4 ms·

"Why move to a city to do stuff, if once I get there I cannot afford to do anything." Likewise, I live in a culture-free area, but between work and kids and nu

by VLM 10y ago

"Why move to a city to do stuff, if once I get there I cannot afford to do anything." Likewise, I live in a culture-free area, but between work and kids and numerous easily affordable vacations to cultural areas, I have no time to go out drinking (which is usually all people mean by "culture" anyway). If, suddenly on the commute home, an art museum fell onto the interstate, I'd merely have to detour around it, I have a little league practice to get to tonight. I find it ironic that a childhood friend lives in Chicago but can't afford to do anything but scrape by, but as an outsider I can trivially afford to visit and do more in his own hometown than he can afford to do! He does have a much cooler address than I do.

pm90 10y ago
Culture is more than just drinking. Art, Museums, Sports, Music, Food etc. all contribute to what what we call culture. Also, people live in big cities for a variety of reasons. One the biggest ones is finding better jobs. If his current job is not paying enough to live by, I think that living in Chicago offers a lot more opportunities for him to get a job that does.
- freyir 10y ago
  > Art, Museums, Sports, Music, Food etc. all contribute to what what we call culture. I love museums, but I go once or twice a year. Same with live sports. It doesn't really justify living in a place. Live music is great, although admittedly I don't do that as much as I used to. One of my favorite cultural activities? Traveling to experience another cultural. Nothing's quite as conducive to that as a low cost of living when I'm not traveling.
  - pm90 10y ago
    Sure traveling is great when you have the resources to do so on a regular basis. For the large majority of urbanites, regular travel is either not affordable nor very convenient (note that most of the people on this forum probably can travel frequently; I'm talking about the general populace). In such cases, events put out in local venues provide the best opportunities for recreation. It depends on which museum you're talking about. The Museum of Modern Art in Houston generally has month long exhibitions which I love. There is a Museum of Art in Austin which has even more regular events, based on different themes etc. So I definitely do visit museums more than once a year :)
    - VLM 10y ago
      That is exactly the point freyir and I are trying to make. Because I don't live in Chicago, but I can visit anytime I want with minimal effort or financial impact, I can afford to visit Chicago any time I want. Perhaps I will visit your museum in Houston some time. I like visiting famous museums, that's why I don't live nearby any famous ones, specifically so I can afford to visit them. I enjoyed visiting NYC and traveling all over Ireland which was only financially possible because I don't live in a "cultural capital". Chicago BTW has some excellent museums. You can easily spend an entire weekend at the Field museum or the MSI or the aquarium and because I don't live there, I can afford to do so.
- foobarian 10y ago
  There is something funny about culture. I lived in Cambridge, MA a number of years, and even though I never went to a single concert, museum, or other kind of event it always gave me certain warm and fuzzies that those things were available to do at any time. Maybe it was just something you could tell your friends or family. It's like there is a certain prestige to living there which makes it rate higher on a mental list of top places to live.
  - pm90 10y ago
    Yes, this is exactly what I mean. Also, sometimes there might be some event which really catches your eye. This kind of stuff often happens randomly and is definitely not planned. Living in a city where this is possible: to attend interesting events without taking vacation, is the best part about living in cities.
- gozur88 10y ago
  >Also, people live in big cities for a variety of reasons. One the biggest ones is finding better jobs. If his current job is not paying enough to live by, I think that living in Chicago offers a lot more opportunities for him to get a job that does. That's kind of a treadmill, though. There's no real point to moving somewhere chasing a better job if any increase in salary is going to be eaten up by extra taxes and living expenses. I could get a job with a substantially higher salary if I moved to SF, but at the end of the month I'd have less money.
jerf 10y ago
I think people who focus on "culture" need to carefully look at their lives and consider what it is costing them. Are you one of those people who really do go out two or three times a week to some sort of unique event that doesn't exist anywhere else? OK, sure, rock on. No sarcasm; I know you're out there. But are you praising the "culture" of an area while your yearly "culture" itinerary is that you went to an art museum and a mid-list concert? Are you really using the "culture" of your area, or is it just a rationalization to stay where you are? I would consider it a successful outcome of this message if those of you who live in a "cultural" area resolve to take better advantage of it in the future. I'm not trying to say the "culture" stuff is useless. I'm just saying that people's words and actions seem divergent here, and the worst case outcome in terms of bang-for-the-buck is to pay to live in a high-culture area, and then not use it.
- omegaham 10y ago
  This is a really good point, especially since people who live in the suburbs are frequently a short train ride away from the exact same "culture" that the folks who live downtown get to experience. And if you're living in a sweet downtown loft but just sit in your room and watch Netflix all day long, why pay the premium? You can watch Netflix in the suburbs just as well. I think that people obey fashion when it comes to living addresses just as much as they obey fashion when it comes to clothing, cars, and so on. No one likes to say that they living in a suburb of a Midwest city, even if that's actually the best decision they could make with their living circumstances.
  - stuxnet79 10y ago
    > I think that people obey fashion when it comes to living addresses just as much as they obey fashion when it comes to clothing, cars, and so on. No one likes to say that they living in a suburb of a Midwest city, even if that's actually the best decision they could make with their living circumstances. As somebody who recently moved to the city centre, from a 1hr away suburb I believe this is very much true. My move was motivated in part by the reactions I would get from people when I told them where I lived. I'm glad I moved downtown as I'm closer to work and all the city amenities are never more than a half-hour away, but occasionally I have mixed feelings about my decision as my disposable income has gone down considerably and I'm not putting away into my savings as much as I'd like to.
dexwiz 10y ago
I experience the freedom of travel now. My cost of living is low enough, that I can take pretty much as many major trips a year as my PTO allows. But at the same time, I am youngish, and have pretty minimal responsibility. I figuring moving to a bigger city for a few years might not be a bad career move.
bkjelden 10y ago
I don't have kids and I pretty much agree with you. On a weekday, I get up, I go to the gym or for a run or swim, and I go to work. After work, I come home, and I make dinner. If I lived in a vibrant city area, I'm honestly not sure what I'd do after that. At the end of a full day of work, I'm tired. I'm not exceptionally introverted but the last thing I want to do is spend 4 more hours in public. I'd rather spend the evening reading, or catching up on a TV show, or working on a hobby project. I'm certainly not going to go out drinking - I have to work again tomorrow! And for the handful of times a month there is something in the city I want to attend, the hassle of driving/busing/ubering into the city isn't too bad. I do think there is a split between married (with or without kids) and single people. My wife was gone for a couple weeks last month and it got pretty quiet in the evenings. I can see why single people would prefer the city.

