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I know that this is an extremely unpopular opinion these days but..
Everybody and their mama likes to talk about how the suburbs are going to be dead in XYZ years and how the cities will be where it's at soon!
But I don't see the value of living in a city besides for the close commute to work (assuming you're CBD is even in a major job center).
- Suburbs allow for a high quality of life that even moderate-income people can afford. Believe it or not, there's plenty of affordable and reasonably-nice suburban areas outside of most cities (if you settle for an "okay" school system as opposed to a top-notch one).
- Most of the cities over-glorified like Manhattan, San Francisco and DC are priced SKY-HIGH and almost completely impossible for regular middle class people to give their family even a basic middle class quality of life (having their own room, a backyard to play in, a school to pay field sports in, a private swimming pool, clean air, etc). In most other developed countries, the middle class would KILL to live in even a basic single-family home where their families had even a fraction of this.
- If you live in the suburbs and want access to the "culture", amenities, museums and unique restaurants that cities offer then you can just take the train or drive into the city and spend a weekend day there; and travel back home for the peace and comfort of the suburbs when your tired of all the mayhem.
- Most city residents with means have to pay for expensive private schools for their children or PRAY that they get into a 'charter school/specialized high school' in order to give them a quality education. Usually the property taxes in most suburbs pay for at least a decent education.
I agree with the OP. I would not live in a city of more than 500,000 population, as I would not want to live with all that noise and traffic congestion. I live in a Denver suburb, and my husband and I have a "big night out" one time a year that we go to downtown Denver, and every time, we do, I wonder if it is really worth it -- and, btw, I have felt that way for ALL of my adult life.
As far as why suburbs are "bashed", I actually haven't noticed that so much except from some extremely liberal forum posters or people in the media. It seems to me that some people think that if someone likes living in the suburbs (which, I think, have been traditionally upper-lower to lower-upper class and white), it translates to him or her being racist and/or dull. However, I think it just means that most suburbanites just feel like I do -- that we just prefer a cleaner and quieter environment.
Last edited by katharsis; 03-19-2018 at 06:39 PM..
I live in the suburbs now and I'm very happy with a great quality of life and great place to raise a family. But our next house is going to be in the country.
I have to put that down to the globalists and their Agenda 21 plan (basically to imprison the population in urban centers so as to solidify power and control over society).
I have to put that down to the globalists and their Agenda 21 plan (basically to imprison the population in urban centers so as to solidify power and control over society).
"...the insane manufactured anthropogenic global warming claim and global climate change claim by the United Nation. The tin pot dictators at the U.N. are only interested in redistribution of wealth, population control, the buildup of megacities, and global governance under the U.N. aegis. How would they build these mega regions, mega cities? The plans are already underway in the form of destroying the American suburbs, the family, the way we purchase and own homes and apartments, and by depopulating rural areas."
These people are certifiable crackpots.
Last edited by citylove101; 03-20-2018 at 05:56 PM..
I know that this is an extremely unpopular opinion these days but..
Everybody and their mama likes to talk about how the suburbs are going to be dead in XYZ years and how the cities will be where it's at soon!
But I don't see the value of living in a city besides for the close commute to work (assuming you're CBD is even in a major job center).
- Suburbs allow for a high quality of life that even moderate-income people can afford. Believe it or not, there's plenty of affordable and reasonably-nice suburban areas outside of most cities (if you settle for an "okay" school system as opposed to a top-notch one).
- Most of the cities over-glorified like Manhattan, San Francisco and DC are priced SKY-HIGH and almost completely impossible for regular middle class people to give their family even a basic middle class quality of life (having their own room, a backyard to play in, a school to pay field sports in, a private swimming pool, clean air, etc). In most other developed countries, the middle class would KILL to live in even a basic single-family home where their families had even a fraction of this.
- If you live in the suburbs and want access to the "culture", amenities, museums and unique restaurants that cities offer then you can just take the train or drive into the city and spend a weekend day there; and travel back home for the peace and comfort of the suburbs when your tired of all the mayhem.
- Most city residents with means have to pay for expensive private schools for their children or PRAY that they get into a 'charter school/specialized high school' in order to give them a quality education. Usually the property taxes in most suburbs pay for at least a decent education.
You're completely correct, IMO. Most of the people bashing suburbs are pretentious idiots with no kids, or people who are rich enough to pay for a quality of life that will never be attainable for the average person.
It's easy to commit to $25,000 per year nursery school when you have a lot of money, but the average person needs an environment where they can raise their kids that doesn't cost so much to avoid a deprived childhood.
Cities work well for the very rich, and to some degree for the poor; not so much for everybody else.
One of my girlfriends bashes suburbs because they are often designed to be inefficient.
As compared to the parking/crime/COL and everything else in a city? Please. While we've moved to the country a few years ago we were in the burbs for many years. Parking was easy. While crime exists everywhere it was certainly much lower in our NOVA burb compared to DC or Baltimore. No doubt the home prices can't even compare. We were in a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with an acre for 28 years. Bought it for 92,500. Can't find that in a city. No doubt the city has many advantages, for those who can tolerate all of the other issues that come with it.
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