmer's market
2. Local grocery store with butcher's market + a good-quality major market
3. Library
4. Public transit to local shopping and entertainment
5. Easy freeway access and easy access to crosstown shortcut streets

I got ALL of these, plus a parking pass to the beach (for locals), cheap (for locals) use of the state-of-the-art college swim center 8 blocks from my house, 5 blocks to yoga, and 2 parks (one with the farmer's market, also offering t'ai chi ) 2 blocks in one direction and 4 blocks in another. And I can walk to the eco-dry cleaner and the shoe repair. I am blessed.....but I also looked every day for 4 months.

- coffee
- takeout that's open reasonably late
- library
- bus stop
- farmstand

I chose my home mostly for its convenient location. (It has a washer and dryer.) I got around mostly on foot or by bicycle for many years. A big pharmacy with extended hours was useful as a modern-day general store. Public transit, grocery stores, a public library, doctors' offices, salons, a hospital, and malls were close enough for me to reach without a car. Taxis were an inexpensive bad weather back-up since my destinations were nearby.

1. Work (within 45 mins, in case of transit strike)
2. Grocery
3. Veterinarian (taxis won't take a sick dog and vet house calls cost a mint)
4. decent cheap place to eat when I don't feel like cooking
5. drug store

We are considering a move from our car- free Manhattan life to Nashville next year, and I am gnashing my teeth over this very issue. Even though I am from the south, after living in NYC for 10 years, I am committed to having some walkability.

My must haves are
1.coffee/restaurants
2. Grocery or other market would be great.
3. Bike paths, parks or greenways.
4. Sidewalks!

I've now targeted not just neighborhoods, but specific streets. Because pickings are slim.

Within half mile (and preferably a quarter mile), I must have:

1. Grocery store(s)
2. Public transportation (preferably an L stop)
3. A variety of inexpensive restaurants
4. Dry cleaners
5. Zipcar(s)

Work. There's nothing better than being a short jaunt to and from the work place. Of course, I live in Halifax, NS where nothing is ever really too far away anyway.

I should mention that I'm only about 15 minutes away from my job. I don't like being much further away than that!

1. Public Transit but ideally work
2. Food, grocery, restaurants, etc
3. Friends
4. Places to go to, park, theater, museums, etc
5. Laundry or laundry drop off. Really am unlikely to go for a place without laundry in the building, prefer in unit.

1. Bars/restaurants
2. 7-11/convenience store that sells beer

Thankfully, in Richmond, these 2 things are pretty much always a given.

1. At least one coffeehouse - an independent establishment, not Starbucks. I totally lucked out in this area and actually have SEVERAL great funky places to choose from.
2. A drugstore
3. An independent restaurant or two
4. A few interesting, eclectic boutiques
5. A cultural scene
6. Bus stop on a route that goes to a good grocery store

All in all, I want to be able to take full advantage of urban living and be in a vibrant, exciting neighborhood. I am extremely fortunate to have found one!

(I insist that my building have on-site laundry facilities.)

I'm spoiled because almost everything is within walking distance from my apartment, including my workplace, several grocery stores, several pubs and restaurants, several drugstores, my bank, a park (down the street), the public library, bookstores, clothing stores, and transit (streetcar at the end of my street, bus at the other end, subway a 6 minute walk.) My absolute must-haves include a grocery store, gym and a pub, though.

My apartment has a walkability score of 77. No small feat in Houston! I live within walking distance of all the important things, (laundry, grocery, druggist, pub) and within biking distance of everything I could ever need. However... Houston is not particularly bike friendly. And our sidewalks are kinda sad in parts. I can walk to our one light rail, however. Now, if we could just get our temps back into double-digits!

1)grocery store/ pharmacy
2) work (sad but true) + I like meditating on my walk
3) park w ample running routes
4) public transportation
5) movie theatre/ restaurant

another consideration... doctor because it is horrible to schlep somewhere when you are sick.

I live in Boston which is considered "the walking city"... that makes it pretty easy to get everything I want close by :)

1. Bank
2. Grocery Store
3. Coffee shop
4. Park
5. Drugstore

My new place has all of these things well within 1 mile - and the walk is on nice shady sidewalked residential streets. I love not being chained to the car!

- public transit (preferably subway)
- groceries
- library
- cafe/restaurant/bar

All this is within 1km of my house; work is 3km away.

