Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
...Yes, I would. Gas has gone over $4 a gallon here a few times. Not ideal, but it didn't prevent me from going anywhere.
...That's purely hypothetical and unlikely to get to that extreme anytime soon, so I'm not concerned in the least about it nor has it ever even crossed my mind.
Great . I'm glad you don't think about things that are hypothetical. What is not hypothetical is the fact the gas will never be as cheap as it was 10 years ago. Supply and Demand. The demand for gas continues to go up while the supply continues to decline.
I can't wait () for the time when the "easy" 10, 20, 30 minute commute into the city for work, entertainment, etc. becomes a significant part of the daily budget, not the "paltry" $4 a gallon, but the $6, $7, and $8 a gallon. And then we get to hear people moan and complain about how much they pay a month for gas to get to work, and how there's no more money for them to do anything and the government needs to give them more tax breaks so they can continue to live 10, 20, 30 miles from the things they use on a daily basis.
Me, on the other hand, know how much it costs to get around for a month. $86. I know EXACTLY how much money I need to move about the city. Can that be said for a lifestyle that revolves around a personal car?
Here's the kicker: My monthly transportation costs would be less if the people in the suburbs moved into the city! Can you say the opposite is true? I don't think so.
Roughly 800,000 people use the CTA trains a day. If the number of people riding the trains doubles to about 1,600,000 a day my monthly transportation tab WILL GO DOWN. More people paying into the system means that less money is required from every rider. Plus, more people means that services can be extended, lines can be expanded, and completely new rail can be put in place.
While people "escape" the city for a home dozens of miles away, they help to raise the cost of public transportation. 800,000 to 400,000 riders means, generally, a double in fare price to continue to offer the services that were provided at a lower price. Add to that the fact that people are using more gas on a daily basis just to live "outside" the city and gas prices have risen much faster and steadier than if a majority of people lived within a 10 minute WALK or BIKE RIDE to a variety of stores and services. Furthermore, it drives up the prices for bus fares because buses still run on oil.
On top of all this, A LOT of places are denied new transit options because the people not living in the city are loud and vocal in not giving money to something they don't use directly. Oblivious to the fact that if more people got off the road their gasoline expenditures for a month would fall, or remain very constant. My parents could have saved 1,000's of miles on the car, roads, and interstates and 100's of gallons of gas a year if they only stayed in the city. There is less gasoline available for you or anyone else to use because my parents wanted to live in a house with a big yard. A big yard that really isn't used for much. And a house that is far from a vast majority of things they use on a daily basis. Not selfish at all .
My criteria isn't so much suburbs vs city. It is walkable sustainable area vs sprawl.
You can have walkability, sustainability, and a sense of community in a city, small town, or a suburb. I just never will understand what people find in housing subdivisions, or very large spaced out exurban areas.
I grew up in a exurban housing plan. I hated it then, and I still just will never get the appeal. Ever since I graduated college I have been in the areas I described above; walkable and sustainable. It was sad, I was 19 and went to State College and was amazed I could walk down the street to things like a market, dinner, or and stores. This never was inconsideration of ours as where I grew up you had to have keys to get to a strip mall. Then I moved to different big cities in downtown areas or city neighborhoods along with one street car suburb of Philly.
Then I got a job in a not so nice city in Pennsylvania after living in my most favorite walkable community oriented place of Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh. I didn't want to live in Reading, PA anymore so I chosen a small town with a vibrant main street and a park across the street. I still find it desirable.
But I am a father, and I will still never use the excuse as a good school to living in a subdivision, soulless, characterless, exurban area. Never will. There are options and there are good schools in cities and sustainable suburbs as well. My parents part of the boomer generation never get why I like these areas and find this subdivision living as desirable. They don't grasp why I like older housing in real actual towns or city neighborhoods. I just will never grasp their idea of living. I like old houses with charm, walkable areas, and a sense of community. Suburbs vs city isn't it. It is more of sustainable community vs I don't even know what you really consider these sprawly subdivisions. Just a lot of cheap housing to say you have something more. Maybe it's a status symbol. I just don't get it.
