Anyone who is in their 20's or low 30's and single move from city to suburbs?

[ToriaT]

The myth is that "all the young people are in the city". While this seems to be true, I know in my own family and among friends this is not the case. About half the young people that were raised in the suburbs are dying to get into the city, my son was among them, but half don't want to and wish to remain in the suburbs. I can't think of one member of my family with the exception of myself that ever went to live in the city when they moved out. Of course that was years ago. But even now, among the children of my friends, many have remained in the burbs. Keep in mind many young adults still live at home due to student loans and lack of good jobs.

[cubssoxfan]

I was never enthralled with living in the city; just by the entertainment options. I always had a sales job with driving involved and the traffic and density of being in the "it" neighborhoods 25 years ago did not appeal to me. So after a short stint in North Park neighborhood, I ended up in Skokie with a nice, affordable 2 bedroom apartment to hide my office behind a closed door and assigned parking in back. I could also walk to the laundry room in about 15 feet without stepping outside.

When I saved enough $, I really wanted a townhouse. Evanston was where I wanted to go, but I couldn't get a lot for the $$. Skokie had housing stock that was too old at the time. So I looked in Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove at the recommendation of a few friends. I found a great value in a Lake Arlington townhouse and had a 2.25 mile cycling/running path a block away. I did miss being close to the city, but found that being a homeowner gave me a newfound desire to watch my cash flow. So the appeal of having friends over to drink and have parties supplanted the desire to bar hop 60-70% of the time.

When I spend time in downtown Arlington Heights, I see a lot of under 30's out for brunch at Egg Harbor on a Saturday or Sunday aftermorning

[doodlemagic]

i agree its a myth all young people wanna be in the city. honestly id say alot maybe think they wanna be in the city but i bet about half of young people from burbs who move to the city are still there a year or two later. i think alot of young people just wanna live there for a year for the experience or to do something diff for a year.

yeah the city has a lot to offer, better nightlife, better public transportation, more to do, better restaurants. that said i hate waiting in the cold and snow for public transportation, walking everywhere in the winter, not being able to park. all the nonsense fees and taxes tacked on to everything. i like wide streets, i like having a car, i like having a fenced backyard i can let my dogs out the back. there's decent nightlife in the burbs and if i wanna drive out to the city for nightlife or to eat i can do that in like 35 minutes.

i think alot of young people have things backwards. i know alot of people who it would be way more convenient living in the burbs but like the access to nightlife so live in the city and do reverse commutes and things like that. honestly i work 5 days out of the week, i go out maybe 1 or two. also going out generally doesn't have strict timelines like being at work does. i'll take an easy commute 5 days a week and dealwith driving to the city over social scenarios vs having a 1.5 to 2 hour reverse commute taking multiple trains and busses or sitting in traffic just so i can be 20 minutes closer to the bar on the weekends.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

I was never enthralled with living in the city; just by the entertainment options. I always had a sales job with driving involved and the traffic and density of being in the "it" neighborhoods 25 years ago did not appeal to me. So after a short stint in North Park neighborhood, I ended up in Skokie with a nice, affordable 2 bedroom apartment to hide my office behind a closed door and assigned parking in back. I could also walk to the laundry room in about 15 feet without stepping outside.

When I saved enough $, I really wanted a townhouse. Evanston was where I wanted to go, but I couldn't get a lot for the $$. Skokie had housing stock that was too old at the time. So I looked in Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove at the recommendation of a few friends. I found a great value in a Lake Arlington townhouse and had a 2.25 mile cycling/running path a block away. I did miss being close to the city, but found that being a homeowner gave me a newfound desire to watch my cash flow. So the appeal of having friends over to drink and have parties supplanted the desire to bar hop 60-70% of the time.

When I spend time in downtown Arlington Heights, I see a lot of under 30's out for brunch at Egg Harbor on a Saturday or Sunday aftermorning

But are they couples?

[stephei2000]

Originally Posted by doodlemagic

i agree its a myth all young people wanna be in the city. honestly id say alot maybe think they wanna be in the city but i bet about half of young people from burbs who move to the city are still there a year or two later. i think alot of young people just wanna live there for a year for the experience or to do something diff for a year.

yeah the city has a lot to offer, better nightlife, better public transportation, more to do, better restaurants. that said i hate waiting in the cold and snow for public transportation, walking everywhere in the winter, not being able to park. all the nonsense fees and taxes tacked on to everything. i like wide streets, i like having a car, i like having a fenced backyard i can let my dogs out the back. there's decent nightlife in the burbs and if i wanna drive out to the city for nightlife or to eat i can do that in like 35 minutes.

i think alot of young people have things backwards. i know alot of people who it would be way more convenient living in the burbs but like the access to nightlife so live in the city and do reverse commutes and things like that. honestly i work 5 days out of the week, i go out maybe 1 or two. also going out generally doesn't have strict timelines like being at work does. i'll take an easy commute 5 days a week and dealwith driving to the city over social scenarios vs having a 1.5 to 2 hour reverse commute taking multiple trains and busses or sitting in traffic just so i can be 20 minutes closer to the bar on the weekends.

The last paragraph is so true. I have a 10 min walk to my work and went out a lot more often living in the near suburbs as suppose to living in the city.

But if you are strictly want to socialize in the city at night then yes I do not believe it is not worth living the city as can easily drive to nighttime activities because it is after rush hour and as a independent contractor I had a lot exposure to being the city too.

In addition, I believe if your day activities involve non urban things like running, hiking or whatever then you can achieve more of a balance. The only thing do during the city during the day is shop, eat and go to bars which that is what people do at night too and believe or not unless it is summer time there is not that much life as a person would think except for Michigan Ave downtown.

Also, I found out that there are a lot 20s and 30s in the western suburbs I found out by joining meetups.
I would have joined back when I lived in the suburbs, but I believed the mantra that one young single person lives in the suburbs and there are outdoor groups too. However being it in the city without a car the activities can be difficult to get to.

However, people live there because people think they are missing out, but I found out that is only if you really want a true urban experience. I have that same thought mostly during the summer.

But the whole "anything could happen mantra" is really a bunch of hype and bs.