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As someone who grew up in Bridgetown, I am not ashamed of being from the suburbs. And my mom's house, where I grew up, is not a cookie cutter, even though it was built in a new subdivision in 1967. And as I've mentioned before, I think it is a well-built home.
As someone who grew up in Bridgetown, I am not ashamed of being from the suburbs. And my mom's house, where I grew up, is not a cookie cutter, even though it was built in a new subdivision in 1967. And as I've mentioned before, I think it is a well-built home.
I've read some unfair generalizations about the suburbs, not only here in the City Data forums, but in the paper and other sites as well. I will add my thoughts later.
Many things. The day you find neighborhoods like you do in Cincinnati is the suburbs will be crazy.
How does that make the city neighborhoods better than the suburban neighborhoods? It's impossible to say one is better than the other, because it's a matter of personal preference. To each his own, right?
Some people like the feel/atmosphere/look of city neighborhoods while others prefer the feel/atmosphere/look of suburbs better. It seems as though urban buffs somehow want to look down upon those in the suburbs - like they are somehow lower-quality people and unworthy of respect. Surely you don't feel that way, Beavercreek??
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavercreek33
Wilson's house is much better built, nicer, older, historic then homes you find in the suburbs.
What defines "historic"? Is it simply because the house is older? So what. There are many homes in the suburbs that are just as old. Should they not likewise be considered historic?
How is it nicer? Isn't that a subjective opinion based on personal taste?
Some subdivisions are slapped together, yes - but likewise, there are homes that were slapped together in the city as well. A custom-built home in the suburbs will rival anything you find in the city - trust me.
Over 35 years ago, my grandparents lived in a somewhat "outer" area...not quite rural, but not quite suburban as you see in West Chester/Mason/Fairfield, etc. I watched my grandfather convert the 3-car garage of a quality-built rural ranch home into a huge rec room by himself. I watched him lay all the subflooring, put up the walls, and build a stone fireplace by hand. Don't tell me there aren't quality-built homes in the suburbs, my friend. Many homes in the suburbs are quality-built. Some of them are quite old, and in outstanding condition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavercreek33
You are close to everything the city has to offer...
But not everybody cares about that. That's not to put down what can be found in the city, but I don't think it's a justifiable reason for inferring city life is better than suburban life. Again, it's a matter of personal preferences - different people like different things. What the city offers is nice, but it's not necessarily better than what people find in suburbs that are equally nice in their eyes. Having a symphony is a great cultural thing - but it doesn't automatically make the city better than the suburbs, where people might prefer a concert at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering. Indeed, there are 1.8 million people outside the city limits. (If we allow for some places in NKY to be considered "urban", then we're still talking about 1.4 million outside those urban/city areas.) And while many of them may perhaps go to the city to enjoy its offerings, they nevertheless don't feel the urgent need to move to the city to be closer to those things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavercreek33
and you do not see miles and miles of the same cookie cutter suburban style housing developments.
I actually disagree with that. Not every subdivision in the suburbs is "cookie cutter". But since you brought it up, I can look at many city neighborhoods and see the same style of home street after street after street. So in a sense, it is every bit as much "cookie cutter" as you claim the suburban developments are. The difference is the city neighborhoods are simply an older version of "cookie cutter". All over the city you will find neighborhoods filled with cape cods, ranches, shotguns, foursquares, bungalows, etc.
I don't base my opinions on Cincinnati according to the same-style of home that can be seen street after street in Norwood or Covedale or Pleasant Ridge or Oakley, and opinions about the suburbs shouldn't be based on that either.
I'd like to hope that people won't make blanket statements about everything regarding the suburbs, because that's as unfair as someone in the suburbs characterizing all urban neighborhoods as crime ridden and run-down eyesores. I recognize there are great things about living in the city, so I would hope you would extend the same common courtesy about life in the suburbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavercreek33
Trust me, I live in Beavercreek, and I see it everyday.
