3 ms·

I would love to leave the city, or move to a smaller, less expensive city, but I stay here because I grew up in a small town, and I want my children to have the

I would love to leave the city, or move to a smaller, less expensive city, but I stay here because I grew up in a small town, and I want my children to have the opportunities that I didn't. Even with the Internet, I don't think they can truly get as many opportunities if they can't surround themselves with peers with similar interests, and I think the best place to do that is in large cities.

solumunus 3y ago
Opportunities to grow up and live similarly strained lives in polluted cities, scraping by to rent a tiny apartment despite having a “good” jobs?
- dustincoates 3y ago
  That's a pretty bad faith reading of what I said. If my children want to move to the country after they leave home, I'm all for it. Like I said, I've experienced both, I see the values in both.
- camgunz 3y ago
  My partner and I choose cities over suburban or rural areas largely because: - diversity (you name it, you can find it, also really important if you're at all queer) - lots more culture (museums, subcultures, music shows, food, etc.) - way less car dependent - lots more opportunity and choice (employers, schools, partners, friends, etc.) - way, way less religiosity There are some things I envy about living in a less urban area, mainly around stuff like sustainable living. We could have a big garden, we could get a lot of energy from solar panels or drill a well, stuff like that. And yeah, pollution from cars in urban areas is pretty bad. Even so, the tradeoff isn't really close for us. I will also say something about space. I've lived in both McMansions and shoebox Manhattan apartments (our current place in Amsterdam is ~480 sq. ft.) I don't personally miss the space at all. There are some specific things I miss, wouldn't mind a little space outside to hose things off is the big one but also it can be nice to have a place big enough you can get away from everyone, but especially in the US people think they need way, way more space than they really do. Most things about smaller spaces are a lot better, but in particular they're a lot more sustainable. There are huge energy savings to be had by just not having as big a space to heat/cool/condition.
thunky 3y ago
Your experience may differ, but I find large cities to basically resemble a collection of small cities (neighborhoods) stuck together. I don't find myself leaving my own neighborhood often because it's a pain to do so and my neighborhood has everything I need already. So unless you spend a lot of time doing cross city transit (which normally isn't quick and easy), the benefit of a large city over a small one is marginal imo.

solumunus 3y ago

Opportunities to grow up and live similarly strained lives in polluted cities, scraping by to rent a tiny apartment despite having a “good” jobs?

dustincoates 3y ago
That's a pretty bad faith reading of what I said. If my children want to move to the country after they leave home, I'm all for it. Like I said, I've experienced both, I see the values in both.
camgunz 3y ago
My partner and I choose cities over suburban or rural areas largely because: - diversity (you name it, you can find it, also really important if you're at all queer) - lots more culture (museums, subcultures, music shows, food, etc.) - way less car dependent - lots more opportunity and choice (employers, schools, partners, friends, etc.) - way, way less religiosity There are some things I envy about living in a less urban area, mainly around stuff like sustainable living. We could have a big garden, we could get a lot of energy from solar panels or drill a well, stuff like that. And yeah, pollution from cars in urban areas is pretty bad. Even so, the tradeoff isn't really close for us. I will also say something about space. I've lived in both McMansions and shoebox Manhattan apartments (our current place in Amsterdam is ~480 sq. ft.) I don't personally miss the space at all. There are some specific things I miss, wouldn't mind a little space outside to hose things off is the big one but also it can be nice to have a place big enough you can get away from everyone, but especially in the US people think they need way, way more space than they really do. Most things about smaller spaces are a lot better, but in particular they're a lot more sustainable. There are huge energy savings to be had by just not having as big a space to heat/cool/condition.

thunky 3y ago

Your experience may differ, but I find large cities to basically resemble a collection of small cities (neighborhoods) stuck together. I don't find myself leaving my own neighborhood often because it's a pain to do so and my neighborhood has everything I need already. So unless you spend a lot of time doing cross city transit (which normally isn't quick and easy), the benefit of a large city over a small one is marginal imo.