I absolutely loved the late 1960s/early 1970s TV show "Family Affair."

Every week I watched as well-to-do bachelor and civil engineer Bill Davis raised his brother's orphaned children: 15-year-old Cissy and 6-year-old twins, Buffy and Jody. You may recall, "Uncle Bill" did so with the help of his traditional English gentleman's gentleman, Mr. Giles French.

I was enamored with everything about "Family Affair," especially the two younger kids (about my age at the time) growing up in New York City, shepherded about by proper yet kindly Mr. French, strolling through a park chock full of children, lush with greenery and covered by a blue sky too gorgeous to be real. Their luxurious Manhattan apartment's balcony, especially at night, looked to me like the most magical place on earth.

I've been flashing back to the show since my family and I rented a condominium in Broad Ripple. With its wrought iron balconies, outdoor terraces, stucco exterior and European-inspired architecture, ours is more pied-à -terre than condo - a 21st century chance to live like the Davises.

A chance to live not in a subdivision or on a large plot of land but rather right in the heart of one of our fair city's happening places. And while it's in the middle of the country, it's as Parisian as any townhome I've seen in the City of Lights.

How could we pass up the opportunity?

It started simply enough. We'd been trying for years, off and on, to find the perfect buyer for our house without much luck. As is often the case when you want something too much, a bit of Zen philosophy came into play. There's a Zen Kōan (think mental oxymoron) that goes something like, "You'll never get what you want until you're prepared to give it up."

And sure enough, just when we decided to forget about selling, install new carpet and settle back in, our real estate agent brought a wonderful client. He loved the house, and in the span of 24 hours, we had a fair offer on the table that we gladly accepted.

We became fast friends with our buyer. In addition to being immensely successful, he's bigger than life and blessed with a great sense of humor. We had sold our home, and we knew it was in good hands.

Which left just one small matter to be dealt with: finding somewhere else to live in a hurry until we purchase another home. Again, fate intervened. After looking at apartments that seemed too small - after seven years in the same house, our stuff had spawned stuff and that stuff, even more (just like the Tribbles on "Star Trek") - a buddy told me about his brother and sister-in-law's place. Seems they are on temporary assignment out of the country, and the condo we now call home was available for lease.

We live next to the Monon Trail. Our cars often sit idle in the garage, as we ride bikes and walk most everywhere. We love the melting pot that is Broad Ripple, with both people and restaurants from virtually every corner of the world. But having a park right around the corner, with kids for our two to play with, has been the big hit for our family.

Even our 6-pound pooch is finding new friends, including a nearly 190-pound Great Dane that ours thinks she outweighs.

We talk with neighbors every day and are much more welcoming of those we don't know yet. The park has become our backyard, just like it was for Buffy and Jody. We're having a great adventure in the city.

If only we had a butler . . . anyone have Mr. French's cell?

Jeffrey Cohen, Editor-in-Chief Sophisticated Living Magazine

jeff@slmag.net