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The trouble with the burbs is that they were built on the notion of cheap and abundant oil, we started with around two trillion barrels, approx half of that now exists, the remaining half will be used up alot quicker than the first half. We will probably be needing a different approach to our build out mentality in order to reduce our consumption of gasoline.
We need to move away from this mind set that we need to travel less/use less/have less due to energy concerns. We just need to develop more/alternative energy sources. Oil runs out, have cars run on electric. Coal runs out, make electricity with wind/solar/geothermal/nuclear. We should not stifle ourselves and force people into lifestyles because some believe it is better.
I prefer rural also, and I think it has an appeal anyone could get onboard with, as a human being it just strikes you as "right" The inconvience stirs people away, and I understand that also. Cities are fun to have everything at your hands and lots of fun activities. I plan to live downtown Chicago within a couple years and stay there until I have children, at which point I would like to retreat to a suburban area (for the good schools) or even a rural area if I can find a good school system.
city living is not all urine stained concrete and man bags.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraC
My car is freedom. I love to drive. I don't want any restrictions on what I drive, how much I drive or making it difficult for me to just go and get away. I don't want to charge some battery on some lightweight car every night. I certainly don't want the idea of parking to become an activity I have to think about as I would in some city.
I like hearing the birds in the morning and where I live now, the geese flying over in the evening. Horn honking is not for me. In my opinion, the grass is always greener where there actually is grass.
I prefer picnics and barbecues to dining out. Believe it or not, urban elitists, you can actually have that same pricey restaurant, current events discussion with friends at a picnic table.
I prefer the smell of a newly mowed lawn to the smell of urine on city streets.
I hate being jostled and bumped by man bags, briefcases and pocketbooks.
I don't like being with sick people on public transportation. I think I have a better chance in my car to avoid "an incident."
You got better food choices...but you pay too much for them.
i agree. maywood(the city 6 mi. southeast of downtown LA) is outside LA proper. at the turn of the century is was a town accessible by rail car. it had roads, but most people used the rails. after city incorporation in the 1920's it stayed a smaller town still far from the "city". as Los angeles grew all the outlying areas became part of the greater LA area.
altho maywood and huntington park were conceived as separate cities, connected to Downtown by trolley/rail, they were still on the same street grid as the rest of los angeles. in maywood 55th street is at the same height as 55th street in LA. slauson runs from south central east towards maywood. it was once considered a suburb, but as LA grew, so did maywood (and its problems). gangs and drugs plagued LA begining in the 70's. these exurban (is that the right term?) cities were not immune. LA and its surrounding cities grew up together. maywoods buildings are older than buildings in certain parts of LA city. the streets are more walkable, housing more dense (maywood is one of the densest cities in the country), etc etc. it feels very urban.
once 9 or 10 comes around, the city is back to being a sleepy town.
and there are certain older neighborhood$ in LA that were conceived as sections for rich folk. nice big homes in old [suburban like]subdivisions.
cities like LA (and Chi) can have a little of both. thats the beauty.
so when people talk about city versus suburb, it would be good to know what the definition of such is.
in the end i like the areas that i have lived in. they have been older parts of town, with many ammenities. very vibrant during the day, but ghost towns at night.
its been ALL CITY for me.
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Originally Posted by Venom
Maybe it is not the same in newer cities.
But here in Chicago we have suburbs that can be more urban then some parts of the city and parts of the city more suburban then suburbs.
i also prefer city because of the variety of housing. in suburbs the houses all look the same.
and then the street numbering?!?! is it even a grid? they have curvy streets. the numbers seem not to make sense.
in the city (at least in my experience) its been very easy. even for the kids. they still play in the streets. they still ride bikes. they still go to the park. they still enjoy life. im glad i can raise my kids in the city.
we can walk to school. to the park. to the library. to the bank. to the bus stop. to the cleaners. to the market. etc etc.
the only problem is that the area does have higher crime and drug use.
but drug use is everywhere. the difference is the type of drugs.
in the last couple of years there have been many cases and articles in the times about kids "pharming". using their parents meds or their meds to get high...
I lived in the country for a weekend.
Never again.
It's soo boring.
And when I can go from neighborhood to neighborhood here, I have to go from town to town over there.
Which could range from 5-10 miles
I lived in the country for a weekend.
Never again.
It's soo boring.
And when I can go from neighborhood to neighborhood here, I have to go from town to town over there.
Which could range from 5-10 miles
Go for a walk out in the country amongst Nature and take in the serenity and beauty , take your BB Gun along and shoot at trees , wave to the Farmer out there on his Tractor, say 'Howdy Howdy' to the elderly housewife sweeping off her porch , breathe in the smell of cow manure as you walk past the many farms...its a good healthy smell , and get a bicycle to go from town to town --- youll save a bundle in gasoline , its excellent excersise, and you can scope out all the purty Country Gurls along the way . If you were in the city, youd be given the finger for cutting someone off in your car, get a splitting headache from the sound of blaring horns by people showing their stress , and have to tip some parking attendant at the restaurant you just spent $65 at for some processed food.
"The suburbs: where they cut down all the trees then name the streets after them"
I grew up in the city and can't imagine living w/o it. on the other hand, I'd love to live in a quieter area where I had a lot of land (I can't quite bring myself to say "rural"). maybe if I'm raking in the cash, I can have a cabin/vacation house in the woods somewhere. if I had kids, I'd raised them in the city and hope to God they get into an exam school or similar and not get stuck in the typical big city public school.
IMHO, other than education, the city just offers so much more for kids than the typical suburb. they aren't as dependent on parents for simple rides. you don't need to buy them a car at 16 just so they can get around w/o you. there are more museums, clubs, and activities to do in the city. more diversity on all levels in most cases (yes, that means kids will be exposed to the "seedier" side of this added diversity, including homeless bums and trashy people. this won't kill the child and will hopefully instill them w/ some common street sense). it just doesn't seem like there much to do in the typical suburb, especially if you're a kid w/o a car and the roads aren't all that safe to walk/bike along (it boggles my mind that there are suburbs w/ no sidewalks! where do people walk? oh right, they drive)
I like a bit of a mix between the two -- the town that I currently live in (Arlington, VA) has worked out really well for me so far.
The main street in Arlington was really well-designed--the Metro line runs directly underneath it, and there is 1 stop per mile (I think 5 in total) so you can get to anywhere on it (work/housing/shopping) without having to use a car.
I also love being able to walk down the street from where I live and do grocery shopping, hang out at the bookstore, coffee shop, bars, etc.
And the best part is that it is only 1 metro stop away from DC, so I can get on the subway and be in DC in 5-10 minutes.
Sure, it is a bit more expensive to live in this type of situation, but when I did the math, it comes out fairly even. I pay more in rent, but I don't have to own a car.
The other thing that I appreciate about living very close to the city and close to a subway line is that I won't be panicking when gas prices go up. Remember last summer (2008)? At $4.50/gal, it suddenly threw a wrench in the super-commuters' budgets.
I think that there are great suburbs out there, but I'd only ever move to one that had rail stations within walking distance of housing (like they do in some Chicago towns).
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