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Listening to him explain his criteria was instructive...
(and he did do some number crunching to create metrics that reflect his preferences).
it made me reflect on my own priorities.
Much as I like places with walkability, good transit and 'great urban fabric,'
I wouldn't live in most of the places he named.... because, winter.
Walkability is great, but if you don't want to be outside walking (or waiting for a bus)
for several months out of the year because it's so cold or the sidewalks are icy,
that's a lot to give up. I'd rather be somewhere I could be comfortable outside
12 months a year. That means the Sunbelt, probably, but not only California...
maybe North Carolina?
Listening to him explain his criteria was instructive...
(and he did do some number crunching to create metrics that reflect his preferences).
it made me reflect on my own priorities.
Much as I like places with walkability, good transit and 'great urban fabric,'
I wouldn't live in most of the places he named.... because, winter.
Walkability is great, but if you don't want to be outside walking (or waiting for a bus)
for several months out of the year because it's so cold or the sidewalks are icy,
that's a lot to give up. I'd rather be somewhere I could be comfortable outside
12 months a year. That means the Sunbelt, probably, but not only California...
maybe North Carolina?
That's a good point, though I'll mention that I feel that clothes and shoes suited for cold or wet weather have gotten a lot better over the last couple of decades. I moved to NYC from LA without knowing how to dress for winter and basically bringing with me old clothes for winter snow stuff in the mountains around LA. I didn't realize until years later that that stuff was bulky as hell and there was a lot of much better clothes and shoes out there for both the wet and the cold.
The only place he lost me was calling crime basically a dogwhistle. Like no it isn’t. That’s why Black people don’t want to live in North St Louis, Chicago’s Garfield Park, or whatever. Almost universally high crime cities are hemorrhaging populations actually effected by the crime while gaining in areas where it isn’t a factor.
Although having a massive reserve of cheap as heck housing in bad areas seems to anchor prices so good neighborhoods aren’t as expensive.
The only place he lost me was calling crime basically a dogwhistle. Like no it isn’t. That’s why Black people don’t want to live in North St Louis, Chicago’s Garfield Park, or whatever. Almost universally high crime cities are hemorrhaging populations actually effected by the crime while gaining in areas where it isn’t a factor.
Although having a massive reserve of cheap as heck housing in bad areas seems to anchor prices so good neighborhoods aren’t as expensive.
I don't think you understood. How many people live in Garfield Park or North St Louis? How does that population compare to the Metro area.
I don't think you understood. How many people live in Garfield Park or North St Louis? How does that population compare to the Metro area.
He is talking city v city. When he says St Louis has a great urban fabric he isn’t talking about St Charles County.
In terms of population North St Louis is like 1/3rd of St Louis and almost 1/2 it’s land area.
St Louis North if Delmar lost nearly 45,000 people from 2010-2020 while South of Delmar gained about 26,000. It makes a huge difference to the people living in those neighborhoods not just pearl clutching suburbanites and racists.
St Louis went from 49% to 43% Black from 2010-2020 because of population loss North of Delmar.
He is talking city v city. When he says St Louis has a great urban fabric he isn’t talking about St Charles County.
In terms of population North St Louis is like 1/3rd of St Louis and almost 1/2 it’s land area.
All of North St. Louis isn't a total warzone and there is a lot of crime in other neighborhoods in the city. In the defense of North St. Louis, which is a really misunderstood area in metro St. Louis. This is what a lot of the northside that is actually still habitable looks like.
This is a pretty good graphic that breaks downs the demographics of the city from the 2010 census. I'd say that the Central Corridor has boomed tremendously since then, while the Southside has begun to stabilize.
Also St. Charles is also a really old city and has very charming downtown. They also have very big plans for their riverfront and have had some pretty cool mixed use developments pop up.
All of North St. Louis isn't a total warzone and there is a lot of crime in other neighborhoods in the city. In the defense of North St. Louis, which is a really misunderstood area in metro St. Louis. This is what a lot of the northside that is actually still habitable looks like.
This is a pretty good graphic that breaks downs the demographics of the city from the 2010 census. I'd say that the Central Corridor has boomed tremendously since then, while the Southside has begun to stabilize.
Also St. Charles is also a really old city and has very charming downtown. They also have very big plans for their riverfront and have had some pretty cool mixed use developments pop up.
I was painting with a broad brush for brevity, but the general idea is Crime is a real issue not a just a dogwhistle even if the people of Downstare IL are not actually interesting in improving St Louis or Chicago
I was painting with a broad brush for brevity, but the general idea is Crime is a real issue not a just a dogwhistle even if the people of Downstare IL are not actually interesting in improving St Louis or Chicago
Illinois treats the Metro East (St. Louis' Illinois suburbs) like a redhead stepchild despite it being the 2nd largest economy in the state after Chicago. Illinois' state government is very pro-Chicagoland and Missouri state government is very anti-St. Louis, so that puts the St. Louis in a bad place when it comes to urban issues from a policy standpoint.
I have a friend in Charlotte who works for BofA making $10,000 more than me. He spends more on housing. More on transportation. The same amount on food.
He has more sq. Footage. I have less. But we both live in luxury apartments, same amenities.
He has a Tesla, I don’t have a vehicle But DC has great bike lanes and I live at a metro stop.
He goes out to eat, I have better options in DC and we spend the same money.
He doesn’t really live in a walkable area, I do.
He is constantly broke (literally making over $100,000 in charlotte living paycheck to paycheck)
Etc etc.
I prefer my lifestyle. But if I moved to a lower cost city. I’m going to want a car. Preferably niceish. It’d be nice to have a 2 bedroom place or even a home with a biggish yard. Maybe a pool?
That’s why “affordability” is so overrated to me. I don’t want a car. I don’t need more space than I have. Etc. Some people value bigger homes, yards, vehicles. Some prefer walkable sustainable communities
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