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Europe does not have the every man for himself mentality that America does. The average person in Europe is happy to pay higher taxes because of all the benefits that comes out of it. Of course in America, most of that money would end up in the pockets of the oligarchs and politicians.
Not all suburbs are the same. You got the Cold War era suburbs that emerged after WW2 with the more cookie cutter houses and then you got the ugly McMansion HOAs even more soulless and generic, and a lot of strip malls and chain towns without much character, but you also got the older more established suburbs with tall trees, houses with actual craftsmanship, a bit of actual character. The latter is ideal for me. I love suburbs with tall Victorians and streets that are shaded by green canopies of trees. I don't see why so many people find the idea that many people like to own a house with a yard, so bizzare.
The bigger picture of what's depressing is the economy's dependence on endless growth and housing-starts aka more sprawl. Many leading economic indicators are just markers of brainless growth which center around sprawl and consumer gluttony.
And we have a newer type of urban sprawl in the form of industrial wind turbines which turn the countryside into an ugly extension of the city. Nobody is doing much about it except planning for more of it.
Not all suburbs are the same. You got the Cold War era suburbs that emerged after WW2 with the more cookie cutter houses and then you got the ugly McMansion HOAs even more soulless and generic, and a lot of strip malls and chain towns without much character, but you also got the older more established suburbs with tall trees, houses with actual craftsmanship, a bit of actual character. The latter is ideal for me. I love suburbs with tall Victorians and streets that are shaded by green canopies of trees. I don't see why so many people find the idea that many people like to own a house with a yard, so bizzare.
I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with residential areas with detached single family houses. The crux is that such residential areas in Europe are walkable and bike-friendly. Grocery stores and other shops for daily needs are mostly in walking distance.
The difference is that such residential areas in Europe are build much more compactly. The streets are much narrower. Small roads in U.S. suburbs are often wider than even main roads in larger European cities. Much fewer land is wasted by unused spaces. Of course the lots are also much smaller in Europe, but I don't have the impression that most Americans really use their large yards.
Residential areas with detached single family houses in Europe are not also more walkable, it's also more interesting to walk through the neighborhood. Houses, yards, fences, driveways and the streets seem far less monotonous (at least where I live) than in most U.S. suburbs.
A lot of the detached home neighborhoods in Europe (well, from streetview) have high hedges and tall fences. American ones rarely do. Hard to see much, rather monotonous
Rural areas where you can have acres of land with no neighbors are even better.
If suburbia is wasteful, rural areas are 10x wasteful since there is not a shred of self-sufficiency about modern rural life. It is like a mega suburb dependent on the great outside for jobs and all the necessities. Pray for plenty of oil and cheap transportation. Once those are gone humongous chunks of US landmass would become death traps.
I hosted a fair amount of people from Austria and Switzerland... mostly women and while they would not trade their time in the States... some were here for as long as 5 years.
Almost to the last one they all returned home when they decided to settle and start a family citing America is not the ideal place to raise a family...
The Austrians have 2 years off with pay with a new baby and the employer must keep the job open... one of the ladies had 3 children 2 years apart and her job as waiting after 6 years... they also have a lot of incentives geared to well baby and bonding time for men and women with young children...
This is not so much because European countries are exceptionally humane, as that they are desperate for their citizens to have children and so they offer all sorts of incentives, which we haven't yet had to resort to in the US.
Some years ago, I starting working with an Austrian woman in her 30s. She mentioned her husband, so I asked if she also had children. She acted offended! "Why do Americans always ask if I have children? Americans are obsessed with having children. Austrians don't have children!"
I laughed and told her that in that case, there would soon be no Austrians. And in fact, this is exactly what has been happening in Austria and many other European countries.
This is not so much because European countries are exceptionally humane, as that they are desperate for their citizens to have children and so they offer all sorts of incentives, which we haven't yet had to resort to in the US.
Some years ago, I starting working with an Austrian woman in her 30s. She mentioned her husband, so I asked if she also had children. She acted offended! "Why do Americans always ask if I have children? Americans are obsessed with having children. Austrians don't have children!"
I laughed and told her that in that case, there would soon be no Austrians. And in fact, this is exactly what has been happening in Austria and many other European countries.
Europeans in general are highly educated and skilled. Generally the more educated you are, the less kids you will have or want to have.
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It's about population growth, not just suburbs
