6 ms·

This is one of the biggest reasons it was refreshing as hell to move to the big city, as paradoxical as that sounds. Rural/suburban life is like living in a ba

This is one of the biggest reasons it was refreshing as hell to move to the big city, as paradoxical as that sounds. Rural/suburban life is like living in a barren wasteland marked by occasional oases you have to travel between in a metal spaceship. Living in an area where commuting to work and activities by foot is completely normal feels like rediscovering a lost sense of communal society, and there's a relief and a comfort to it that's difficult to articulate.

dsfyu404ed 10y ago
>Rural >barren wasteland If you're a glass half empty person. Many people see it as freedom to do close to whatever you want without anyone caring.
- m3rc 10y ago
  What, people who live in cities don't have freedom? And the user you replied to wasn't talking about space available like in a truly rural setting, they were talking about how it's impossible to live in a suburban or rural setting without centering your life around the car you drive.
  - yen223 10y ago
    Cities offer more choices, rural areas offer more freedom
    - couchand 10y ago
      Oh, were it that simple.
    - bravura 10y ago
      Really? Have you tried wearing drag in a rural area?
      - throwanem 10y ago
        Have you tried plinking cans in your backyard, or cleaning a deer, in a city?
        icebraining 10y ago
        That's a very specific case. Plinking cans would be illegal around here, except in a shooting range. As for deer, does boar count? If so, then definitively.
        throwanem 10y ago
        I don't know where "here" is. But drag is a very specific case, too.
      - cmdrfred 10y ago
        I assure you that you won't be arrested for wearing drag in rural Pennsylvania, you will however be arrested in Philadelphia if you start a bonfire or ride a dirtbike in your backyard.
    - m3rc 10y ago
      I don't know if I've ever seen "choices" and "freedom" framed as in opposition. And I don't see how having to pour money into a fossil fuel powered cage and having to keep your kids inside like this post talks about is helping in the directive of freedom.
- macNchz 10y ago
  I think the important distinction there is between rural and suburban. I grew up in a rural small town and now live in NYC... I love my neighborhood in the city for how extremely walkable it is, the breadth of diversity in people, food, opportunities etc. However I do often miss, for example, going for aimless drives with no traffic or stoplights, finding solitude on a dirt road 5 minutes from home with not a house or person in sight, hiking, camping, shooting and snowmobiling essentially right outside the door. In the burbs I still get the same kind of 'trapped' feeling I'll sometimes get in the city, but without the benefits of living in a dense city: endless things to do, many friends within walking distance, and tons of places to share a drink or meal with them.
- vkou 10y ago
  I can assure you, your suburban HOA is extremely caring about what you do. Heaven forbid you change the colour of your curtains.
  - SteveNuts 10y ago
    Think past the suburbs...
  - NoGravitas 10y ago
    Suburbs are really the worst of both worlds. City and rural both have their appeals. Suburbs have nothing.
    - ddoolin 10y ago
      Often newer housing that is closer to the urban center where people work (something you typically do 5 times a week) but is also so much more affordable than living in the city. I think they have appeal, but only for the budget-minded.
    - balabaster 10y ago
      The suburbs truly are a barren wasteland of nothing. Without your car, they're a soul sucking prison with all the rules of the city and none of the pay-offs. I now live in rural Canada. I've spent much of my adult life living in dense cities after having grown up in rural England - London, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto. You can't compare the advantages of either environment - rural or city, but the suburbs truly are the worst of each. You get a lot of space you can't do anything of any value with because of all the rules defined for the comfort of your neighbours who you either have never met or are a pain in your ass; and you can't walk anywhere because there's nowhere to walk. When you