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I would never live in those metros, under any circumstances. Would take a broom closet in Brooklyn over a McMansion in Columbus or Indy.
Of course, that's me. Plenty of people don't care about amenities and location, and want as big a house as possible for the money. That's fine, and probably ideal for many families, assuming they spend most of their time in their house.
You don't need to want to live here but Columbus and Indianapolis offer much more than Mcmansions and to suggest otherwise is being disingenuous.
To each is own. Personally I agree with you and rather live in Columbus, Phoenix, Indianapolis etc. in a beautiful new apartment with amenities. I can use the money I have left over to travel to NYC, London, Miami etc. if I ever feel the need to change it up and explore a completely different region.
However, not everyone is going to agree. Some people thrive in concrete jungles, need to have access to 24/7 night clubs, want to have accessibility to every ethnic food imaginable, the highest rated art museums, extensive public transit etc. To them that cost is well worth it.
Thats me. My home is a place to sleep and relax but the city is my playground not sitting at my large house watching netflix and having pizza as the only delivery option.
Beautiful pictures Buckeye614. Apparently some people don't want to believe these places exist in boring "middle America" where the only thing people do is sit in their mcmansion and watch Netflix and order pizza because that's the only thing that delivers.
I know in the Denver where rents have skyrocketed $1500 rents a 2 bedroom apartment with about 1,000 square feet.
The strange thing is that many people consider Denver cheap who come from places like Seattle, The Bay Area and New York.
I don't consider $1500 for an average 2 bedroom to be a bargain. Especially considering what rents were even a decade ago.
I lived in Lincoln, Nebraska before and I see similar apartments going for $600 which is on par with other midwestern smaller metropolitan areas.
I personally even in my 30s, find university towns more interesting then many major metropolitan areas.
Denver, like many other cities is full of stressed out people trying to pay the extremely overpriced rents.
So many metropolitan areas are so overpriced and only offer repetitive retail amenities. Luxury items can always be bought online now and the average person spends 11 out of their 16 waking hours watching entertainment on TV, laptop, smartphone.
Last edited by lovecrowds; 07-22-2016 at 12:38 PM..
Beautiful pictures Buckeye614. Apparently some people don't want to believe these places exist in boring "middle America" where the only thing people do is sit in their mcmansion and watch Netflix and order pizza because that's the only thing that delivers.
Thanks! Absolutely nothing wrong with preferring NYC, LA, Chicago over much smaller cities. I can understand people's different preferences but doesn't negate the fact that mid-sized cities have plenty of amenities and positive attributes as well.
You don't need to want to live here but Columbus and Indianapolis offer much more than Mcmansions and to suggest otherwise is being disingenuous.
No one claimed that anyplace is 100% McMansions, but, yeah, that's the dominant built form. There's nowhere in Indy or Columbus that would satisfy an itch for urban living.
Also, not sure of what you're trying to prove with the pics, as if people were unaware that there old houses, parks, and festivals, in random American cities.
I'm sure a lot of people that live in those metros care about all the amenities they offer and spend a ton of time outside their homes. They just have the advantage of being able to afford a large home AND enjoy the amenities and not have to choose one or the other like most people have to do in high COL areas.
But there are no such amenities. That's the whole point. You can choose cheap housing, or you can choose dense/urban/cosmopolitan environment, but you can't get both.
You can't have everything in life. If you live in an area with cheap housing, it means that land values are low, and there won't be conditions for urban amenities. If you live in an area with expensive housing, it means that land values are high, and there will be conditions for urban amenities.
But my QOL does improve with a nicer neighborhood, more amenities, better jobs, healthier lifestyle, smarter and more interesting people, more progressive environment, etc.
You can have that in literally any big city if you're among the top educated and earning folks.
Without being shoved in elbow-to-elbow with the riff-raff.
But there are no such amenities. That's the whole point. You can choose cheap housing, or you can choose dense/urban/cosmopolitan environment, but you can't get both.
You can't have everything in life. If you live in an area with cheap housing, it means that land values are low, and there won't be conditions for urban amenities. If you live in an area with expensive housing, it means that land values are high, and there will be conditions for urban amenities.
There are places with decent prices and tons of amenities. Maybe not uber-low prices. But much less ridiculous.
No one claimed that anyplace is 100% McMansions, but, yeah, that's the dominant built form. There's nowhere in Indy or Columbus that would satisfy an itch for urban living.
Also, not sure of what you're trying to prove with the pics, as if people were unaware that there old houses, parks, and festivals, in random American cities.
"I would never live in those metros, under any circumstances. Would take a broom closet in Brooklyn over a McMansion in Columbus or Indy.
Of course, that's me. Plenty of people don't care about amenities and location, and want as big a house as possible for the money. That's fine, and probably ideal for many families, assuming they spend most of their time in their house."
This post implies that Columbus has very little to offer besides cheap cost of living and Mcmansions and is only ideal for families or for people who don't value amenities.
I showed you historic districts, beautiful parks, large scale festivals and other entertainment venues to combat the perception that you presented. Mcmansions are definitely not the dominant house form and there are certainly plenty of other reasons to live in Columbus than large new houses. Anyway I'm clearly not going to change your mind so I'm fine with leaving it at that.
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