Pavlína Newerlová, U Opavice 4, August 7, 2018
“It’s like living in a village here.”
Pavlína and Radek Newerla (both born in the mid 1960s) represent the second generation of the U Opavice coop residents. They moved here in 1987, only six months after they applied for a cooperative housing at the local national committee. Until then they lived with Pavlína’s parents, along with Pavlína’s three siblings, in the nearby village of Slavkov, which made for a cramped life. Radek (who was not present at the interview) works as an asphalt paver in road construction and commutes to work, often long distances. Pavlína’s job is in a bakery in Opava, and she often works night shifts. When the couple moved to their U Opavice 4 flat in the mid 1980s, there were only a few families with children living here. Pavlína and Radek ended up raising two sons and a daughter here. From her upbringing in a village Pavlína did not look forward to moving into a flat, but she had to get used to it. She likes that the U Opavice apartment buildings are not like a typical apartment housing development (sídliště). The neighborhood reminds Pavlína of a village, because of the river with swans and ducks, of the nearby park, barking dogs and close proximity to lots of nature.
