I'm done with this liberal belief of new urbanism.... (Mexican, illegal, stereotypes)
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Millions of us can afford to live in the neighborhoods we grew up in. In fact, millions of us live in much much nicer neighborhoods than where we grew up. That's because the American Dream is alive and well.
I think a lot of that depends on where you live. Like I mentioned, I live where the OP does and the average house price is around half a mil and the average wage is around 36k. Basically, to live here you have to be a retired millionaire or have a bunch of roommates. I know multiple families (married, 2 or 3 kids) that still have roommates because of the prices.
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Originally Posted by freemkt
If you are completely priced out of the area, why are you there now?
Because I happened to find a place that was fairly inexpensive. Unfortunately it's a trailer in the middle of nowhere with horrible roommates, the place is falling apart and I've already had two pieces of antique furniture destroyed by leaks during rainstorms.
Since it's so cheap (and it's a college town...not the most discerning of tenants) she never has a problem filling the rooms regardless of issues.
I'll be moving in August to northern California for school, so we'll see how that goes.
Actually,I think that the OP is having a bit of a crisis situation with his slipping grades while in school attempting to learn about urban planning.
He has just begun to realize that he is in over his head and is probably not in the right major or school.
Plus, it just hit him how his entire outlook on new urbanism v. sprawl is completely at odds with the finite amount of land we have in the world and the continuing population growth.
He just can't handle it.
We were all just subjected to a study break rant of ADHD proportions, I'm afraid.
Actually,I think that the OP is having a bit of a crisis situation with his slipping grades while in school attempting to learn about urban planning.
He has just begun to realize that he is in over his head and is probably not in the right major or school.
Plus, it just hit him how his entire outlook on new urbanism v. sprawl is completely at odds with the finite amount of land we have in the world and the continuing population growth.
He just can't handle it.
We were all just subjected to a study break rant of ADHD proportions, I'm afraid.
Land isn't really the issue - water is the biggest issue associated with sprawl.
I'm going to try to stay away from the mudslinging in this discussion. I'll just give my experience:
I was born in a fairly sprawling exurb Boston. Now I live in Cambridge, MA, a city with roughly 16,000 ppm. Instead of driving to work, I walk. Instead of having lots of land, I live in a small apartment; however, I can walk to a beautiful park by the water or to one of the many parks dotted around the city. I no longer drive a car because I can walk most places I need to go, ride my bike for longer distances, take the train for even longer distance and, if necessary, rent a car for the day to get to the countryside.
I don't miss paying for gas, maintenance or taxes on a car. I don't miss living in an area where "walkers" are yelled at by redneck out of their truck windows.
I also know that I'm not the only one, and the free market has dictated that more homes/condos/apartments are wanted because prices for homes in the cities are quite high. A densely populated city like Cambridge, and its sister city Somerville, have very low vacancy rates. Also, both cities didn't lose much in the recession.
What are you rambling about guy? The housing prices are going down in California (has been for the last few years) and at least in Los Angeles there has been a redevelopment strategy in downtown. Not because the planners are neglecting suburbia but because of the dismal condition of our downtown area. What it comes down to is community developers pulled back because of the recession and unemployment rate. Not because of some liberal conspiracy. It might be time to take the tin foil hat off…
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Originally Posted by the city
There is plenty of sprawl and suburban development, but the lack of new housing and infill developments and making suburban areas denser is raising prices for housing.
I think there is going to be another age of enlightenment in the future. I think birth rates will drop drastically and the US population will settle at around 200 million. Most people will return to smaller towns and rural living. People will work at home mostly. People will live closer to the farms where their food is grown and they will have less stress.
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