The City Verus The Burbs

[IlsaLund]

I don't live in LA, nor do I live in San Diego. Rather, I'm smack dab in the middle of the two. I'd always thought that I'd prefer to live in a big, bustling city.... until last night, when I got lost in Los Angeles for several hours. I'd never been so happy to come home to the Little Brown House in my quiet little town as I was last night.

So what about you? Do you prefer big cities, or the small, homegrown types? Also, how does your style fit in with your surroundings? Do you get second glances when you go walking down the street or in the grocery store, or do folks walk right on by?

-IL

 

[Harp]

Urbs vs Orbis

Urbs. Though I contemplate life in small-town coastal New England,
upper Michigan, or Alaska.

 

[Fletch]

Me? I commute. :fedora:

 

[Manny Tavares]

Let's see. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area when where I live now was corn fields. It's now Silicon Valley. Fremont and San Jose have left Oakland and San Francisco in the dust in terms of economic clout. I avoid Oakland and San Francisco at all costs. I like the Fremont and San Jose versions of a "big city". Keep San Francisco and Los Angeles.

 

[Tourbillion]

The best thing that I can say about the suburbs is that I like free parking.

I would rather be in the city with everything going on, or in the middle of the wilderness.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Apparenly, the popularity of the sitcom Seinfeld was a factor in the development of large-scale residential complexes in Sydney's central business district.

I live an hour away from the City, which is often a real pain, because it's such a long drive. On the other hand, I've got a good size block of land with a good-sized house, and I can afford to live there. Sometimes, I think living in the city would be cool, so close to the Harbour, nightclubs and shopping centres, but I wouldn't have my yard, and it'd be mighty noisy!

I've lived out here since I was a year old or something. Evene if I could afford it, I think I'd stay here.

 

[carebear]

I like my city, small enough to still have that small town feel and only minutes away from absolute wilderness.

Cities disturb me, too many people, too much going on around me. No safety to be had. As a realist, I don't want to be stuck in a city when things go wrong. Food? Imported. Power? Imported. Disease protocols? Impossible in the best of times. Quick or easy escape to the open? Impossible in the best of times.

After all the disasters and power outages and their consequences through history I'm agog that people choose to expose themselves to cities.

Though they're nice to visit.

 

[moustache]

I like the suburbs.

The benefit of the burbs is proximity to big city convienences and remoteness to some(not all) of the traffic problems. Lavendar Lady and i live outside the Vancouver city limits but can be in downtown Portland in 15 minutes with good traffic.
I have lived in cities with more than 5 million people and small Montana towns of less than 1000. I like the small towns as long as a city of decent size is not too far away(more than 3 hours).

JD in Vancouver,Wa

 

[carebear]

I like the small towns as long as a city of decent size is not too far away(more than 3 hours).

With a nice wide/deep/fast river in between and only a few bridges to drop to keep the starving hordes at bay.

 

[Mojito]

I live in the burbs...although it's by the beach on one side, with hills, national parks and waterways on the other, so it's not exactly 'burbish'. I commute with the city, so it's wonderful to come home of an evening in summer and pop down for a swim in the surf.

Unfortunately the commute is becoming a killer - I have a fairly heavy exercise regime, and that plus the commute adds up to very long days. So I'll be moving closer to the city in the nearish future.

Locally we tend to be very laid back in matters of attire - to the degree that you see older men clad in nothing but flip flops and 'budgie smugglers' popping into the shops for the morning paper after their dawn swim. Very much a surf, sand and sun sort of culture.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I live in the suburbs and to tell you the truth, parts of Southern California are more Urban than Suburban, though they are in Suburban areas. My town does have a small town feel, but is worked up in the Urban pace of a city. It's quiet, yes, but very busy. I probably would have enjoyed it better as it was in the 50's, when my parents were growing up here. At that point this area was farmland, not big tall busy city. There were miles and miles of grassland, cows, ranches, everything seemed from what my parents explained, more spread out.

Now everything is squeezed in like that of a city. Kind of like squeezing the purity out of something. I enjoy the city, but I've only visited there. Some places I have been to seem to have the big city atmosphere with the small town feel, like Pasadena or Long Beach, whereas my town is the small town atmosphere with the big city feel. I like the big city with small town better.

 

[olive bleu]

I live in the city although i grew up in the sticks.I guess i like the extremes.I lived in the suburbs briefly at one point in my life, but i feel like it is neither here nor there.Somehow i either like the city( and a HUGE city-LOVE N.Y.!) or i like to be in the woods.I love the energy of a big city, so full of life.I love the lights at night, sitting in a sidewalk cafe watching people go by....

...but on the other hand, i equally love sitting on the edge of a lake,with nothing but the call of a loon,i could very easily be a hermit.I realize this is no real answer to the question I guess what i am saying is that i don't like the burbs.

 

[olive bleu]

I just realized Tourbillion said the exact same thing... but with a lot less mumble jumble

 

[Rosie]

I live in the city and there are times when I LOVE it and times when I HATE it. Last night, went to a party, left home late (after 10) and was still able to get to an open wines and spirits store to bring a bottle of decent wine as a gift to my host. When I left at about 5 in the morning, coming home by taxi, the streets were still bustiling with night life.

