As a European living in a US exurb, it's fascinating how little it takes to kill community. I'm not talking economically or actually kill it. The economy is st

As a European living in a US exurb, it's fascinating how little it takes to kill community. I'm not talking economically or actually kill it. The economy is strong here, but there are no sidewalks, or public squares. There is obviously main street, a terrible place with gas stations and McDonald's and IHOP and Home Depot and no one walking between them, because why would you? There are business parks, the one I'm in and the one directly across the street. Not that I've ever walked over there, what would I do, it's not like there's a nice open air restaurant there, or any kind of a place to eat, it's just offices like ours, but no one we do business with. And so we're like islands, and the private residences are a lot like islands too. Most people do know their immediate neighbors but your neighbors just down the street? Where would you run into them? Unless you're already friends when/where would you rub shoulders together? I know it's not malice that designed this.. I can't really call this a town even though it legally is. It's just that people want a big yard and a quiet neighborhood and there's a lot more land then in the old world. And people like to organize things, zone them, here and there, and who would ever want to walk, you don't need sidewalks. But boy does it ever result in a strange place to live. For me living involves doing stuff like going out. But people in the suburbs just reside here, they do go out, they drive to some place, they don't go as in walk out here though. It's like we don't really live here.