Wellllllll...since you said it to Summer22 in the other thread about NW Ohio/Bowling Green, may I likewise say the same thing to you.....if you don't like it, move.
i think those on here who have seen me post know that i believe in a metro area having options in the suburbs or in the city for middle class folks like most of us on here. i don't 'suburb bash' and in fact have no qualms with the suburban life, so long as those of us in the cities don't suffer because of it.
i hate to repost myself, but i don't feel like typing it up again. but one area where the advantage squarely belongs with the city is with architecture and neighborhood design.
perhaps we are approaching what used to be standard quality with today's custom homes, i don't know. but i know that the materials that are so common place in homes from before the 1930s aren't available at any price today. yes (to shyspider), there are historic homes in the suburbs. i can think of a few beautiful old farmhouses in my wife's home suburb around dayton. i'm not sure anyone is denying that, but i didn't read the whole thread.
i have no idea why this has come up in a thread about summer heat. so mods, feel free to delete.
begin post from another thread:
Quote:
When I call suburban architecture disposable, I am not as much referring to the sameness as I am the design and construction quality. Many, if not most, city neighborhoods are populated by streets-full of houses that look identical. In contrast, most newer suburban developments are based around ten or more housing designs, each with small variations in its floor plan. The word disposable is perhaps too strong, and in fact I don't think i would use that word referring to even much of the early 90s housing stock. But since big national companies have taken over house building and value-engineered things to death, most everything built in the last ten years has pretty serious quality issues.
Here in Cincinnati, there was a builder called Lang & Sons who built post-war housing in a certain area of town. This builder made little beautiful tudor-esque fortresses of brick, wood, and stone. The architecture was first functional and quality and secondly size and "uniqueness," which might be expressed by a funky small half-turret on the front of the house. The houses typically had plaster archways and a variety of peculiar cubbies for the various common household conveniences of the 40s. These houses are as great today as they were then, and to put similar quality in new construction would probably increase by 1.5 the quantity of wood used (nevermind that today's wood is inferior quality) and double the cost.
The above example is a little odd, since the 40s was no era of grand design, but I think it highlights a change in thinking that has occurred in the past 20 or 30 years. Today, quantity of square feet and bedroom-size walkin closets reign supreme. Houses are constructed of the smallest possible quantity of weak (quickly-grown) 2x4s and then covered on most sides with what is probably the cheapest vinyl siding available. The front of the house may have some brick, but it isn't actually brick construction, but a mere facade that, in 40 years, will be cheaper to rip-off and replace than to re-point. You go inside and you see cheap, hollow, white doors that are made not by actual wood but by wood dust that is glued together in china. The nice new hardwood floor is small segments of hardwood pieced together like a puzzle, designed in such a way as to make use of even the smallest scraps of lumber and to fit into boxes of a certain size so that it can be efficiently loaded onto a truck and delivered to lumber liquidaters. I could go on, particular in regards to exterior design elements, but you get the point.
It is hard for me to understand how we have gotten to where we have and I think discussing that is another thread all together. At the very least, I was using this as an opportunity to discuss how my qualms with suburban architecture are not based on sameness of house. Since I like to be thorough, I won't touch the comments about how I choose to raise my kids in this post.
i think those on here who have seen me post know that i believe in a metro area having options in the suburbs or in the city for middle class folks like most of us on here. i don't 'suburb bash' and in fact have no qualms with the suburban life, so long as those of us in the cities don't suffer because of it.
I guess my whole question is more about why there has to be such a competition between the city lovers and suburb lovers. In my mind, it's all subjective and based on varying personal preferences. So in that respect, neither side can say their preferred lifestyle is better than the other's. Now granted, I have my dislikes about city living, but I'm not going to make someone feel bad if they like those things I dislike...or perhaps aren't concerned about them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by progmac
i hate to repost myself, but i don't feel like typing it up again. but one area where the advantage squarely belongs with the city is with architecture and neighborhood design.
Not sure about that one entirely. I think it would be more accurate to say the examples of fine architecture are more numerous in some city areas, but certainly there are fine examples of quality architecture and style in the suburbs as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by progmac
i have no idea why this has come up in a thread about summer heat. so mods, feel free to delete.
Yeah, I actually just realized that before I started reading your post. Sorry, mods.
I more or less agree with you regarding competition btw suburbs and cities. It should be enough to like what we like and respect one anothers preferences. think how grand life would be if we did that in all aspects of our lives.
How does that make the city neighborhoods better than the suburban neighborhoods? It's impossible to say one is better than the other, because it's a matter of personal preference. To each his own, right?
