6 ms·

Spending 15 years in a cultural wasteland (even with your own pool) isn't appealing to everyone. Sounds like the issue is that our cities aren't liveable in th

Spending 15 years in a cultural wasteland (even with your own pool) isn't appealing to everyone. Sounds like the issue is that our cities aren't liveable in the first place.

rayiner 9y ago
Our cities are too expensive, thanks to NIMBYs, and have terrible schools, thanks to various factors but mostly America's long history of segregation and oppression. Neither of those things will be fixed, probably ever much less any time soon. So the question is, how do you make the best of what you've got to work with? My wife and I moved from downtown DC to just outside the Annapolis city limits. We probably do more culture/community stuff now, because thanks to Uber and a low cost of living, we can easily justify trying those things out. If I could find a comparable job in Topeka, I'd totally try that out. Yuppie cultural amenities are everywhere these days. Yeah, it won't be New York, but only New York is New York, but somehow the rest of the country manages to get by with their second-string versions of things.
- ikeyany 9y ago
  The luxury of living blissfully anywhere you want is most certainly not realistic to everyone, especially non-whites. HN as a whole seems to believe perspectives like yours are ubiquitous by default.
  - rayiner 9y ago
    As a non white person, I'm not sure what you mean.
    - ikeyany 9y ago
      Then you've lived a sheltered life as a minority if you think middle America is as good of a long-term option as cities.
ArchReaper 9y ago
How are Austin suburbs a "cultural wasteland" ?
- khalilravanna 9y ago
  I'm not sure when they bought their houses for $150k but if it was any time recently, it was most likely in one of the cookie cutter suburban developments that look like the definition of suburbia and, if you're like me, dystopia. Some of them don't have anything near them other than houses. No stores, no amenities other than maybe a gas station-- just houses. Source: I bought a house in one of these neighborhoods recently because it was so cheap. While there was absolutely nothing near me to do, going downtown still only took 15 minutes, so I had absolutely no problem with life there. I had my silence and my work-from-home office in my comedically large, cheap house and then if I wanted to catch a show or get dinner I would hop in the car and go downtown to meet up with friends. I actually live in Boston now and am paying twice as much as my mortgage for a third of the space. Not an exaggeration. And it actually takes me twice as long to get out and do some things because Boston is so congested with traffic. Sadly, I think by the time I ever return to Austin, I'm sure it will have seen enough growth that it will be much the same cost to get culture from my suburban house.
  - arien 9y ago
    Curious. Are there no stores because they're not allowed or because they don't want to be there? I would find it very hard not to have a supermarket or a corner shop nearby for when I run out of this or that and it isn't time for the weekly shopping. And I would think it's an excellent small business opportunity.
    - khalilravanna 9y ago
      For my neighborhood, I believe it's because the neighborhood didn't exist 3 years ago. So I agree I think it's a huge opportunity. The first HEB (grocery chain in TX) to open up in the neighborhood is going to make a killing. For others that have existed for longer, sometimes the zoning seems to just be residential forever so sometimes you have to drive for a bit to get to the nearest "stuff". I think that's pretty standard for suburbia. And then for yet others sometimes they're just too far out and too small of developments to make building a supermarket just for them financially viable.
jbooth 9y ago
Cultural wasteland? Wait till you have kids. Turns out it doesn't matter whether you can see a post-alt-rock band in a small venue, it's past bedtime anyways, and spongebob on youtube works everywhere.
- ikeyany 9y ago
  Again, not everyone believes 15 years chain restaurants, homogeneous lifestyle, and isolated affluence is worth it.
  - jbooth 9y ago
    Chain restaurants?? We cook at home. Occasionally hit up our local pub in our cultural wasteland suburb. People with kids and responsibilities have different concerns from those who don't. Whether what I ate or what entertainment I consume are fashionable enough doesn't even hit the radar -- I'm happy if I can eat anything in peace or get any downtime whatsoever for entertainment. You'll be there one day.
    - ikeyany 9y ago
      Culture doesn't mean being fashionable or trendy. I think you have a mistaken view of what culture means.
      - jbooth 9y ago
        I get where you're coming from but you don't seem to get that other people have different priorities. The set of people living in the burbs with families are generally living for their kids first and themselves a distant second. Consuming more interesting culture is great and all but it's still just consumption. Even if you're producing art or music, that's something for people with a lot of time for it unless they're doing it professionally. (and lots of great music has been created by bored suburban kids, FWIW).
  - rayiner 9y ago
    We're talking about suburbs where Uber and cab drivers can afford a house in a good school district. Those places aren't bastions of "homogeneous lifestyle" and "isolated affluence." More like ethnic restaurants and lots of economic/racial diversity.
ashark 9y ago
The culture of the city around here doesn't matter if you have kids, because the nearest decent schools are well out into suburbia. The city's for poor people, recent college grads there for "the culture" (dating scene), and rich people with kids who can afford private school plus paying 4x-6x as much to live in the city rather than 20min away.
- ikeyany 9y ago
  Don't you think it's worth taking a step back when you insist that culture doesn't matter?
  - ashark 9y ago
    No? If walking-distance-to-culture comes with a side of dangerous, failing schools then of course it doesn't matter compared with avoiding that. Driving-distance-to-culture will have to do.

