Reason Why I Love Living in the Suburbs (suburb, downtown, issues)

[JayCT]

I see there is a Reasons Why I Hate Living in the Suburbs so I thought I would add one for people who love living in the suburbs. In my case, I like the peace and quiet. I love owning my own property and not having to account to anyone else on what we do with our property (we do maintain it very nicely). I also like having some space between neighbors and do not like having people on top of us. I also don't mind getting into the car and driving places (store, restaurants, entertainment, etc.) and do not mind not be within walking distance of things that can really be more of an annoyance than their worth. I like not hearing constant noise or sirens from emergency vehicles. Just seems to be more relaxing than living in an urban environment. Anyone else feel the same way? Jay

[Copanut]

It gets me away from the people that hate suburbs.

[LINative]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I see there is a Reasons Why I Hate Living in the Suburbs so I thought I would add one for people who love living in the suburbs. In my case, I like the peace and quiet. I love owning my own property and not having to account to anyone else on what we do with our property (we do maintain it very nicely). I also like having some space between neighbors and do not like having people on top of us. I also don't mind getting into the car and driving places (store, restaurants, entertainment, etc.) and do not mind not be within walking distance of things that can really be more of an annoyance than their worth. I like not hearing constant noise or sirens from emergency vehicles. Just seems to be more relaxing than living in an urban environment. Anyone else feel the same way? Jay

Thank you Jay!

I used to live in Queens in NYC and now live in Babylon, Long Island.

For me the best reason to live in the suburbs is the feeling that I now have a government that cares about quality of life issues for its citizens rather then a massive bureaucratic one that is more interested in wasting money and being politically correct.

In fact, its nice to have a local government in the first place! In Queens, I felt I had no real local government and City Hall in Manhattan was far distant, not just in actual distance but in being remote for the concerns of the "Outer Boroughs".

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by LINative

Thank you Jay!

I used to live in Queens in NYC and now live in Babylon, Long Island.

For me the best reason to live in the suburbs is the feeling that I now have a government that cares about quality of life issues for its citizens rather then a massive bureaucratic one that is more interested in wasting money and being politically correct.

In fact, its nice to have a local government in the first place! In Queens, I felt I had no real local government and City Hall in Manhattan was far distant, not just in actual distance but in being remote for the concerns of the "Outer Boroughs".

Exactly! (In fact I've posted this before and the "urbanists" tell me I'm wrong, like they do about almost everything, but oh, well.) I live in a city of 20,000 with three wards. We have six councilpeople to represent us, plus a mayor. That's roughly 1 councilperson for every 3333 people, far more representation than we had in Denver. City Hall here is about 2 miles away; you can call your council members on their home/cell phones. I often see my councilperson at the grocery store. Denver (663,862) has 13 council people, or one for every 51,000 residents (plus the mayor).

[stateofnature]

While I personally tend to not like the suburbs, I am not going to be like some people in the "Why I Hate the Suburbs" who ludicrously argued with the OP's personal preferences. Your reasons for liking the suburbs are totally valid, just not ones I share.

[That_One_Guy]

Maybe it's because I work as an EMT, but I never found emergency vehicles to be a problem. Actually I'd rather have them around incase I ever find myself in need of one.

[Nattering Heights]

I have always lived in suburbs, so this is the life I know. Sometimes I did not have a car, so life was difficult then.

[s1alker]

The suburbs that are only a skip away from the urban core are fine with me. It's just the cookie cutter McMansion suburbs where people drive an hour+ to work everyday which irk me.

[gentlearts]

I like having a nice luscious green lawn.
I like knowing who my neighbors are.
I like not having an HOA.
I like having space for a second garage.
I like having space to grow things.
I like not having to walk my dog...just let him out to run in the yard.
When I had kids, I liked that they had room to play.

I have never lived in an urban setting, but I've often tried to imagine the life of someone who does. It seems like it would be awful.

[nikitakolata]

I've lived in the city (Chicago) an urban suburb, an exurb and now a middle suburb with a downtown core. I like the last the most. The things I like compared to Chicago:

1. Less litter
2. Less traffic
3. I have green space for a garden, swing set, for my daughter to play in, etc.
4. Fewer loud and annoying neighbors
5. I'm actually closer to the train now than I was in Chicago
6. Places I drive to have parking lots

I feel like I have the best of both worlds now. I use public transit/walk to get to work, I drive when it suits me but don't drive most weekdays and I have personal space.

I get why people like the city, especially compared to an exurb where you have to drive to absolutely everything. But, I think many people have never lived in a more urban suburb and/or within walking distance of the downtown core of a suburb with rail service. If you've lived in one of those that have many of the conveniences of the city without the traffic, litter and parking hassles, I don't see why you'd still prefer the city. That's just me though.