Some people like the feel/atmosphere/look of city neighborhoods while others prefer the feel/atmosphere/look of suburbs better. It seems as though urban buffs somehow want to look down upon those in the suburbs - like they are somehow lower-quality people and unworthy of respect. Surely you don't feel that way, Beavercreek??
What defines "historic"? Is it simply because the house is older? So what. There are many homes in the suburbs that are just as old. Should they not likewise be considered historic?
How is it nicer? Isn't that a subjective opinion based on personal taste?
Some subdivisions are slapped together, yes - but likewise, there are homes that were slapped together in the city as well. A custom-built home in the suburbs will rival anything you find in the city - trust me.
Over 35 years ago, my grandparents lived in a somewhat "outer" area...not quite rural, but not quite suburban as you see in West Chester/Mason/Fairfield, etc. I watched my grandfather convert the 3-car garage of a quality-built rural ranch home into a huge rec room by himself. I watched him lay all the subflooring, put up the walls, and build a stone fireplace by hand. Don't tell me there aren't quality-built homes in the suburbs, my friend. Many homes in the suburbs are quality-built. Some of them are quite old, and in outstanding condition.
But not everybody cares about that. That's not to put down what can be found in the city, but I don't think it's a justifiable reason for inferring city life is better than suburban life. Again, it's a matter of personal preferences - different people like different things. What the city offers is nice, but it's not necessarily better than what people find in suburbs that are equally nice in their eyes. Having a symphony is a great cultural thing - but it doesn't automatically make the city better than the suburbs, where people might prefer a concert at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering. Indeed, there are 1.8 million people outside the city limits. (If we allow for some places in NKY to be considered "urban", then we're still talking about 1.4 million outside those urban/city areas.) And while many of them may perhaps go to the city to enjoy its offerings, they nevertheless don't feel the urgent need to move to the city to be closer to those things.
I actually disagree with that. Not every subdivision in the suburbs is "cookie cutter". But since you brought it up, I can look at many city neighborhoods and see the same style of home street after street after street. So in a sense, it is every bit as much "cookie cutter" as you claim the suburban developments are. The difference is the city neighborhoods are simply an older version of "cookie cutter". All over the city you will find neighborhoods filled with cape cods, ranches, shotguns, foursquares, bungalows, etc.
I don't base my opinions on Cincinnati according to the same-style of home that can be seen street after street in Norwood or Covedale or Pleasant Ridge or Oakley, and opinions about the suburbs shouldn't be based on that either.
I'd like to hope that people won't make blanket statements about everything regarding the suburbs, because that's as unfair as someone in the suburbs characterizing all urban neighborhoods as crime ridden and run-down eyesores. I recognize there are great things about living in the city, so I would hope you would extend the same common courtesy about life in the suburbs.
Wellllllll...since you said it to Summer22 in the other thread about NW Ohio/Bowling Green, may I likewise say the same thing to you.....if you don't like it, move.
You're joking, right? I mean you have to be. I work all day long, and have a post that is half a paragraph long and you take it that far out of context????
Your whole post was talking about preferance, right? I prefer the city to the suburbs. I am not saying you can't find historic homes in the suburbs. Ohio is a perfect example of greatly planned inner ring suburbs. I love Mariemont, Blue Ash, Westerville, Worthington, Upper Arlington, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, etc. I just prefer the city, and your whole post about preferance, you should have seen that. There is more history and cultural ammenties in the city. Think about it like this, if it wasn't for the city, the suburbs would not exist. The suburbs are built up around the city.
Did you even go back and read what I said in that thread? Did you read my last post? Please stop taking what you want out of my discussions, and adding them to further debates. I posted a very respectable post, and then you come back with what I told summer. When you look at suburbs like Westchester, Beavercreek, and Mason, they majority sprawl and most of the housing developments DO look the same. I live in it everyday. And don't worry, I am looking at homes in Dayton's Oregon District.
moving in?! i feel like i've been living in a sauna ever since i moved from Colorado (@ 9500 feet, never got above 75 degree, no humidity). but i like the sauna. sort of. i'm really looking forward to fall i have to admit
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to shyspider
Many homes in the suburbs are quality-built. Some of them are quite old, and in outstanding condition.
