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Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Many newer suburban homes are very cheaply made. Many of the older city homes are made with high quality material and craftsmanship that you just don't see any more.
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Once again, sometimes that is true, many times it isn't. Many suburbs have high home prices and high taxes, combined with the costs of having to drive everywhere, HOA fees, etc.
I have seen some poor craftsmanship in newer homes, but by and large the core of these homes (foundation/framing) is good. Furthermore, they're more energy efficient than older homes, making them cheaper to heat/cool, and because the electrical and plumbing systems are more up-to-date, then tend to be cheaper to insure.
In many cases, even where you see high prices/taxes/HOA fees in the suburbs, it still gets you more square footage than an equivalent price would in a city neighborhood.
Look, I'm not knocking city neighborhoods. But you wondered why anyone would consider the 'burbs, so I'm just explaining why (having lived on both sides of the fence). It's a value decision, and one that's based on people's preferences.
I have seen some poor craftsmanship in newer homes, but by and large the core of these homes (foundation/framing) is good. Furthermore, they're more energy efficient than older homes, making them cheaper to heat/cool, and because the electrical and plumbing systems are more up-to-date, then tend to be cheaper to insure.
In many cases, even where you see high prices/taxes/HOA fees in the suburbs, it still gets you more square footage than an equivalent price would in a city neighborhood.
Look, I'm not knocking city neighborhoods. But you wondered why anyone would consider the 'burbs, so I'm just explaining why (having lived on both sides of the fence). It's a value decision, and one that's based on people's preferences.
I've seen both sides too. I will defend new construction, though, on the basis of energy efficiency versus that of older structures. Low flush toilets, insulation, double-paned windows, and adherence to safety codes are standard. I mean, really...I grew up in a house that got cold in the winter and hot in the summer. New technologies in construction and materials have improved living--and no one can tell me otherwise, at least. I also lived in a perfectly beautiful old building with bad plumbing, poor heating, sagging floors, cracked ceilings and crumbling lath and plaster.
But there was a treasure of fine craftsmanship in solid hardwood.
But, hey, money can buy you anything you want wherever you want, if only you have the money. In my real world I'll take polished concrete and recycled glass. I'll use composite materials that aren't susceptible to termite damage. "Cheap"? Sure, but I'd sooner set up a nice, clean, safe home than put on airs in an historic one.
A lot of people just sort of give up. "Oh, I have my family now, I'm happy living in a bland cardboard box 20 miles away from anything."
And when you have kids and it's time to ensure they receive a quality education in a supportive environment, chances are you'll be doing the exact same thing -- just like hundreds of thousands of other middle-class families who swore they never would.
And when I hear people describe themselves that way it makes me shake my head with embarrassment. Seriously, if I ever heard someone refer to themselves as a 'young professional' in real life I would wonder what the hell their deal was.
You know, people can still live in nice, family oriented neighborhoods that are within city limits. These neighborhoods often are very safe, with lots of nice things to do, have character, and are close to many attractions. I don't have a problem with 'residential neighborhoods.' I wouldn't want to raise a family in an apartment in the inner city or anything.
And especially, given that ALL cities have a LOT of neighborhoods that fit this bill, it makes me wonder why people would choose to live in cookie-cutter bland cardboard box PTA and Minivan bedroom communities where you have to drive for 45 minutes to get to anything cool or interesting, and still have to drive to get to your schools or supermarkets or what have you. I personally enjoy being able to walk to these things and to get a little variety place to place.
A suburb in Buffalo, NY, is not all that different from one in Phoenix AZ, because they are usually all made on the "airport USA" model. Maybe you people don't mind eating at Applebees every meal and shopping at Target all the time, but me, I like a little variety.
I find it interesting that suburb-bashers on threads like this characterize suburbs as uniformly fitting the portrayal in the last two paragraphs of the quoted post. Suburbs are not all exactly the same any more than city neighborhoods are carbon copies of each other. Many old inner suburbs are exactly like the residential neighborhoods inside city limits which 1208 describes here. Even more suburban suburbs are not all the same.