What I don't get is why so many people act like the fact that they live in an urban community automatically makes them a better human being than people that choose to live in the burbs.
I also wouldn't mind and would probably prefer living in a small but urban minded city like Portland Maine or Burlington Vt which are same population as a lot of suburbs.
Well everyone has their preference. Sometimes suburbanites may feel as if their enviroment is superior to what they see as the 'ghetto' they have upgraded from, while urbanites may view them as uppity, dwelling in 'maufactured', sterile developments. This is no excuse for rudeness. Just an observation.
What I don't get is why so many people act like the fact that they live in an urban community automatically makes them a better human being than people that choose to live in the burbs.
Did I ever say I was a better human being? Did I state that anywhere in that post? I stated my opinion that I don't see what people see in subdivisions and stripmalls. But did I say EVER that I was a "better human being".
My post offers my opinions. But I never put anybody down for subdivision living except that I don't grasp what they see in it.
Can anybody on this forum point out where I stated I was on a higher level because I don't grasp what one sees in subdivisions and stripmalls. I would appreciate it.
Anyways, I don't even live in a "urban" environment. I live in a 5K town in the middle of Dutch Amish farm land in Pennsylvania.
Did I ever say I was a better human being? Did I state that anywhere in that post? I stated my opinion that I don't see what people see in subdivisions and stripmalls. But did I say EVER that I was a "better human being".
My post offers my opinions. But I never put anybody down for subdivision living except that I don't grasp what they see in it.
Can anybody on this forum point out where I stated I was on a higher level because I don't grasp what one sees in subdivisions and stripmalls. I would appreciate it.
Anyways, I don't even live in a "urban" environment. I live in a 5K town in the middle of Dutch Amish farm land in Pennsylvania.
Thanks
I wasn't talking about you specifically. I'm talking about the general tone many in this forum takes.
I really don't give a care what rude urban city people have to say about the suburbs. Matter fact, I am glad they are staying clear away from them. More room for the nice and and kind families to move in so I can be neighbors with.
There are no words to describe how much I love and enjoy the suburbs and those souless cultureless and homogenous subdivisions. I love everything about them. The lanscaping, the trees, the peace & quiet, the brightness, the non-congested streets, the clean air, the wide open spaces. My goodness. So many things I love. I mean, just sitting in the large backyard of my own house, relaxing on the chair with the sun shining and the breeze blowing, there is nothing better or more peaceful to me. Besides doing that at a beach. I could never get that peaceful and happy moment in the city.
What makes the suburbs just completely awesome to me is the family atmosphere. Society has gotten so x-rated about everything that the family is being attacked and destroyed. The suburbs is one of the few places where the family and the atmosphere is still valued. I absolutely loved having family and friends over when I lived in the suburbs. We're talking backyard BBQ-ing, partying, watching sports and movies, going to places, experiencing christmas & thanksgiving together, laughing, talking, and reflecting on the memories at the dinner table. Wow. I mean those are amazing moments of life that are so much more pleasant when you actually have space in your house to support so many people. To have a place where we can just gather together and interact as a family is nothing short of a blessing. One that many people in the city don't have because there's not enough space.
City people say they feel sorry for us? I feel sorry for them! Still in the hustle and buste dog-eat-dog mentality of city life. You only have 1 life! And it's very short! Why waste it in a stressful and potentially dangerous enviroment on the false hope that one day you will be rich? More than likely, it's not going to happen. So I don't get it.
Did I ever say I was a better human being? Did I state that anywhere in that post? I stated my opinion that I don't see what people see in subdivisions and stripmalls. But did I say EVER that I was a "better human being".
My post offers my opinions. But I never put anybody down for subdivision living except that I don't grasp what they see in it.
Can anybody on this forum point out where I stated I was on a higher level because I don't grasp what one sees in subdivisions and stripmalls. I would appreciate it.
