3 ms·

I think this has a lot to do with the housing crisis. Hear me out... When I was a kid I was lucky enough to be raised in a new development community packed wi

I think this has a lot to do with the housing crisis. Hear me out... When I was a kid I was lucky enough to be raised in a new development community packed with YOUNG families. Imagine this. These were 1st, or maybe 2nd home buyers (age 23-32) who were STARTING their families there. It was a time when young people could afford a nice home in a safe neighborhood, AND support kids. The result was amazing. Kids. Lots of kids. Kids roamed the streets. The sense of community was abundant. Halloween and Christmas were a BLAST as all the families went to great lengths to dress up their home. Nowadays? I live in a different neighborhood. People are RENTING. There's no safe, nice, affordable neighborhood for new families to settle. Sense of community as a result is diminished. People don't feel planted and invested in the home so they're less likely to be invested in the community. I don't see any kids these days. Halloween, could be any other day.

abalone 8y ago
You raise a good point, but it's important to note that many families, especially working class families, will continue renting in cities. Many do not even have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense yet alone a down payment on a condo. This is exactly why you'll find that working class communities want affordable housing built but also strongly defend rent control.
tux1968 8y ago
As a counterpoint, I grew up in a relatively poor neighborhood, in a rented home. Was part of a huge community of kids who all played together unsupervised, especially all summer long. In the school yard, downtown, down by the river, in the park, we ranged pretty far as we got older. Once you had a bike there were unsupervised day trips to wooded areas where we played a poor-man's predecessor to paintball using slingshots and pilfered grapes. From my limited experience, home ownership is not a requirement for free-range children.
- astura 8y ago
  Yeah, no kidding!! Literally every single person I know rented growing up and the streets were filled with kids. In fact, since apartments are smaller, it's more incentive to get outside.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
colordrops 8y ago
I agree that the housing crisis is part of it, but from my experience, the major cause is digital technology. First, overwhelming amounts of information scare parents from allowing their kids to be so free. People get a false idea of how frequent predators or hit and runs happen, and over adjust. Second, children themselves are spending a large part of their lives in the digital realm, whether it be games or social media.
aidenn0 8y ago
My wife and I were fortunate enough to have saved up for a down-payment just as the housing-crash occurred. We were able to afford a much better house than planned because prices were so depressed. However there were no kids as young as ours because everyone with young kids was still renting or in less expensive parts of town. There was a very steep hill between us and our kids' friends making bike-riding a no-go until they were strong enough to bike up it. Our youngest neighbors had high-school aged kids when our oldest child started kindergarten.

abalone 8y ago

You raise a good point, but it's important to note that many families, especially working class families, will continue renting in cities. Many do not even have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense yet alone a down payment on a condo. This is exactly why you'll find that working class communities want affordable housing built but also strongly defend rent control.

tux1968 8y ago

As a counterpoint, I grew up in a relatively poor neighborhood, in a rented home. Was part of a huge community of kids who all played together unsupervised, especially all summer long. In the school yard, downtown, down by the river, in the park, we ranged pretty far as we got older. Once you had a bike there were unsupervised day trips to wooded areas where we played a poor-man's predecessor to paintball using slingshots and pilfered grapes. From my limited experience, home ownership is not a requirement for free-range children.

astura 8y ago
Yeah, no kidding!! Literally every single person I know rented growing up and the streets were filled with kids. In fact, since apartments are smaller, it's more incentive to get outside.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

colordrops 8y ago

I agree that the housing crisis is part of it, but from my experience, the major cause is digital technology. First, overwhelming amounts of information scare parents from allowing their kids to be so free. People get a false idea of how frequent predators or hit and runs happen, and over adjust. Second, children themselves are spending a large part of their lives in the digital realm, whether it be games or social media.

aidenn0 8y ago

My wife and I were fortunate enough to have saved up for a down-payment just as the housing-crash occurred. We were able to afford a much better house than planned because prices were so depressed. However there were no kids as young as ours because everyone with young kids was still renting or in less expensive parts of town. There was a very steep hill between us and our kids' friends making bike-riding a no-go until they were strong enough to bike up it. Our youngest neighbors had high-school aged kids when our oldest child started kindergarten.