Why suburbia sucks (Dunwoody, Peachtree City, Kennesaw: mortgage, college, living)

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Forhall

I don't mean to be rude, but you are clearly in your 60s or older. No one under 40 years old would be excited by a video of a city where you can meander around the chain restaraunts and identical homes at 12 miles an hour. Everyone in the video looked retired. I'll take world class restaurants, ponce city market, the beltline, etc over that retirement community any day.

So, you have to be in your sixties to enjoy a place like Peachtree City? Seriously?

[Big L]

Originally Posted by Forhall

I don't mean to be rude, but you are clearly in your 60s or older. No one under 40 years old would be excited by a video of a city where you can meander around the chain restaraunts and identical homes at 12 miles an hour. Everyone in the video looked retired. I'll take world class restaurants, ponce city market, the beltline, etc over that retirement community any day.

I don't know about that. I'm 39 and it looked okay to me!


Not all of us suburbanites are old and/or anti-city. My wife and I also enjoy non-chain restaurants (at times) and many other ITP things. We just do it on weekends and then drive back home afterwards.

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

So, you have to be in your sixties to enjoy a place like Peachtree City? Seriously?

Few people between the ages of 20 and 35 would be interested in this place. It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm. They list chic-fil-a, waffle house, and ihop on their list of top 30 restaurants....lol.

Younger, more adventurous people just aren't interested in that lifestyle. We want to meet our friends at the new wine bar or tapas place on the weekends. We might spend our afternoons checking out the new coffee house or visiting a festival or art exhibit. We like having new places to try or visit every day. The suburbs are just too stagnant and too sterile, and riding a golf cart around at 10 mph is not fun to anyone over the age of 13 and below the age of 40.

For comparison I just checked the age distribution of peachtree city and as expected over 50% of the population is over 45. Only 26% is betweem 18 and 44 years old. For reference I checked Inman Park, which I know is safe and fairly affluent but also trendy - only 30% over 45. A whopping 55% is 18 to 44.

The suburb vs city thing really has a lot to do with age and lifestyle more than anything else. When people are older and more interested in being a soccer mom, etc then the suburbs are fine. When people are younger and more into trying the latest restaraunts, meeting friends on a whim at the new coffee shop for a few lattes, or strolling through one of the many walkable downtowns to check out quirky shops, the city makes more sense.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Few people between the ages of 20 and 35 would be interested in this place. It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm. They list chic-fil-a, waffle house, and ihop on their list of top 30 restaurants....lol.

Younger, more adventurous people just aren't interested in that lifestyle. We want to meet our friends at the new wine bar or tapas place on the weekends. We might spend our afternoons checking out the new coffee house or visiting a festival or art exhibit. We like having new places to try or visit every day. The suburbs are just too stagnant and too sterile, and riding a golf cart around at 10 mph is not fun to anyone over the age of 13 and below the age of 40.

For comparison I just checked the age distribution of peachtree city and as expected over 50% of the population is over 45. Only 26% is betweem 18 and 44 years old. For reference I checked Inman Park, which I know is safe and fairly affluent but also trendy - only 30% over 45. A whopping 55% is 18 to 44.

The suburb vs city thing really has a lot to do with age and lifestyle more than anything else. When people are older and more interested in being a soccer mom, etc then the suburbs are fine. When people are younger and more into trying the latest restaraunts, meeting friends on a whim at the new coffee shop for a few lattes, or strolling through one of the many walkable downtowns to check out quirky shops, the city makes more sense.

Odd perspective, but okay.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Forhall

.... It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm.

I understand your point of view but you'd be mistaken to think that we older folk are "terrified of everything."

The fact is we've already done what you're talking about and probably far more.

We simply have different priorities these days. Give yourself a decade or two and see how you feel about things.

[hautemomma]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Few people between the ages of 20 and 35 would be interested in this place. It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm. They list chic-fil-a, waffle house, and ihop on their list of top 30 restaurants....lol.

Younger, more adventurous people just aren't interested in that lifestyle. We want to meet our friends at the new wine bar or tapas place on the weekends. We might spend our afternoons checking out the new coffee house or visiting a festival or art exhibit. We like having new places to try or visit every day. The suburbs are just too stagnant and too sterile, and riding a golf cart around at 10 mph is not fun to anyone over the age of 13 and below the age of 40.

For comparison I just checked the age distribution of peachtree city and as expected over 50% of the population is over 45. Only 26% is betweem 18 and 44 years old. For reference I checked Inman Park, which I know is safe and fairly affluent but also trendy - only 30% over 45. A whopping 55% is 18 to 44.

The suburb vs city thing really has a lot to do with age and lifestyle more than anything else. When people are older and more interested in being a soccer mom, etc then the suburbs are fine. When people are younger and more into trying the latest restaraunts, meeting friends on a whim at the new coffee shop for a few lattes, or strolling through one of the many walkable downtowns to check out quirky shops, the city makes more sense.

As inclusive and expansive as you probably think your perspective and lifestyle are, they are actually coming across as rather limited and linear.

[wasel]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Few people between the ages of 20 and 35 would be interested in this place. It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm. They list chic-fil-a, waffle house, and ihop on their list of top 30 restaurants....lol.

Younger, more adventurous people just aren't interested in that lifestyle. We want to meet our friends at the new wine bar or tapas place on the weekends. We might spend our afternoons checking out the new coffee house or visiting a festival or art exhibit. We like having new places to try or visit every day. The suburbs are just too stagnant and too sterile, and riding a golf cart around at 10 mph is not fun to anyone over the age of 13 and below the age of 40.

For comparison I just checked the age distribution of peachtree city and as expected over 50% of the population is over 45. Only 26% is betweem 18 and 44 years old. For reference I checked Inman Park, which I know is safe and fairly affluent but also trendy - only 30% over 45. A whopping 55% is 18 to 44.

The suburb vs city thing really has a lot to do with age and lifestyle more than anything else. When people are older and more interested in being a soccer mom, etc then the suburbs are fine. When people are younger and more into trying the latest restaraunts, meeting friends on a whim at the new coffee shop for a few lattes, or strolling through one of the many walkable downtowns to check out quirky shops, the city makes more sense.

I have a 30-something year old friend who has been making the painful work commute daily from Peachtree City to Dunwoody "for that lifestyle" and has continued this for the past 6 years. He does all sorts of fun things on the weekends. You really need to get out more.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Big L

I don't know about that. I'm 39 and it looked okay to me!


Not all of us suburbanites are old and/or anti-city. My wife and I also enjoy non-chain restaurants (at times) and many other ITP things. We just do it on weekends and then drive back home afterwards.

PTC has a lot of Delta employees. Apparently very popular with pilots.

[hautemomma]

Also, the average age of when a woman in the U.S. has kids is still around 26 or 27, as of 2012, so lots of 30-somethings are focused on their households, careers and parenting, rather than bar-hopping and frequenting the latest wine bar, tapas lounge or restaurant. Also, the average age of first-time fatherhood in the US is 27-28.

The idea that most folks don't face these realities by their 30s, with all of the attendant priorities and responsibilities, is just not true.

[whodean]

Originally Posted by Forhall

but you are clearly in your 60s or older. No one under 40 years old would be excited

Another one here who finds it impossible to think from another person's perspective.