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> Seriously, no one I know my age (35) willingly moves to the suburbs. Curious if this is my bubble or consistent. My anecdata is the total opposite. Every new
by koolba 7y ago
> Seriously, no one I know my age (35) willingly moves to the suburbs. Curious if this is my bubble or consistent.
My anecdata is the total opposite. Every newly married couple I know that’s looking to have kids has either already left city living or the migration is in progress. The well off ones keep their old spots as a pied-a-terre for a distant future but there’s a universal distain for city life.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoWhere do you live? I can imagine that the suburban exodus is more true for Midwest and southern cities and less true for west coast and northeastern ones.
- almost_usual 7y agoMost of the people I know in the Bay Area are leaving SF and headed to either the Peninsula or East Bay when they have kids. Most people I know with kids are in the Peninsula. I do know a couple in their 40s with kids in the city. They did the opposite, went from the Peninsula to the city years ago (before the city became very expensive). I’d argue it’s a lifestyle decision more than anything else. Each couple or family has their own reasoning about why they moved. The attitude in the city is much more keep to yourself. Suburbs are gossipy and people tend to pay attention to everything. I would argue there are much more ‘mega wealthy’ people outside of the city.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoIs it really fair to call the peninsula suburban? I guess south and east of San Jose, but the Bay Area is heavily urbanized and pretty dense.
- nitrogen 7y agoThere are lots of houses and open space south of SF.
- seanmcdirmid 7y agoBut it is mostly classified as urban, officially at least, until you get quite away from SF or hit the hills.
- adrianN 7y agoI wouldn't call large parts of SF itself urban because the density is so low.
- hkmurakami 7y agoYes. Other than some corridors like El Camino, the industrial or office zones, or the various downtown areas, most of the peninsula are suburbs.
- closeparen 7y agoThe El Camino corridor, an almost-continuous strip mall, is as quintessentially suburban as it gets.
- hkmurakami 7y agoSome parts are pretty built up with mixed use mid rises these days. Agreed that it needs to get developed much more.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoSan Francisco has seen an exodus of families because it's simply too expensive and the school system is simply a gigantic mess (more affluent families are really dissatisfied with the lottery).
- taurath 7y agoSomeone is buying up all of king and pierce counties in Seattle. For those who don’t make 6 figures it’s the only way they’ll ever get wealth. Those making less rent with roommates in the suburbs. Plenty of non urban lifestyles out there, even for those counted among the big metro areas.
- peckrob 7y agoSame here. Almost every single one of my peers who moved to cities in their early 20s have moved back to the suburbs after having kids. Across many cities and states as well.
- hinkley 7y agoI wonder if part of the problem is differing definitions of 'in the city'. Incorporated Seattle, for instance, is truly massive. It includes many, many, many neighborhoods that are really the innermost suburbs rather than the outermost urban neighborhoods. I have lived in the first ring and just outside of it several times, and people farther out would call that 'downtown' but people actually in downtown did not, despite the fact that in 2 cases I could, in a pinch, walk home from downtown while carrying bags.
- dahfizz 7y agoYeah, these things are very hard to talk about precisely. "Suburb" can mean a rural wasteland with nothing for miles, or a very much urban neighborhood with tiny, connected houses with no yards. I think it's heavily dependent on how you grew up and where you currently live. To a city dweller, a dense suburd looks like an urban waste. And to a small town dweller, even a small City feels crowded and messy.
- raxxorrax 7y agoSame experience here. Well off parents tend to move out of the city if conditions allow it (kids, house, multiple cars, etc). Mainly because it is much better for kids to see a tree from time to time and that they can roam around freely, the air is much better, you don't have to deal with congested traffic, but for most noise was the most important factor. In the 19th century people outside of cities were looked down as stupid and lacking any culture. Because they had no access to it of course. But it is questionable if that remains true in the age of universal global communication. Given, this experience is from Europe, where living outside of the city means you can get back to it within about 20 Minutes.
- majewsky 7y ago> Mainly because it is much better for kids to see a tree from time to time Is that a hyperbole or meant literally? I live in a mid-sized German city (500k inhabitants) and find it hard to come up with any place in the city where you cannot see multiple trees.
- saiya-jin 7y agoObviously hyperbole, its more about access to proper nature, be it in form of vast forests or even better mountains. There is something about soothing touch of nature that can't be mimicked by any other means. Especially important for kids
- maccard 7y agoBut moving to the suburbs doesn't give immediate access to nature - you still need to drive to find mountains/vast forests? I live in the city centre and I'm a 25 minutes drive from a woodland, or an hour's drive from an ancient forest and mountains. You definitely can have the best of both living in the city
- dnissley 7y agoDepends on the suburb. There was forest in my backyard growing up. But there were plenty of other areas nearby with nothing like that.