Spending 15 years in a cultural wasteland (even with your own pool) isn't appealing to everyone. Sounds like the issue is that our cities aren't liveable in the first place.

rayiner 9y ago

Our cities are too expensive, thanks to NIMBYs, and have terrible schools, thanks to various factors but mostly America's long history of segregation and oppression. Neither of those things will be fixed, probably ever much less any time soon. So the question is, how do you make the best of what you've got to work with? My wife and I moved from downtown DC to just outside the Annapolis city limits. We probably do more culture/community stuff now, because thanks to Uber and a low cost of living, we can easily justify trying those things out. If I could find a comparable job in Topeka, I'd totally try that out. Yuppie cultural amenities are everywhere these days. Yeah, it won't be New York, but only New York is New York, but somehow the rest of the country manages to get by with their second-string versions of things.

ikeyany 9y ago
The luxury of living blissfully anywhere you want is most certainly not realistic to everyone, especially non-whites. HN as a whole seems to believe perspectives like yours are ubiquitous by default.
- rayiner 9y ago
  As a non white person, I'm not sure what you mean.
  - ikeyany 9y ago
    Then you've lived a sheltered life as a minority if you think middle America is as good of a long-term option as cities.

ArchReaper 9y ago

How are Austin suburbs a "cultural wasteland" ?

khalilravanna 9y ago
I'm not sure when they bought their houses for $150k but if it was any time recently, it was most likely in one of the cookie cutter suburban developments that look like the definition of suburbia and, if you're like me, dystopia. Some of them don't have anything near them other than houses. No stores, no amenities other than maybe a gas station-- just houses. Source: I bought a house in one of these neighborhoods recently because it was so cheap. While there was absolutely nothing near me to do, going downtown still only took 15 minutes, so I had absolutely no problem with life there. I had my silence and my work-from-home office in my comedically large, cheap house and then if I wanted to catch a show or get dinner I would hop in the car and go downtown to meet up with friends. I actually live in Boston now and am paying twice as much as my mortgage for a third of the space. Not an exaggeration. And it actually takes me twice as long to get out and do some things because Boston is so congested with traffic. Sadly, I think by the time I ever return to Austin, I'm sure it will have seen enough growth that it will be much the same cost to get culture from my suburban house.
- arien 9y ago
  Curious. Are there no stores because they're not allowed or because they don't want to be there? I would find it very hard not to have a supermarket or a corner shop nearby for when I run out of this or that and it isn't time for the weekly shopping. And I would think it's an excellent small business opportunity.
  - khalilravanna 9y ago
    For my neighborhood, I believe it's because the neighborhood didn't exist 3 years ago. So I agree I think it's a huge opportunity. The first HEB (grocery chain in TX) to open up in the neighborhood is going to make a killing. For others that have existed for longer, sometimes the zoning seems to just be residential forever so sometimes you have to drive for a bit to get to the nearest "stuff". I think that's pretty standard for suburbia. And then for yet others sometimes they're just too far out and too small of developments to make building a supermarket just for them financially viable.

jbooth 9y ago

Cultural wasteland? Wait till you have kids. Turns out it doesn't matter whether you can see a post-alt-rock band in a small venue, it's past bedtime anyways, and spongebob on youtube works everywhere.

ikeyany 9y ago
Again, not everyone believes 15 years chain restaurants, homogeneous lifestyle, and isolated affluence is worth it.
- jbooth 9y ago
  Chain restaurants?? We cook at home. Occasionally hit up our local pub in our cultural wasteland suburb. People with kids and responsibilities have different concerns from those who don't. Whether what I ate or what entertainment I consume are fashionable enough doesn't even hit the radar -- I'm happy if I can eat anything in peace or get any downtime whatsoever for entertainment. You'll be there one day.
  - ikeyany 9y ago
    Culture doesn't mean being fashionable or trendy. I think you have a mistaken view of what culture means.
    - jbooth 9y ago
      I get where you're coming from but you don't seem to get that other people have different priorities. The set of people living in the burbs with families are generally living for their kids first and themselves a distant second. Consuming more interesting culture is great and all but it's still just consumption. Even if you're producing art or music, that's something for people with a lot of time for it unless they're doing it professionally. (and lots of great music has been created by bored suburban kids, FWIW).
- rayiner 9y ago
  We're talking about suburbs where Uber and cab drivers can afford a house in a good school district. Those places aren't bastions of "homogeneous lifestyle" and "isolated affluence." More like ethnic restaurants and lots of economic/racial diversity.

ashark 9y ago

The culture of the city around here doesn't matter if you have kids, because the nearest decent schools are well out into suburbia. The city's for poor people, recent college grads there for "the culture" (dating scene), and rich people with kids who can afford private school plus paying 4x-6x as much to live in the city rather than 20min away.

ikeyany 9y ago
Don't you think it's worth taking a step back when you insist that culture doesn't matter?
- ashark 9y ago
  No? If walking-distance-to-culture comes with a side of dangerous, failing schools then of course it doesn't matter compared with avoiding that. Driving-distance-to-culture will have to do.