by VLM 10y ago

pm90 10y ago

Culture is more than just drinking. Art, Museums, Sports, Music, Food etc. all contribute to what what we call culture. Also, people live in big cities for a variety of reasons. One the biggest ones is finding better jobs. If his current job is not paying enough to live by, I think that living in Chicago offers a lot more opportunities for him to get a job that does.

freyir 10y ago
> Art, Museums, Sports, Music, Food etc. all contribute to what what we call culture. I love museums, but I go once or twice a year. Same with live sports. It doesn't really justify living in a place. Live music is great, although admittedly I don't do that as much as I used to. One of my favorite cultural activities? Traveling to experience another cultural. Nothing's quite as conducive to that as a low cost of living when I'm not traveling.
- pm90 10y ago
  Sure traveling is great when you have the resources to do so on a regular basis. For the large majority of urbanites, regular travel is either not affordable nor very convenient (note that most of the people on this forum probably can travel frequently; I'm talking about the general populace). In such cases, events put out in local venues provide the best opportunities for recreation. It depends on which museum you're talking about. The Museum of Modern Art in Houston generally has month long exhibitions which I love. There is a Museum of Art in Austin which has even more regular events, based on different themes etc. So I definitely do visit museums more than once a year :)
  - VLM 10y ago
    That is exactly the point freyir and I are trying to make. Because I don't live in Chicago, but I can visit anytime I want with minimal effort or financial impact, I can afford to visit Chicago any time I want. Perhaps I will visit your museum in Houston some time. I like visiting famous museums, that's why I don't live nearby any famous ones, specifically so I can afford to visit them. I enjoyed visiting NYC and traveling all over Ireland which was only financially possible because I don't live in a "cultural capital". Chicago BTW has some excellent museums. You can easily spend an entire weekend at the Field museum or the MSI or the aquarium and because I don't live there, I can afford to do so.
foobarian 10y ago
There is something funny about culture. I lived in Cambridge, MA a number of years, and even though I never went to a single concert, museum, or other kind of event it always gave me certain warm and fuzzies that those things were available to do at any time. Maybe it was just something you could tell your friends or family. It's like there is a certain prestige to living there which makes it rate higher on a mental list of top places to live.
- pm90 10y ago
  Yes, this is exactly what I mean. Also, sometimes there might be some event which really catches your eye. This kind of stuff often happens randomly and is definitely not planned. Living in a city where this is possible: to attend interesting events without taking vacation, is the best part about living in cities.
gozur88 10y ago
>Also, people live in big cities for a variety of reasons. One the biggest ones is finding better jobs. If his current job is not paying enough to live by, I think that living in Chicago offers a lot more opportunities for him to get a job that does. That's kind of a treadmill, though. There's no real point to moving somewhere chasing a better job if any increase in salary is going to be eaten up by extra taxes and living expenses. I could get a job with a substantially higher salary if I moved to SF, but at the end of the month I'd have less money.

