I live between a giant contradiction, one that shouldn’t be questioned as much as it should be enjoyed. It’s a rare opportunity to be surrounded by such extremes.

The Ave, a mystical land of cultural foods and coffeehouse culture, is just a few blocks west of my house, which is sqaurely set within the UW’s greek community. However, outside of that is a sad place: the home of the many homeless youth.

The only thing that caused a decline in the number of drug users was organized gang activity that replaced the usual marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine sales. Once a place that Nordstrom called home — can you believe it? — the Ave is certainly not drawing the same type of crowd it did decades ago.

However, a short trip east down the viaduct lands you in the University Village, a place that draws exactly that crowd. They have nice, clean, upscale shops. The restaurants serve trendy, overpriced food. They even partner with nonprofit organizations for fundraising and awareness events.

Up until the early ‘90s, the U. Village wasn’t the mammoth it is today, and was mainly made up of small businesses rather than the national chains you see now. It is possibly one of the most posh places I’ve ever visited.

So how did these two absolutely different worlds emerge literally just blocks apart? A clear reason is social and residential expectations. But interestingly, many would argue that it was because of each other. The rise of chic, popular shops and restaurants in the U. Village competed with the village’s neighbor shop to the point that they were driven out of business, allowing opportunities for small entrepreneurs to step in.

In reality, it doesn’t matter how or why it happened, but I have always commented on how outright interesting it is that these two worlds exist so nearby with so little interaction. It’s rare to see a stereotypical “Ave Rat” in the U. Village, and I highly doubt my cousin would take her two young sons to get a meal on the Ave.

So, naturally, I start scaling this experiment larger in my mind and looking around to see if these things actually happen in other places. You start to notice that giant contradictions are everywhere. Just look at Washington, D.C. It’s the home of our federal government and arguably one of the most important cities in the United States. The Greco-Roman architecture and pristine Mall contrast strongly with the ghettos bordering ghettos.

I guess sometimes systems just work well ironically. I’m not telling you I think we should bring department stores back to the Ave — although Urban Outfitters is definitely making a pretty good showing as a trendy retail shop — or that we should kick Tommy Bahama and Pottery Barn out of the U. Village.

Things work well the way they are, and there are definite benefits to having two different worlds so nearby. Explore them both, and definitely don’t limit yourself to just one.

[Reach columnist Nick Feldman at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]