The Triumph of Suburbia: Despite Downtown Hype, Americans Choose Sprawl (Austin: buy, construction)

[Trainwreck20]

There's a small number of suburban bashers I've noticed that get a lot of attention.

And a smaller number of urban bashers....

[mayfair44]

Originally Posted by steve78757

1) There are greenbelts in the central core
2) Great for you and the .00001% of other people who want to "build" mountain bike trails
3) You obviously like mountain biking
4) That's a plus for sure. But there are trade offs. Giant Sycamores and Cottonwoods are everywhere in my neighborhood.
5) Why care about that? We need to stop classifying ourselves and others. It's not doing us any good as a society. Should I say I like my neighborhood because it's full of white people? No. It's a bit insulting.
6) There are cul-de-sacs in the urban core.
7) Motivated kids, who will typically have highly involved parents, will excel and get a great education regardless if their school is ranked #1, like LASA, or #10 like McCallum.
8) It's pretty quiet in many core neighborhoods. You'd be surprised.
9) Unless you live downtown, parking isn't really an issue.
10) Wow, you can't lose in the suburbs can you? Just the right amount of people huh? Hopefully no more people will move out to where you're at and disturb your perfect equilibrium. But I'm sure that won't happen.

Honestly, be happy with what you've got. But all the "urban core" bashing going on here reeks of insecurity.

Must've gone over the bars, riding the most epic and gnarliest singletrack found in town, just behind his house....

[JLO]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Living in suburbia is not just about cost. There are amenities that cant be had for any price in the central core. For example

1) my house backs up to a greenbelt. I can literally go out my backyard into one the most technically challenging mountain bike trails in town. We also can hike and camp there.
2) Im able to build mountain bike trails.
3) Im within biking (10-15 minutes) distance to another 40-50 miles of good technical mtb trails
4) We have great hill country views.
5) Our schools are 25-50% asian (we are asian).
6) We are in a cul de sac and our neighbors hang out every day. We dont get anyone driving through that doesnt belong there. Our kids can play in the cul de sac, not just on a sidewalk. Not so for a through street.
7) Our schools are some of the top rated in the entire city (laurel mountain, canyon vista, westwood)
8) it is quiet, we dont have a lot people driving or walking through
9) Plenty of parking for when we have parties with 60 people
10) It isnt crowded where we feel like there are people everywhere, but it is crowded enough that there are always neighbors out and about.
11) HOA to make sure neighbors take care of their house

If you read my earlier post, I wholeheartedly agree with the benefits and amenities in suburbia that can't be found in the central core.

But the cost I mentioned for living in suburbia is not just about giving up greenery, but the cost of commute time. As I stated earlier too, some schools in Suburbia are top notch. However, if you commute to the city, it's hard to enjoy beautiful trails and green belts at home in when you're stuck in traffic during rush hour. We did the commute several years ago when we lived in Austin. Traffic was much less intense back then. We spent more time thinking about the bike trails and the pool at home than actually enjoying them during the week. Why? Because when you live 15-20 miles outside the city, the commute is costly in time spent in traffic.

But you always have the weekends, I guess? So you have to measure the cost of aesthetic beauty vs. the cost of time spent behind a wheel. Being central is ideal for commute time. For greenery and biking trails, it is not. There's a cost to pay one way or the other.


So, living in suburbia is about COST. You trade a long commute time (assuming you commute to the city) for greenery, trails, etc. There's a COST to commuting ... and it's measured in time away from your family ... unless of course you work from home. And given Austin's traffic situation, commute time is a cost to consider.

[steve78757]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

And a smaller number of urban bashers....

That's just not the case. The trend, for those on both sides, seems to be to prop up where you are while throwing subtle, or not so subtle, jabs at the other side. With the vast majority of posters here living in the burbs the result is going to end up being lopsided. Unless you believe that, in general, the suburban posters are more civil.

[Trainwreck20]

No, it seems that suburbanites tend to justify why they live where they live and most 'urbanites' the same thing, with the jabs being thrown back and forth occasionally, but more in a defensive manner than anything else. Then, there are one or two posters who seem to actively and vigorously oppose the suburbs in general. I do not recall (maybe I missed it) anyone from the suburbs opposing the concept of a urban core, only their personal residence there.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by steve78757

I'd guess 90% of the people on this forum live in the suburbs. There's a small number of suburban bashers I've noticed that get a lot of attention. Try decaf.

And you can perceive my emotions through a computer screen? Because I happen to say that these types of topics "suck" and I use an "!"....That's quite the talent that you have, Steve.

I'm not riled up, but thanks for your concern. I just find it funny that you mention "urban core bashers" when there are quite a fair number of "suburban bashers". 90% suburbanite is a pretty high number and definitely a guesstimate. Please point out the many urban core bashing topics.

[steve78757]

Originally Posted by JLO

If you read my earlier post, I wholeheartedly agree with the benefits and amenities in suburbia that can't be found in the central core.

But the cost I mentioned for living in suburbia is not just about giving up greenery, but the cost of commute time. As I stated earlier too, some schools in Suburbia are top notch. However, if you commute to the city, it's hard to enjoy beautiful trails and green belts at home in when you're stuck in traffic during rush hour. We did the commute several years ago when we lived in Austin. Traffic was much less intense back then. We spent more time thinking about the bike trails and the pool at home than actually enjoying them during the week. Why? Because when you live 15-20 miles outside the city, the commute is costly in time spent in traffic.

But you always have the weekends, I guess? So you have to measure the cost of aesthetic beauty vs. the cost of time spent behind a wheel. Being central is ideal for commute time. For greenery and biking trails, it is not. There's a cost to pay one way or the other.


So, living in suburbia is about COST. You trade a long commute time (assuming you commute to the city) for greenery, trails, etc. There's a COST to commuting ... and it's measured in time away from your family ... unless of course you work from home. And given Austin's traffic situation, commute time is a cost to consider.

Your assumptions are incorrect. Greenery is abundant in the central core, we're talking massive trees everywhere. (downtown being the obvious exception) There are also tons of bike trails. This is exactly what I was talking about in my last post.

[steve78757]

Originally Posted by riaelise

And you can perceive my emotions through a computer screen? Because I happen to say that these types of topics "suck" and I use an "!"....That's quite the talent that you have, Steve.

Exclamation points are YOUR way of expressing your emotion. I was going by what you typed. If you want people thinking you are calm, I would recommend NOT using exclamation points. Sheesh.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

No, it seems that suburbanites tend to justify why they live where they live and most 'urbanites' the same thing, with the jabs being thrown back and forth occasionally, but more in a defensive manner than anything else. Then, there are one or two posters who seem to actively and vigorously oppose the suburbs in general. I do not recall (maybe I missed it) anyone from the suburbs opposing the concept of a urban core, only their personal residence there.

Ah, amidst the din, an objective post. TW, my hat to you sir

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by steve78757

Exclamation points are YOUR way of expressing your emotion. I was going by what you typed. If you want people thinking you are calm, I would recommend NOT using exclamation points. Sheesh.

A single exclamation point denotes emphasis. There is absolutely nothing in my post that shows anything more than making a counterpoint to your post. You can interpret whatever way you would like to interpret my post..I really don't give a flip...but I would recommend you take a chill pill too, my friend. There is no need to be an ass unnecessarily here. Sheesh.