live surrounded by farmland, you can camp for free, hunt, be outdoors, roam on your bike, let your kids climb trees and hike and explore on their own, build treehouses and let them play Lord of the Flies to their heart's content. They can grow, find themselves and become self confident self assured leaders who don't need Mommy every time they graze a knee and have thick skin that doesn't cry to be soothed every time someone insults them, because "they've got this". In the city you've still got all the stifling rules of suburbia, but you have a pay off: Everything is to hand, you can ditch your car and walk everywhere or take public transit, get on your bike, become part of a tight community of city dwellers. There's extensive culture right outside your door, night life, excitement and high energy... that never. Ever. Shuts. Off. Eventually the city grinds you down though. It's exciting and freeing for a while, and if you grew up in the city, you might never notice it; but if you grew up in the countryside or the mountains eventually you'll notice it and begin to feel trapped, you'll begin to miss your roots and the simple life, you'll grow sick of trying to keep up with the relentless onslaught of the media, the billboards, the shop windows telling you that you're not enough, you need this to feel better, you need this to look better, you need this to be better and you'll begin to long for an escape from the ceaseless assault of your mind. Rural life is a different kind of freedom... where you can see the stars.
- pjc50 10y ago
  What do you have the freedom to do that you can't do in a city, other than constraints of space and physical geography? Rurally you're still constrained by all that seemingly open land belonging to other people, plus the time constraints of getting to places. You have fresh air, views, and quiet (provided you're not in the middle of an agribusiness rural area). (Talking about "freedom" in the pure abstract is vague; freedom to/from what?)
  - distances 10y ago
    I know this discussion is from the US point of view, but land belonging to other people is not a problem everywhere. Many countries (at least in Northern Europe) have "freedom to roam" [1] which in addition to actual roaming may include camping, picking berries and mushrooms, et cetera. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam
SomeCallMeTim 10y ago
I live in a small suburban city and I can walk to: * The library (5 minutes) * A supermarket (8 minutes) * A dozen restaurants (7-15 minutes; mostly local restaurants + 2 fast food chains) * Two liquor stores * A drug store (12 minutes) * A coworking space (15 minutes) * Several antique stores (12-15 minutes) * (Almost forgot) Walmart (10 minutes) * Two barbers (8-12 minutes) * At least three major bus lines And if I get on a bike, I can go across the entire town in 20 minutes, which puts me in range of more supermarkets, a local game store, a Gamestop, a bowling alley, at least two dozen more restaurants, and tons more. There are places to live in my town that I would be stuck driving (or at least biking) everywhere. But I chose a place near the downtown area, and I can walk to tons of places. And I do. Not fond of big cities. My kids can wander around my neighborhood or walk to the park, and we don't worry at all. Granted it's not six miles to the park. Six miles in any direction and you've left the small city I live in. But we're trying to resist the helicopter parenting style. That said, I think there's another thing that's missing from this discussion: People are having fewer kids. Sometimes they have a single kid. So it's natural when all your eggs are in one basket to be a bit more paranoid about that basket.
- MarkPNeyer 10y ago
  Curious - what city is this?
  - SomeCallMeTim 10y ago
    Lafayette, CO. Though neighboring Louisville is similar, and Boulder proper has some very walkable areas as well (at twice the price). Edit to add: Longmont, CO has a charming walkable downtown as well, plus gigabit ethernet for cheap. In case you care. :)
- visarga 10y ago
  > when all your eggs are in one basket Almost literally your eggs in one "basket".
- TulliusCicero 10y ago
  That's exceptional though. Most American suburbs aren't like that at all, and many of the ones that do have a walkable area, most of their housing is still in unwalkable areas.

