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"Millennials want to live in cities." Says who? The article doesn't: "Overall, more than 80 percent of millennials already live in suburbs and exurbs, and the

"Millennials want to live in cities." Says who? The article doesn't: "Overall, more than 80 percent of millennials already live in suburbs and exurbs, and they are, if anything, moving away from the dense, expensive cities" Some of it is due to cost, as it has always been, but there are hundreds of other lifestyle factors at work. Backyards are neat too, as it turns out. So are excellent public schools. So is your child riding their bike to the park. Nearly all of my friends and I lived in the city after college, got married, had kids, and moved to the burbs...just like our parents did.

yardie 10y ago
I think you protest too much. I've lived in both the cities and suburbs. I prefer the cities. As a family with an solo child the suburbs was mentally draining for our boy. What's the use of the backyard if you're playing by yourself. The park was too far away for him to walk and he had a good chance of being the only kid there, because of backyards. And finally, everyone was so damn insular. In the year we lived there we only knew a few neighbors. I'm in a low tax state which means the schools are chronically underfunded. Our school in the suburbs relied on parent fundraising to cover a lot of extracurricular stuff. Our city school relies on the density of the student body and the density of property taxes to fund extracurricular programs. It seems like everyday he's sent home with something he wants to sign up for. We sold he car, bought bikes, and ride everywhere including the park. We gave the suburbs a shot, it didn't work, so we left. My brother, on the other hand loves it. Big house for him and his spouse, the kids, and their dirt bikes.
- pc86 10y ago
  Schools are funded largely by property taxes, so the tax climate of your state has little to no bearing on how much money your school has, and certainly no bearing on how well they spend what they have.
  - bretthoerner 10y ago
    If only that were always true: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_plan In Austin we paid $406 million in state recapture in 2016. That's one third of AISD's budget for the year. That money doesn't come back to us, to be clear. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar were in place in other states. In addition, I believe the state has plenty of laws that control what each county can do tax-wise, I'm too lazy to find them all right now. My point is that the state matters a lot. (Note: I'm not saying that I'm against any of this, necessarily.)
  - yardie 10y ago
    Schools are funded through a mix of local, state, and federal funds. And the tax climate definitely does have an impact. Which I why tax heavy states such as NYS, Taxachusetts, and Connecticut do substantially better on standardized tests.
- tzs 10y ago
  > The park was too far away for him to walk and he had a good chance of being the only kid there, because of backyards. And finally, everyone was so damn insular. In the year we lived there we only knew a few neighbors. Did the other kids in your neighborhood mostly play in their backyards or inside at home? When I was a kid, we were expected to go out and play in the front yard, or the street, or go ride our bikes to a park or open field or creek or convenience store, with the main restriction being that we be back for meals. Most suburbs kids were what would now be called a "free range" kid. When families would go to a sporting event, or to a movie, or on a camping trip, it was common for their kids to be allowed to invite a friend to come along. There was enough interaction between the kids of different families that the parents had to talk on occasion, and so families tended to become acquainted somewhat through the relationships among their kids. If their kids participated in organized sports, parents would meet and talk with other parents in the stands while watching the games. I wonder if the decline in free range kids is what caused the empty parks and insular behavior you experienced?
  - yardie 10y ago
    They were at home. Whether they were inside or in the backyard I can't say, big shrubs and picket fences. Some of the kids were whisked from school directly home by car even though it was a reasonable walk. These parents have an unreasonable fear that someone is going to kidnap their special snowflake. We're back in the city now, not the downtown corridor but where the residential apartment buildings are. Lots of kids here. 3 parks within walking distance. 1 has an Olympic pool and kids splash pool. And in the week he's been enrolled lots of new friends. He's learning Spanish as well, not school Spanish but actual living Spanish. If he's like his father he'll learn the curse words first :-) I think the poor planning of suburban neighborhoods caused the decline. Parks are too far apart. There are no sidewalks. Everyone is in a cul-de-sac making it difficult to pass by. I believe the suburbs are designed to be actively hostile to social interaction. This is the same adults as well as kids.

yardie 10y ago

I think you protest too much. I've lived in both the cities and suburbs. I prefer the cities. As a family with an solo child the suburbs was mentally draining for our boy. What's the use of the backyard if you're playing by yourself. The park was too far away for him to walk and he had a good chance of being the only kid there, because of backyards. And finally, everyone was so damn insular. In the year we lived there we only knew a few neighbors. I'm in a low tax state which means the schools are chronically underfunded. Our school in the suburbs relied on parent fundraising to cover a lot of extracurricular stuff. Our city school relies on the density of the student body and the density of property taxes to fund extracurricular programs. It seems like everyday he's sent home with something he wants to sign up for. We sold he car, bought bikes, and ride everywhere including the park. We gave the suburbs a shot, it didn't work, so we left. My brother, on the other hand loves it. Big house for him and his spouse, the kids, and their dirt bikes.

pc86 10y ago
Schools are funded largely by property taxes, so the tax climate of your state has little to no bearing on how much money your school has, and certainly no bearing on how well they spend what they have.
- bretthoerner 10y ago
  If only that were always true: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_plan In Austin we paid $406 million in state recapture in 2016. That's one third of AISD's budget for the year. That money doesn't come back to us, to be clear. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar were in place in other states. In addition, I believe the state has plenty of laws that control what each county can do tax-wise, I'm too lazy to find them all right now. My point is that the state matters a lot. (Note: I'm not saying that I'm against any of this, necessarily.)
- yardie 10y ago
  Schools are funded through a mix of local, state, and federal funds. And the tax climate definitely does have an impact. Which I why tax heavy states such as NYS, Taxachusetts, and Connecticut do substantially better on standardized tests.
tzs 10y ago
> The park was too far away for him to walk and he had a good chance of being the only kid there, because of backyards. And finally, everyone was so damn insular. In the year we lived there we only knew a few neighbors. Did the other kids in your neighborhood mostly play in their backyards or inside at home? When I was a kid, we were expected to go out and play in the front yard, or the street, or go ride our bikes to a park or open field or creek or convenience store, with the main restriction being that we be back for meals. Most suburbs kids were what would now be called a "free range" kid. When families would go to a sporting event, or to a movie, or on a camping trip, it was common for their kids to be allowed to invite a friend to come along. There was enough interaction between the kids of different families that the parents had to talk on occasion, and so families tended to become acquainted somewhat through the relationships among their kids. If their kids participated in organized sports, parents would meet and talk with other parents in the stands while watching the games. I wonder if the decline in free range kids is what caused the empty parks and insular behavior you experienced?
- yardie 10y ago
  They were at home. Whether they were inside or in the backyard I can't say, big shrubs and picket fences. Some of the kids were whisked from school directly home by car even though it was a reasonable walk. These parents have an unreasonable fear that someone is going to kidnap their special snowflake. We're back in the city now, not the downtown corridor but where the residential apartment buildings are. Lots of kids here. 3 parks within walking distance. 1 has an Olympic pool and kids splash pool. And in the week he's been enrolled lots of new friends. He's learning Spanish as well, not school Spanish but actual living Spanish. If he's like his father he'll learn the curse words first :-) I think the poor planning of suburban neighborhoods caused the decline. Parks are too far apart. There are no sidewalks. Everyone is in a cul-de-sac making it difficult to pass by. I believe the suburbs are designed to be actively hostile to social interaction. This is the same adults as well as kids.