1. Grassy knoll where the dog can do his business.
2. The beach.
3. The supermarket.
4. Walgreens.
5. Decent takeout.

We are so lucky for where we live. Here's what we have only 3-6 blocks away (or less):

3 Grocery stores
Drug store
restaurants/pubs
French bakery
Homemade deli/ice cream store
Several independent coffee shops
Independent book stores
Independent music stores
Our vet
Our dentist
Our son's grade school
3 great parks
The beach

We feel very, very, very lucky!!! :)

1. Public transport (bus/subway).
2. Grocery store.
3. Pharmacy/drug store, 24 hrs!
4. Laundromat.
5. Coffee shop.

May I brag?
We denizens of DC's Capitol Hill have within easy walking distance:
a weekend farmers market
a covered market 6 days a week
2 grocery stories (admittedly not great)
a subway and multiple bus lines
multiple cafes
multiple bars and restaurants including not one but 2 cupcake stores (I prefer Sweet Lobby but Hello Cupcake does in a pinch)
The greatest breakfast around (tie, actually: Market Lunch ham, egg and cheese sandwich or Jimmy T's huevos rancheros with a waffle on the side)
several parks, for dogs and humans
a great little kitchen store
the worlds best hardware store
The Smithsonian Institution (museums are free and closed just one day a year)
The National Mall (for walking, running, playing softball, soccer, tourist watching)
The Capitol (for free concerts and lovely walks in addition to protests and legislation and 4th of July fireworks)
30 minutes walk: more great restaurants and a multiplex movies
dry cleaners, tailors, nail salons and for some reason an Edible Bouquet store.
All this plus 100 to 150 year old historic homes, hundreds of fit young Marines who run without their shirts on (the boys), and you can see fireworks from my deck. And the Capitol Dome, when the leaves fall.
and my neighbor gave me a key to his gate so I can swim in his pool whenever I want.
WINNING!

Grocery store is really all I need. Other things would be great, but as long as I can get food, I'm dandy.

Try walkscore.com and type in your address.. Or area and find out your score!!! Makes for some fun conversations!!!!
Grocery store
Public transportation
Cafe/ bakery

Parking spaces for my car, so I can drive to places I need!

Aww... I only got 57 for my WalkScore. (Although I don't entirely trust it, given that I've never HEARD of some of the places it listed... and I've lived here for seventeen years. And it said the closest park was 670 metres away and totally ignored the one that's actually on the street...)

As for my priorities, number one is public transport. All else is negotiable!

(The others that'd rank pretty high on the list, though, would be a grocery store/supermarket, laundromat if I'm not lucky enough to have an on-site laundry, a pharmacy, and a vet.)

grocery store
news stand
pizzeria (take away and not)

1. School !! My son is starting preschool in september, I'd hate to have to drive him over.
2. Basic convenience store, in case it's saturday night and friends are coming over in ten minutes.
3. Park or any green place for fun (even though that need has decreased now that I own a house with a small garden)
4. Subway or bus station - I'm downtown in 20 minutes, isn't it cool ?

The thing I miss right now is that little cosy thaï restaurant we used to eat at when my husband and I lived in Paris. It was cheap and delicious eating, and we used to go there a lot. All I have in my currant neighborhood are pizza and french fries places. Yuk.

Walkability is good for the waistline so a gym wouldn't be so much a priority. Gotta say, since I moved from a suburb to a small town I walk everywhere again and it feels great!!

1) Greengrocer and butcher
2) Chemist
3)The Pub
4) Great public transport to the city
5)Schools and sports facilities.

When I was hunting for my urban town home in Ottawa, Canada, the following amenities were on my list. As I was new to the city, I used the 'Walkability' web to screen properties. I found an almost perfect little place in West Centretown. I do wish I was a bit closer to the canal -- especially in winter!

1. A Bakery
2. A Liquor store (this is Ontario and we have to shop at Provincial-run outlets)
3. A dog park (My dog needs a place to run free)
4. A neighborhood market or grocery store.
5. A neighborhood diner.
6. Walking distance to the canal.

We lived in the countryside since 1988 where you can't walk anywhere. So I'm thrilled to move back to a big city where we'll have

1. three grocery stores
2. a pharmacy
3. a bakery
4. a pizzeria
5. an ice cream parlor (smile)
6. a dry cleaner
7. a weekly farmers market
8. public transportation galore

within 500 meters. Plus a fantastic shopping center within 2 kilometers, accessible through a park.

I really love to walk (not as an extra "workout" but as a part of everyday life) and can hardly wait to move.

I initially chose my apartment because it was big, affordable and had a deck, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how walkable it is. So far I can walk to the following:
1. Grocery store
2. Laundry
3. Coffee shops
4. Dozens of places to eat/drink, including my new favorite bar
5. A small but nice park
6. A hair salon (my newest find, and 2 doors down)

Plus there is 24 hour bus transit into NYC right at my corner.
I'm loving all of this and it is nice to be able to really cut down on driving.

@food-lover, thanks for suggesting that interesting site.

