3 ms·

Do a majority of Americans want to live within dense cities, if given the choice?

endori97 6y ago
American cities are not that great, crime is way up in my area (Minneapolis). I want to live in Tokyo. Can afford a house, don't need to own a car, can walk everywhere, kids can take public transit and no one bats an eye, low crime. I guess I should move and stop dreaming.
vnxli 6y ago
I’m the outlier among my friends- I grew up in the suburbs and I absolutely love them and want to go back. Nobody else I know does. Granted, my city is huge and so living in the city feels more suburban than living downtown would.
- lizknope 6y ago
  I grew up in the suburbs of 2 cities. I went to college and lived in dorms and apartments in the city. Literally 3 weeks after graduation I moved 3 miles away to a suburban apartment complex. 5 years later I bought a house in the suburbs and absolutely love it. The grocery store and shopping centers are 1 and 4 miles away. I can load up my car with tons of stuff. My wife, kids, and I all have our own rooms and home offices. We have a nice backyard with screened in porch, deck, and patio. 2 car garage and can charge the electric car at home and never have to deal with bringing the groceries in during the rain. I would never go back to living in a downtown area. I have a couple of friends that moved downtown. One bought a house for 2X the cost of the suburbs. The other got divorced and moved to an apartment downtown. After a year of trendy restaurants and lack of space he got tired of it and is looking to move back to the suburbs.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    I like visiting cities and every now and then I've idly thought it would be nice to have a small city place. But 1.) Housing prices in said city are pretty eye-watering, not SF or NYC levels, but enough and 2.) You know what? If I actually wanted to periodically get my taste of city life, nothing is keeping me from getting a hotel room or AirBnB for a week. But I don't actually care enough to do that.
supertrope 6y ago
It's hard to say. Surveying people is not useful as what people actually buy is often different from their stated preferences. Right now there's so much government intervention against dense cities that there is no choice in many areas (e.g. non single family homes are banned).

American cities are not that great, crime is way up in my area (Minneapolis). I want to live in Tokyo. Can afford a house, don't need to own a car, can walk everywhere, kids can take public transit and no one bats an eye, low crime. I guess I should move and stop dreaming.

vnxli 6y ago

I’m the outlier among my friends- I grew up in the suburbs and I absolutely love them and want to go back. Nobody else I know does. Granted, my city is huge and so living in the city feels more suburban than living downtown would.

lizknope 6y ago
I grew up in the suburbs of 2 cities. I went to college and lived in dorms and apartments in the city. Literally 3 weeks after graduation I moved 3 miles away to a suburban apartment complex. 5 years later I bought a house in the suburbs and absolutely love it. The grocery store and shopping centers are 1 and 4 miles away. I can load up my car with tons of stuff. My wife, kids, and I all have our own rooms and home offices. We have a nice backyard with screened in porch, deck, and patio. 2 car garage and can charge the electric car at home and never have to deal with bringing the groceries in during the rain. I would never go back to living in a downtown area. I have a couple of friends that moved downtown. One bought a house for 2X the cost of the suburbs. The other got divorced and moved to an apartment downtown. After a year of trendy restaurants and lack of space he got tired of it and is looking to move back to the suburbs.
- ghaff 6y ago
  I like visiting cities and every now and then I've idly thought it would be nice to have a small city place. But 1.) Housing prices in said city are pretty eye-watering, not SF or NYC levels, but enough and 2.) You know what? If I actually wanted to periodically get my taste of city life, nothing is keeping me from getting a hotel room or AirBnB for a week. But I don't actually care enough to do that.

supertrope 6y ago

It's hard to say. Surveying people is not useful as what people actually buy is often different from their stated preferences. Right now there's so much government intervention against dense cities that there is no choice in many areas (e.g. non single family homes are banned).