In the end it's a matter of taste, but several reasons: - Affordable suburbs usually carry lengthy commutes of unpleasant stop-and-go driving. City dwellers ca

In the end it's a matter of taste, but several reasons: - Affordable suburbs usually carry lengthy commutes of unpleasant stop-and-go driving. City dwellers can walk to work or read on a train. Lower commute time is strongly associated with overall happiness. I share your preference for driving over public transit, but not in commuter traffic. - Children have essentially no independent mobility until age 16, and then only if they have their own cars. In the suburb I grew up in, I'd estimate that mothers spend ~30% of their waking hours driving their children around. - Though there may be good restaurants, art, theater, museums, etc. in the city, going to such things becomes a special occasion. Life instead centers around malls and multiplexes. - Many find sleepy streets dull, uninspiring, even suffocating. For some, proximity to centers of human activity is a great deal more valuable than space. - If you live in a city, you can go out drinking without committing DUI or spending $40 on a taxi. - Many find the maintenance of a house, tons of unnecessary rooms, a lawn, etc. to be an unbearable and outrageously expensive bore that provides no value. I can think of many things I'd rather do on a weekend than put new siding on my garage, and many things I'd rather do with 5 figures than fix my roof. My home is a place to eat and sleep; I'd much rather invest time and energy and pride into other things.