I can walk to several cafes, severals bars and restaurants, antiques stores, nail salons, hair salons, shops, green, laundry, library, liquor store, CVS, ATM, book store, sushi, other shops, so much! I can't walk to the grocery store, which only stinks when there's something I need immidiately, and if it's something other than food I can walk to CVS. The grocery store and Home Depot are right next to each other and just a quick and easy drive. There's also a HUGE mall downtown, and I'm just a quick drive from downtown, which inclues beautiful scenery, a lovely state house, a river, nightlife, art studios, theaters... I'm so spoiled!

And if you're wondering... I live in Providence.

Virtually everything I need is in a 1 km from our flat here in Hong Kong. Public transport (train, trolley, public light bus, ferries, botanical garden, cafés, restaurants, bars/pubs, library, city hall, U.S. Consulate (handy since I need to renew my passport), banks, grocery stores, drugstores, wet market, flower stalls, pet stores, liquor stores, convenience stores, bookstores, stationary stores, hardware stores, temples and churches, dry cleaners, art galleries, gyms, post office, hospital, printers, photo developers, doctor/dentist office, hair salon, spa, and even a major mall.

I admit that we're extremely lucky for all these conveniences.

The beach!

I used to live in a Chicago neighborhood that had everything...EVERYTHING...within walking distance. Bus, train, gym, groceries, bars, coffee shops, restaurants, pharmacy, farmers market, clothes stores, cheese shop, churches, schools, vet, park, friends, yoga, nail salon, hair salon, hardware store, I could go on and on and on. I miss it. I miss it a lot.

1. public transit (bus and train)
2. grocery store

everything else is just icing!

Oooh, I forgot Ace hardware store! So very thankful to have that just down the street when I am embroiled in my latest pipe-dream reno plan!

I agree with LadyLara, grocery store and public transport need to be within walking distance. 15 minutes and my bike later and the world (well, the city) is my oyster, so not much else is actually needed. Though I do appreciate some of the stuff that I do have within close proximity, including
park
metro (and not just a bus stop)
various types of stores that I freguent (used books, new books, paint, etc)
beach
hospital (came in handy once!)
friends

I guess I don't need anything as when I lived in Dallas I had a 7-11 half a block away and I drove to it. I am shocked now that I did that back but people just get used to not walking to places when you live in Dallas. If I did walk somewhere people would stop and asked if I needed a ride because they assumed my car broke down.

We live in a house in a walkable neighborhood. Within one mile there are several nice grocery stores and one natural food coop, a couple of gas stations, four pharmacies, two full service hardware stores, around three dozen restaurants, ranging from casual to fine dining, a series of parks, several schools, and our village, which has all kinds of cute shops and eateries. We are two miles away from a major regional medical center and med. school. We're in a middle sized midwestern city--while we don't hoof it when there are 2-3 feet of snow on the ground, we do walk a lot in summer. We didn't choose the neighborhood for its walkability, but I would now have that as a priority if we were to move.

In NYC:
1. Public transport (subway, bus, railroad)
2. 24/7 drugstore/pharmacy (CVS, etc.)
3. Fruit/Vegetable stands
4. laundromat and/or dry cleaners
5. Newsstands

Lived in downtown Boston a few years back. Only ONE supermarket (a cab ride away); no fruit/veggie stands, no newsstands. Ugh.

Note: Supermarket doesn't have to be walking distance. In fact, most in walking distance have high prices and lousy stock, assortment.

However, a short bus ride away are tons of specialty food stores and markets with great assortment, good prices. (When needed, we get Fresh Direct delivery.)

Also must-have: Restaurants that deliver. Again, when living in Boston, nobody delivered. Not even a few blocks away. Unreal.

Now back in 24/7 NYC. Thankfully. (Met a neighbor last nite at 2 a.m. who was working late and had just gone out for some pizza and food all found within two blocks of our apt. building. Love the city!)

1. Fresh produce market
2. Bakery
3. Cafe/bar/restaurant
4. Newstand
5. Park in the summer, movie theatre in the winter

I prefer laundry in the building. Not fun to have to lug things around town in order to wash.

1. Grocery Store and Farmers Market
2. Greenspace/Park for us and our dog.
3. Movie Theater is nice.
4. Well-lit streets! (Walking downtown in the dark is not fun.)
5. Restaurants, cafes, etc.
6. Public Transportation

My new address has a walkability score of 86. I'm gong to be across the street from a supermarket, a gas station, a pet store, and a post office. Within a few blocks there are coffee shops, pizza joints, small indie/ethnic grocery stores, bars, and a beautiful hike/bike trail that runs at least the length of the city. I love Columbus :)

I'm in DC - these would be my top 5.
1. a bus stop on a bus line that will take me to work
2. an affordable grocery store
3. bikeshare station
4. bars
5. friends