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Exactly. In fact, they would probably find the question laughable because no matter what changed in the nearby suburb, they'd still like living in the city. They live in cities because they like living in them.
And the same is true of most suburbanites. Most of us live in the burbs because we like living in them. It really wouldn't matter what changed in the nearby city, we'd still like living in the burbs.
I agree with you, but I had urbanites trying to tell me otherwise, thats why I'm asking yall the question.
we used to live in the City of alex, in an apt and with our DD in a private school. We wanted more space and to switch to public school, and while we looked in the urban areas, we found given prices, etc, it made more sense for us to move to Fairfax (where we live now is only semi suburan - its a townhouse, in a relatively close in (but not very walkable) suburb) and I commute by transit most of the time.
now that our DD is in college, we definitely want to move back. We have some decluttering and similar steps to do - but the "cities" here (DC and Alexandria) are already enticing (as are a few walkable TOD areas in suburban jurisdictions) - the most enticing nabes though are pricey, the result of many other people having preferences similar to ours - the market however is bringing a stream of new housing options in those areas on line, many jurisdictions are advancing plans to improve transit etc to make more such areas available, and the steady drop in the urban crime rate makes more such areas seem doable. Its an exciting time.
you might ask people what kind of housing they live in now. Clearly its hard to find affordable SFHs in high density areas (there are of course low density SFH areas in many cities, but lets leave that aside for now) However many suburbanites in fact live in apartments, hi rise and low rise, and in townhouses (and I am not referring to walkable TOD areas in the suburbs). Some do so because of the suburban location of their work places, some because of preferences for certain schools, and some because its cheaper than at least the more desirable areas in more urban areas.
The other day I had dinner with some people in Loudoun County Va, a relatively distant suburb. They lived in a "stacked townhouse" = back in brooklyn we would have called it a two family. Not a garden in site. Heck, it made my nabe growing up look rustic - it looked like what I imagine some middle class parts of central London look like. I am pretty sure they lived there because of a combo of housing prices and job location.
I prefer older, core suburbs. For me, they have the mix of things I want. Decent schools, city services and the ability to have a small yard. I don't want to live in a high rise or even low rise but a flat or small house is fine.
The core burbs I have lived in are more walkable than the cities I've lived in. I can walk to stores, restaurants, etc and don't need a car much. The cities lacked these things making me use a car more.
I'd have no problem moving to a city that offered me the same lifestyle I enjoy now.
The other day I had dinner with some people in Loudoun County Va, a relatively distant suburb. They lived in a "stacked townhouse" = back in brooklyn we would have called it a two family. Not a garden in site. Heck, it made my nabe growing up look rustic - it looked like what I imagine some middle class parts of central London look like. I am pretty sure they lived there because of a combo of housing prices and job location.
Indeed, there are a wide variety of places you can live in the burbs--and it's good of you to point that out. So often people assume that there's nothing in the burbs but cookie cutter houses. Actually, you can find all sorts of housing (even though it's true that the sfh is more prevalent).
As a person who lives in Loudoun, I'm guessing you must mean these townhouses in Lansdowne? They're about the only ones I can think of that might have units with postage stamp-sized yard space. Here's a photo when they were first built (stores are in the foreground, with the townhomes on the next block).
We do have our share of people out here who like "smart design" (i.e. living next to or above stores in a Town Center) and it's good of you to point out that those people can also have their needs met and live out in the burbs (although to be honest the townhomes in Lansdowne didn't sell as quickly as the sfh's. Of course, that was when they were first built, and maybe things have changed since then).
It's a bit of an exaggeration to say there's no gardens in sight, however--the town center has park areas that have flowers, and you can clearly see the yards of the sfh neighborhoods from the town houses. I suppose you could argue that you see the fronts of the houses, which look like this, and not the gardens in the back. Here are the Lansdowne sfh's.
If you mean the townhouses in Cascades, you can see from the photos below that they actually do have a lawn or small garden space in front, as well as larger bits of land in the back of the units.
Some of the suburbs in the Youngstown area were originally small towns. Canfield, for example, was the original county seat for Mahoning County. So, if the suburbs around here weren't so much more expensive than the city, if they had better transportation options for a non-driver, had more useful retail options in their old town centers, (instead of just antique stores and restaurants) and if my boss moved our office near one of these locations, I'd definitely consider living in the old town centers of these suburbs.
I've gotten into a debate with other posters on the cities and suburbs about this topic. My question:
1. Did you move to the suburbs because of the city issues, or because you just wanted to live in the suburbs?
2. What are the issues you have with the city?
3. If the city fixed their issues, would you move back to the city?
Discuss
I am assuming the use of the word city in this case is the dense inner core of an urbanized area while the word suburb in this case is the outlying, less dense areas of an urbanized area.
1. I was raised in a suburb. I work in a suburb. I live another suburb so I commute between suburbs.
I am assuming the use of the word city in this case is the dense inner core of an urbanized area while the word suburb in this case is the outlying, less dense areas of an urbanized area.
1. I was raised in a suburb. I work in a suburb. I live another suburb so I commute between suburbs.
2. None.
3. No reason to do so.
When I mean city, I mean within city limits. Suburbs would be outside city limits.
When I mean city, I mean within city limits. Suburbs would be outside city limits.
From what I can tell the city limits of LA are rather random, in many places the only way you could tell you were outside of the city limits would be if you looked at a map. Many suburbs are indistinguishable from LA itself.
By your definition of suburb, Compton would be a suburb; much more dangerous that the city itself. Logical, but probably not what you had in mind.
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