My current address is an example of a generally suburban kind of area which differs significantly from the stereotype in its details. In fact the very reason I live here at this time is that I'm well set up to live car-free and get to the places I need to be. This neighborhood is close to a college I've been attending as a returning adult student. I don't dislike cities, by the way, but it's not in my student budget to own and maintain a car, so I need to live close to my college. I live conveniently car-free in the heart of suburbia. I live in a neighborhood only about three miles from a major edge city kind of area of malls and suburban office buildings.
Right in my neighborhood, though, it's different. There is a small commercial district within walking distance of my place, where there are the usual local small stores, as well as several coffee shops, a few little mom-and-pop eateries, a Thai restaurant, and a low-brow breakfast/lunch place that has been around for about fifty years and is something of a neighborhood institution--the kind of place where regular customers get to know each other's name. I can reach the malls--lacking in character, sure, but also practical for shopping--within minutes on a local transit bus system serving this local section of the Boston metro area, and I can also use this local transit system to reach an Indian, a Brazilian, and a Japanese restaurant of the non-chain variety in addition to the many chain restaurants in the area. I'm not stuck right in this local area either, because I can walk to a commuter rail station which gives me access to various suburban commercial districts, some of which are located in those old inner suburbs where the stores are local and eclectic, as well as giving me access to the city of course.
Interestingly, given the way people on threads like these tend to put down suburban architecture, a few streets away from me you begin to get into an area that was originally a post-WWII subdivision. We're talking ranch houses, Cape Cods, and modest colonials. But now that area is fifty or sixty years old, and has a mature appearance. It no longer looks like a subdivision, but feels like a real neighborhood, one that is actually rather attractive. Over in my neigborhood you're in an area that dates back to when the towns around here were all non-suburban small towns. Over this way there is an interesting collection of modest but attractive Victorians, and other houses dating to the early 20th century.
I don't know that this area is the place where I'd want to settle down for life, but it's a very nice place to live in my current circumstances, and if it came down to it I could do a lot worse than to live in this neighborhood for the long term. Walking to little stores and eateries, walking to the commuter rail, living in a nice pleasant neighborhood with some architectural character, getting around just fine without wheels. That's the life I live at present, in the heart of suburbia. No, suburbs are not all exactly the same.
I hate that so many people equate suburban living to people with kids. I have never been much of a city girl, I prefer life in suburban/rural settings. I do not have kids so I'm not sure what this says about me according to the stereotype.
A suburb in Buffalo, NY, is not all that different from one in Phoenix AZ, because they are usually all made on the "airport USA" model. Maybe you people don't mind eating at Applebees every meal and shopping at Target all the time, but me, I like a little variety.
That is a rather uninformed comment. So suburbs only have plain chain restaurants, eh? Maybe that's how it is in your area, but it's certainly not the case here. Sure there ARE chain restaurants in the suburbs, but countless cool local places are located in these areas as well- just as many as you'd find in the city itself. My suburb alone has so many local places that I could never have a chance to try all of them. If people want the chains they are here as well.
I hate that so many people equate suburban living to people with kids. I have never been much of a city girl, I prefer life in suburban/rural settings. I do not have kids so I'm not sure what this says about me according to the stereotype.
Same here. I am a 26-year old male and prefer suburban/rural living over cities. I have lived in NYC and now live in a smaller city in CT and it's still too busy for me. I hope to move to a more rural setting in the future.
There have been a few posts on this page giving examples of suburbs that do not fit the stereotype of strip malls and cul de sacs. It does seem, though, that suburb-bashers can find it difficult to accept the reality that not all 'burbs are such sterile wastelands. In the past I've seen a couple of suburb-bashing threads on here where the response to examples of suburbs that didn't fit this stereotype was to say, "Then those aren't suburbs." At least that has not happened on this thread. Not yet, anyway.
I live in Suburbia, have a child, and hate it. Suburbia, that is. The schools suck. The roads suck. The strip malls suck. It is very difficult for me to stay awake here. I drink 75 cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee every day just to stay awake. My neighbors are all coke whores with big ass SUV's. Fresh bread is something you won't find in suburbia. Two years and we will be in Baltimore.
What's the problem with strip malls? It's just an architectural design. A very unique shop can be a in a strip mall. Are you saying that because you can see it's on a strip mall from the outside of the shop, what you find on the inside is somehow less cool?
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