Anyways, I don't even live in a "urban" environment. I live in a 5K town in the middle of Dutch Amish farm land in Pennsylvania.
Thanks
I totally agree with your first post and your rebuttal here. Your insight in how the built environment around you inherently affects your happiness and life satisfaction led you to realize that a walkable, connected community is exactly what gives you that. You don't need to necessarily live in the city to get that, but you do need a certain level of density. You never said you were superior to anyone- just that you have insight.
I'm with you. There is nothing so calming and comforting as knowing that you don't need to hop in your car everyday to live a great life with your community.
...and you can get all from the post above mine without living in soulless suburbs always dependent on your car. Trust me, there are plenty of wonderful gatherings of family and friends in the smaller houses, gardens, balconies and porches in cities, streetcar suburbs and compact towns and have been for 1000s of years. Some of us thrive on a more vibrant, connected community and don't find it stressful or dangerous at all.
City people say they feel sorry for us? I feel sorry for them! Still in the hustle and buste dog-eat-dog mentality of city life. You only have 1 life! And it's very short! Why waste it in a stressful and potentially dangerous enviroment
Isn't it actually more dangerous to live in the Suburbs?
I mean you have to drive more and sometimes drive greater distances, so your likelihood of being in a car accident is possible. Also suburban people tend to eat more fast food (Since I see tons of Fast Food places in the burbs), you really don't see that many fast food restaurants in urban areas. We all know fast food is full of processed, cancer filled meat, so the likelihood of you developing cancer, having a stroke or heart attack is greater, hospitals are also further distances from most suburban locations increasing the chances of harm.
Hustle and Bustle and stress is really ones perspective and is usually created upon themselves, everything around you might be fast and stressful but an individual could live in a slow paced/non hustle kind of life in a city.
The most stressful places these days could be in the many suburban cities in Florida, and California where jobs are scarce and homes are under serious water.
Last edited by brewcrew1000; 12-08-2011 at 01:56 PM..
My personal reason for hating the suburbs is that you are so isolated from everything. There wasn't a place I could get to without having to hop in a car.
I try to stay environmentally conscious, and getting in a car to drive ten minutes to the nearest Wal-Mart isn't exactly ideal.
I hated growing up in the suburbs. I had to wait until 16 to get my driver's license. Then, when I turned 16, it terrified me to drive because there were an insane amount of car accidents that happened in my suburb, and the surrounding suburbs where I lived.
I didn't want to have to drive everywhere. It was nerve-wracking, and still is. I don't enjoy driving like many suburbanites. I prefer to take public transportation. That way, I don't have to play the $3.59 per gallon, and I can focus on something else while I am being transported to my destination.
Looking back, I don't see how I benefited from living in the suburbs. I wish now that my parents hadn't followed what all their friends were doing in moving their families there.
I do not frown upon people who choose to live in the 'burbs. They all have their own reasons. If they want to live there, that's fine. I realize that not everyone wants to live inside the busy, bustling city.
Just don't criticize me and try to reason with me on why I would want to live in an apartment in such a "dirty, stressful, hassling place, crammed in with a whole bunch of other people and taking public transportation " instead of driving in a car and living in a 2,000 square foot house.
Last edited by musicislife.glee; 12-08-2011 at 02:26 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. I'm glad you don't think about things that are hypothetical. What is not hypothetical is the fact the gas will never be as cheap as it was 10 years ago. Supply and Demand. The demand for gas continues to go up while the supply continues to decline. 
) for the time when the "easy" 10, 20, 30 minute commute into the city for work, entertainment, etc. becomes a significant part of the daily budget, not the "paltry" $4 a gallon, but the $6, $7, and $8 a gallon. And then we get to hear people moan and complain about how much they pay a month for gas to get to work, and how there's no more money for them to do anything and the government needs to give them more tax breaks so they can continue to live 10, 20, 30 miles from the things they use on a daily basis.
" instead of driving in a car and living in a 2,000 square foot house. 