dsfyu404ed 10y ago

>Rural >barren wasteland If you're a glass half empty person. Many people see it as freedom to do close to whatever you want without anyone caring.

m3rc 10y ago
What, people who live in cities don't have freedom? And the user you replied to wasn't talking about space available like in a truly rural setting, they were talking about how it's impossible to live in a suburban or rural setting without centering your life around the car you drive.
- yen223 10y ago
  Cities offer more choices, rural areas offer more freedom
  - couchand 10y ago
    Oh, were it that simple.
  - bravura 10y ago
    Really? Have you tried wearing drag in a rural area?
    - throwanem 10y ago
      Have you tried plinking cans in your backyard, or cleaning a deer, in a city?
      - icebraining 10y ago
        That's a very specific case. Plinking cans would be illegal around here, except in a shooting range. As for deer, does boar count? If so, then definitively.
        throwanem 10y ago
        I don't know where "here" is. But drag is a very specific case, too.
    - cmdrfred 10y ago
      I assure you that you won't be arrested for wearing drag in rural Pennsylvania, you will however be arrested in Philadelphia if you start a bonfire or ride a dirtbike in your backyard.
  - m3rc 10y ago
    I don't know if I've ever seen "choices" and "freedom" framed as in opposition. And I don't see how having to pour money into a fossil fuel powered cage and having to keep your kids inside like this post talks about is helping in the directive of freedom.
macNchz 10y ago
I think the important distinction there is between rural and suburban. I grew up in a rural small town and now live in NYC... I love my neighborhood in the city for how extremely walkable it is, the breadth of diversity in people, food, opportunities etc. However I do often miss, for example, going for aimless drives with no traffic or stoplights, finding solitude on a dirt road 5 minutes from home with not a house or person in sight, hiking, camping, shooting and snowmobiling essentially right outside the door. In the burbs I still get the same kind of 'trapped' feeling I'll sometimes get in the city, but without the benefits of living in a dense city: endless things to do, many friends within walking distance, and tons of places to share a drink or meal with them.
vkou 10y ago
I can assure you, your suburban HOA is extremely caring about what you do. Heaven forbid you change the colour of your curtains.
- SteveNuts 10y ago
  Think past the suburbs...
- NoGravitas 10y ago
  Suburbs are really the worst of both worlds. City and rural both have their appeals. Suburbs have nothing.
  - ddoolin 10y ago
    Often newer housing that is closer to the urban center where people work (something you typically do 5 times a week) but is also so much more affordable than living in the city. I think they have appeal, but only for the budget-minded.
  - balabaster 10y ago
    The suburbs truly are a barren wasteland of nothing. Without your car, they're a soul sucking prison with all the rules of the city and none of the pay-offs. I now live in rural Canada. I've spent much of my adult life living in dense cities after having grown up in rural England - London, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto. You can't compare the advantages of either environment - rural or city, but the suburbs truly are the worst of each. You get a lot of space you can't do anything of any value with because of all the rules defined for the comfort of your neighbours who you either have never met or are a pain in your ass; and you can't walk anywhere because there's nowhere to walk. When you live surrounded by farmland, you can camp for free, hunt, be outdoors, roam on your bike, let your kids climb trees and hike and explore on their own, build treehouses and let them play Lord of the Flies to their heart's content. They can grow, find themselves and become self confident self assured leaders who don't need Mommy every time they graze a knee and have thick skin that doesn't cry to be soothed every time someone insults them, because "they've got this". In the city you've still got all the stifling rules of suburbia, but you have a pay off: Everything is to hand, you can ditch your car and walk everywhere or take public transit, get on your bike, become part of a tight community of city dwellers. There's extensive culture right outside your door, night life, excitement and high energy... that never. Ever. Shuts. Off. Eventually the city grinds you down though. It's exciting and freeing for a while, and if you grew up in the city, you might never notice it; but if you grew up in the countryside or the mountains eventually you'll notice it and begin to feel trapped, you'll begin to miss your roots and the simple life, you'll grow sick of trying to keep up with the relentless onslaught of the media, the billboards, the shop windows telling you that you're not enough, you need this to feel better, you need this to look better, you need this to be better and you'll begin to long for an escape from the ceaseless assault of your mind. Rural life is a different kind of freedom... where you can see the stars.
pjc50 10y ago
What do you have the freedom to do that you can't do in a city, other than constraints of space and physical geography? Rurally you're still constrained by all that seemingly open land belonging to other people, plus the time constraints of getting to places. You have fresh air, views, and quiet (provided you're not in the middle of an agribusiness rural area). (Talking about "freedom" in the pure abstract is vague; freedom to/from what?)
- distances 10y ago
  I know this discussion is from the US point of view, but land belonging to other people is not a problem everywhere. Many countries (at least in Northern Europe) have "freedom to roam" [1] which in addition to actual roaming may include camping, picking berries and mushrooms, et cetera. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam

SomeCallMeTim 10y ago

I live in a small suburban city and I can walk to: * The library (5 minutes) * A supermarket (8 minutes) * A dozen restaurants (7-15 minutes; mostly local restaurants + 2 fast food chains) * Two liquor stores * A drug store (12 minutes) * A coworking space (15 minutes) * Several antique stores (12-15 minutes) * (Almost forgot) Walmart (10 minutes) * Two barbers (8-12 minutes) * At least three major bus lines And if I get on a bike, I can go across the entire town in 20 minutes, which puts me in range of more supermarkets, a local game store, a Gamestop, a bowling alley, at least two dozen more restaurants, and tons more. There are places to live in my town that I would be stuck driving (or at least biking) everywhere. But I chose a place near the downtown area, and I can walk to tons of places. And I do. Not fond of big cities. My kids can wander around my neighborhood or walk to the park, and we don't worry at all. Granted it's not six miles to the park. Six miles in any direction and you've left the small city I live in. But we're trying to resist the helicopter parenting style. That said, I think there's another thing that's missing from this discussion: People are having fewer kids. Sometimes they have a single kid. So it's natural when all your eggs are in one basket to be a bit more paranoid about that basket.

MarkPNeyer 10y ago
Curious - what city is this?
- SomeCallMeTim 10y ago
  Lafayette, CO. Though neighboring Louisville is similar, and Boulder proper has some very walkable areas as well (at twice the price). Edit to add: Longmont, CO has a charming walkable downtown as well, plus gigabit ethernet for cheap. In case you care. :)
visarga 10y ago
> when all your eggs are in one basket Almost literally your eggs in one "basket".
TulliusCicero 10y ago
That's exceptional though. Most American suburbs aren't like that at all, and many of the ones that do have a walkable area, most of their housing is still in unwalkable areas.