Living in close proximity to neighbors can sometimes lead to petty disagreements and clashes over various issues. From parking spaces and untidy gardens to noise disturbances and antisocial behavior, it’s not always easy to forge strong bonds with those living next door.
While there are instances of friendly neighbors who bring homemade cakes or help with parcel deliveries, the idyllic suburban dream often remains just that – a dream.
In the UK, we’ve seen people arguing over the most peculiar things, like spotting men enjoying cocktails in wheelie bins or resorting to chopping down half a tree out of spite. Some even go to great lengths, meticulously vacuuming their artificial turf daily to rid it of their neighbor’s blossom petals.
Located in the Olkuska Upland, less than 30 km north-west of Krakow, the village is lined on either side by sweeping fields.Łukasz Gągulski/PAP
But imagine a town where all 6,000 residents live on the same street. Sounds strange, right? Well, such a place exists in Europe, and surprisingly, its inhabitants seem to love it.
Known as “Little Tuscany” due to its unique layout, Sułoszowa is a village located in southern Poland, approximately 29 kilometers northwest of Kraków. Here, all the action takes place along a single, 9-kilometer street. According to CSO Poland, the village had a population of 5,819 as of 2017, and every resident lives harmoniously alongside one another, with long strips of land serving as their gardens.
The village gained attention after an aerial image of its unusual layout went viral on Twitter. In response, some of Sułoszowa’s inhabitants took the opportunity to share their experiences of living in such an extraordinary place.
“I wouldn’t trade this place for anything else. It has its own charm and atmosphere. As the saying goes, there’s something about it,” one resident remarked, adding, “The whole place looks the same: there is a house and then a strip of field, hence the beauty of the photos. One has grain, the other has rapeseed, and the third has something else. The colors look beautiful from above.”
Another image of Sułoszowa was shared on Reddit, prompting someone to inquire if each property had its own strip of farmland behind the houses. A fellow Redditor responded, “I just showed this to my Polish friend, and he said yes!”
They went on to explain, “Each house has that strip of land to do whatever on, hence different colors, and they are using the land for different purposes. Some grow crops on it, others have animals, some just leave it.”
With its 6,000 residents living on a single nine-kilometre-long street, Sułoszowa in Lesser Poland is one of the longest so-called ‘streetscapes’, a common name for villages where buildings are positioned directly on one street.
At first, the notion of an entire town residing on a single street may seem perplexing, but for the residents of Sułoszowa, it has become a way of life they wouldn’t trade for anything else. The uniformity of houses juxtaposed with the diversity of the land, with its varying colors and uses, adds to the village’s unique charm.
While many struggle to get along with just a handful of neighbors, the people of Sułoszowa have found a sense of community and contentment in their distinctive living arrangement. It goes to show that even the most unconventional living situations can offer unexpected beauty and a sense of belonging.