jerf 10y ago

I think people who focus on "culture" need to carefully look at their lives and consider what it is costing them. Are you one of those people who really do go out two or three times a week to some sort of unique event that doesn't exist anywhere else? OK, sure, rock on. No sarcasm; I know you're out there. But are you praising the "culture" of an area while your yearly "culture" itinerary is that you went to an art museum and a mid-list concert? Are you really using the "culture" of your area, or is it just a rationalization to stay where you are? I would consider it a successful outcome of this message if those of you who live in a "cultural" area resolve to take better advantage of it in the future. I'm not trying to say the "culture" stuff is useless. I'm just saying that people's words and actions seem divergent here, and the worst case outcome in terms of bang-for-the-buck is to pay to live in a high-culture area, and then not use it.

omegaham 10y ago
This is a really good point, especially since people who live in the suburbs are frequently a short train ride away from the exact same "culture" that the folks who live downtown get to experience. And if you're living in a sweet downtown loft but just sit in your room and watch Netflix all day long, why pay the premium? You can watch Netflix in the suburbs just as well. I think that people obey fashion when it comes to living addresses just as much as they obey fashion when it comes to clothing, cars, and so on. No one likes to say that they living in a suburb of a Midwest city, even if that's actually the best decision they could make with their living circumstances.
- stuxnet79 10y ago
  > I think that people obey fashion when it comes to living addresses just as much as they obey fashion when it comes to clothing, cars, and so on. No one likes to say that they living in a suburb of a Midwest city, even if that's actually the best decision they could make with their living circumstances. As somebody who recently moved to the city centre, from a 1hr away suburb I believe this is very much true. My move was motivated in part by the reactions I would get from people when I told them where I lived. I'm glad I moved downtown as I'm closer to work and all the city amenities are never more than a half-hour away, but occasionally I have mixed feelings about my decision as my disposable income has gone down considerably and I'm not putting away into my savings as much as I'd like to.

dexwiz 10y ago

I experience the freedom of travel now. My cost of living is low enough, that I can take pretty much as many major trips a year as my PTO allows. But at the same time, I am youngish, and have pretty minimal responsibility. I figuring moving to a bigger city for a few years might not be a bad career move.

bkjelden 10y ago

I don't have kids and I pretty much agree with you. On a weekday, I get up, I go to the gym or for a run or swim, and I go to work. After work, I come home, and I make dinner. If I lived in a vibrant city area, I'm honestly not sure what I'd do after that. At the end of a full day of work, I'm tired. I'm not exceptionally introverted but the last thing I want to do is spend 4 more hours in public. I'd rather spend the evening reading, or catching up on a TV show, or working on a hobby project. I'm certainly not going to go out drinking - I have to work again tomorrow! And for the handful of times a month there is something in the city I want to attend, the hassle of driving/busing/ubering into the city isn't too bad. I do think there is a split between married (with or without kids) and single people. My wife was gone for a couple weeks last month and it got pretty quiet in the evenings. I can see why single people would prefer the city.