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Well, you've got to do the experiment. Move to a major European city center, with kids, without a car, and see how you like it. I tried this in Berlin, and it w

Well, you've got to do the experiment. Move to a major European city center, with kids, without a car, and see how you like it. I tried this in Berlin, and it was quite good! Getting around on the U-Bahn with kids is so nice. You get to hang out with your kids as you travel! Having a free, walkable Kita (daycare/school) is incredible. Being able to walk to useful things like groceries, or a coffee shop, was great. Also, in Berlin they have some of the best playgrounds, and lots of them! Plus on "going out nights" you can get anywhere and back and never worry about finding a designated driver. But yeah, would I try this in downtown LA? No, never. (Although you could argue that LA is weird because it's neighborhoods are like suburbs. Would I try this in k-town? No. You need a car, for everything.) Of course I have to admit that there is some circularity with the LA situation - no-one wants to live in the city center, so only the destitute live there, which makes it less desirable. In many places in the world, this situation doesn't apply. Would I try it in Manhattan? Maybe.

xyzelement 4y ago
I'm the person you're replying to. My original plan was to raise kids in Manhattan. Luckily my wife talked me out of it and we moved to the suburbs. Stories like yours are great but unsaid are things like: do your kids have a back yard to play in? How fresh is the air? Do they get to watch dad take care of a house and yard so they learn skills like that? Are they dodging shit on the street as they walk to school ( always was the case in NYC but extra bad now). Are their neighbors families with minimum two kids, or are they a much less family friendly demographic? Etc. I used to not think about these things until I experienced the better version of these things in the burbs. The self-selection of neighbors who made the move to a family friendly location alone is a game changer
mixmastamyk 4y ago
Downtown and K-town are two of the very few places that are actually walkable in LA.
- javajosh 4y ago
  Yeah. But would you raise a family in DT? (Ktown already has a lot of families - and wealthy ones, too, these days).
  - mixmastamyk 4y ago
    It would be great in theory but refusal to address the homeless/mental-illness issues makes it impractical in a lot of places.

xyzelement 4y ago

I'm the person you're replying to. My original plan was to raise kids in Manhattan. Luckily my wife talked me out of it and we moved to the suburbs. Stories like yours are great but unsaid are things like: do your kids have a back yard to play in? How fresh is the air? Do they get to watch dad take care of a house and yard so they learn skills like that? Are they dodging shit on the street as they walk to school ( always was the case in NYC but extra bad now). Are their neighbors families with minimum two kids, or are they a much less family friendly demographic? Etc. I used to not think about these things until I experienced the better version of these things in the burbs. The self-selection of neighbors who made the move to a family friendly location alone is a game changer

mixmastamyk 4y ago

Downtown and K-town are two of the very few places that are actually walkable in LA.

javajosh 4y ago
Yeah. But would you raise a family in DT? (Ktown already has a lot of families - and wealthy ones, too, these days).
- mixmastamyk 4y ago
  It would be great in theory but refusal to address the homeless/mental-illness issues makes it impractical in a lot of places.