However, I like the idea of living in a small town, opening a small bakery/cafe and living a simple life.

Though I may not look very strange, people do look at me a lot but I am nearly 6 feet tall, especially when in heels, fat, very shapely, with big legs and I dress in a style more beffitng of the 40's - 50's. lol I would look at me too.

 

[Harp]

Recommend

However, I like the idea of living in a small town, opening a small bakery/cafe and living a simple life.

Check out my hometown, Oak Lawn, Illinois.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've lived in small towns almost all my life. I grew up walking to a neighborhood school, have always walked or ridden a bike to my jobs, and have always lived within a mile of the center of town -- making it easy to walk to the store or the bank or the post office anytime I need to.

So I'm a big believer in village oriented, pedestrian oriented life -- and couldn't imagine ever living in some manufactured suburb-- or any kind of place where the only way to get to where you need to be is to drive a car

 

[John in Covina]

I don't live in LA, nor do I live in San Diego. Rather, I'm smack dab in the middle of the two. I'd always thought that I'd prefer to live in a big, bustling city.... until last night, when I got lost in Los Angeles for several hours. I'd never been so happy to come home to the Little Brown House in my quiet little town as I was last night.

So what about you? Do you prefer big cities, or the small, homegrown types? Also, how does your style fit in with your surroundings? Do you get second glances when you go walking down the street or in the grocery store, or do folks walk right on by?

-IL

Los ANgeles is not a true city like New York or Boston, It doesn't have the closed in compression of that type of urban scene. LA is very spread out.

I like Small cities and small towns with a sense of community.

I do generate second looks but I don't feel menaced.

 

[melankomas]

i prefer the city, for the anonymity. there is a certain peaceful solitude in city life that i imagine a small town wouldn't be able to provide. in a small town, i expect a person is known, her habits are known, she is noticed. in a large city (i live in Los Angeles proper), a person is largely unnoticed. i can spend days without speaking to anyone without any detriment to my life or productivity, and i find that comforting.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I live in the grand old city of Boston, and I love it. The only other city I would love to live in would be New York City. Yes, I am a city person for now. I love that I can walk out my front door and if I need anything, I just start walking, and I can find it. Boston is also an easy city to get around, once you've actually figured out the system (it only takes about 5-10 years!). I have a parking garage in my building, so taking the car out is pretty easy. I'm also lucky in that I have a good sized private roof deck attached to my condo, right off of my bedroom. Being up there, grilling and having get togethers is just like being in the burbs. I really love living in the city. I'm not going to say it's easy. I know that for what I spent on a condo here in the city, I could have gotten a pretty nice, well sized home in the burbs, possibly new construction. But, there will be plenty of time for that when I get married and have kids, that is if I ever decide to permanently leave the city.
In my experience, and I don't know if this is true for the rest of the country, but the suburban areas, filled with malls and bad chain restaurants are urban planning gone amuck! Every time I go out to one of the surrounding towns, I am stuck in miles of traffic, never ending lights. At least in the city, if I don't feel like traffic and driving, I can just walk across the street and jump on the subway.
So, yes, the suburbs has it's appeal. At least in MA, it's more affordable to live in the outskirts and suburbs. Well, at least your dollar goes a little farther. But, every suburb I've ever been to in the New England area is a grid lock mess. I guess it's good that all of these shopping areas have opened up in those areas, because it makes it much easier for the people who live there to get what they need.
I also like the culture, the atmosphere, the options of the city. We have great museums, parks, so many attractions right at my doorstep. Oh, and really great restaurants.
One day, when I have kids, I'll probably feel totally different, who knows. My sister lives in Manhattan with my two year old nephew, and I'm so jealous. This little guy walks out of his front door and has the world at his fingertips. Of course, it's ridiculously expensive to live where they are living, and they are having trouble finding an affordable place to buy that is actual liveable. But, what a life they have there.
Ideally, I would love to one day sell my condo, for a profit of course , and try to buy a house in Brookline. It is a small town right on the edge of the city, it basically is in the city. It has one of the best public school systems in the country, the real estate is amazing. It has that small town charm that I would love to have, with the big city right down the street. And, the subway system goes through it, so it's really easy to utilize all of the city while still living in this gem of a town. Too bad it's a bit out of my price range. Actually, I live one block from the Brookline border. I saved a lot of money, was able to get a bigger condo with two garage parking spaces. But, for the most part, I still feel like I live in Brookline. The center of town, Coolidge Corner is not even a ten minute walk from my house. I go there at least once a day. So, I guess I do have everything I need. City living with a small town feel, and lots of good shopping and dining just about every where I look. Wow, I'm happier here than I realized. But, having more space, especially closet space would be nice! Right now I have 1500 square feet, which is actually big for a city apartment, and I'm lucky to have a 2 story unit on the top floor of a building. No other units are attached to mine, so it's nice and quite. Almost like living in the burbs, until the train goes by!! Maybe I will buy a house in the suburbs when I have a family, but keep my condo here in Boston so I can spend weekends there every so often. Hmm, wouldn't that be nice, and completely un-reasonable!!

 

[Jack Scorpion]

City. Where you are never trapped, nor bored, and nobody knows your name.