Why do so much people hate on the Suburbs?? (market, regional, Pittsburgh)
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Here's what I find puzzling: People don't like the city (for whatever reason) and move to the suburbs. Fine. I get that. But the problem is when those people who don't want to live, or generally associate with the city, and the type of life that entails, continue to use the city in daily life.
Work, shopping, entertainment, etc.
My family moved from the city to a suburb/town "to get away from the city". But you know what happened? My dad still worked in the city. We still went to our church in the city. We still do a vast majority of our shopping in the city. If we wanted to eat at a restaurant that wasn't fast food, we went into the city. Concerts, movies, and sports were all reasons why we left our suburb/town to go into the city.
And when you factor in how most people get into the city, Interstates, the amount of congestion and delays by having everyone living outside, and heading in everyday, makes for terrible driving conditions for all involved.
Am I the only one who thinks this post makes no sense? Just because people don't like LIVING in the city doesn't mean they don't like the city in general. You're connecting dots that just can't be connected.
I live in the suburbs. It's quieter, nicer, better school districts, I like having a house and yard etc. It's the best place to actually live. But I certainly still enjoy driving the 10 minutes into the city to enjoy sports, restaurants, bars, theater.
It's called having the best of both worlds. And at least in the metro I'm in, us evil suburbanites don't create traffic issues. Traffic slowing to about 50 mph in the expressway is a "traffic jam".
I live in small-town in the Plains and my Mom, who was also raised there, got beat up for wearing "poor people's clothes." My nephew lives here and the other day stole something because it was "brand name."
I don't think many rural people really dress like "bumpkins", or at least I don't think they see it that way, unless they're poor or eccentric. We don't have high-end fashion stores, but some stores are seen as nicer than others and some brands are known to be more expensive. Rural kids in particular, in my experience, are quite status conscious. Maybe moreso than urban kids I've met. Because in a small area if you "fall off" in social standing the place is small enough you may end up completely alone as there aren't too many alternate "cliques" to fall too. (At least I had that happen, sort-of) So although people have no access to Vera Wang or Versace the ones who get the highest-end brands they sell at J. C. Penny's might look down on the thrift-store or Wal-Mart kids.
It's not universally like that. Sometimes people don't care what others are dressing like, particularly among the elderly. And there can be a situational thing of course. You're going to dress more casual day-to-day than at a "function." However if you wear dirty-old jeans to an event you might get seen as likely trying to be a rebel or just being a loser/poor. (Sadly the two are equated some) But we often feel bad for people without a variety of clothes. We're not 19th c. peasants with stock "peasant clothing." (Not saying you thought that, just in case either side was coming close to that)
What's wrong with clothing from Wal-Mart? I don't see anything cheap about it. Most of it looks fairly similar to what you'd find at a JC Penney or Kohls, or Target. I'd even say that much of it looks no cheaper than what you'd purchase in some departments at Macy's. Gone are the days when discount retailers sold hideous, ridiculously cheap clothing.
As a committed urbanite, I hated the suburbs mostly because I hated the idea of wasting so much of my time on commutes, godawful chores like snow shoveling and raking leaves and mowing the lawn and reshingling roofs... Oh lord, what a nightmare and a waste of money.
I'm a very plugged-in sort of person. I like to be "on" all the time.
These days "hate" has turned into exasperation. Suburbia in general is a vast, massive waste of resources. If suburbanites actually had to pay for the cost of what they always seem to think of as "free choice", they would be quite shocked. The cost of water and sewage alone is outrageous. All this in the name of escaping problems instead of solving them, or pretending that you live in a special world where the problems of your city or state or society no longer apply to you.
As a committed urbanite, I hated the suburbs mostly because I hated the idea of wasting so much of my time on commutes, godawful chores like snow shoveling and raking leaves and mowing the lawn and reshingling roofs... Oh lord, what a nightmare and a waste of money.
I'm a very plugged-in sort of person. I like to be "on" all the time.
These days "hate" has turned into exasperation. Suburbia in general is a vast, massive waste of resources. If suburbanites actually had to pay for the cost of what they always seem to think of as "free choice", they would be quite shocked. The cost of water and sewage alone is outrageous. All this in the name of escaping problems instead of solving them, or pretending that you live in a special world where the problems of your city or state or society no longer apply to you.
This really comes off as an odd, bitter post. To think someone would hate a certain style of living that so many people enjoy is just bizarre.
Your last paragraph makes no sense. Living in the suburbs is what is best for my children and my family.
The suburbs you get more space for your money, but the cost is commuting daily to and from work and the distances to venues. It's a trade off either way, as I see it.
This assumes that most people work in the city center. Plenty of people work in the very suburbs they live in and have minimal commutes. My wife's commute is 2 miles into the burbs, and we live on the edge of countryside. It's wrong to assume that living in a suburb means long commute.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coldwine
As a committed urbanite, I hated the suburbs mostly because I hated the idea of wasting so much of my time on commutes, godawful chores like snow shoveling and raking leaves and mowing the lawn and reshingling roofs... Oh lord, what a nightmare and a waste of money.
See, I like this aspect. I love designing the yard, planting it and taking care of it. It's a hobby for me, and a source of relaxation. I love to be outside. If I'm not doing yardwork, I'll be hiking the local mountains. City life felt so 'boxed in' to me, suffocating.
This assumes that most people work in the city center. Plenty of people work in the very suburbs they live in and have minimal commutes. My wife's commute is 2 miles into the burbs, and we live on the edge of countryside. It's wrong to assume that living in a suburb means long commute.
Or it assumes you live in a huge metro with a long commute. In Rochester (1 million people) I live in a suburb and my commute downtown for work is about 10 minutes. Maybe 15 if traffic is unusually heavy.
This assumes that most people work in the city center. Plenty of people work in the very suburbs they live in and have minimal commutes. My wife's commute is 2 miles into the burbs, and we live on the edge of countryside. It's wrong to assume that living in a suburb means long commute.
unfortunately, it's the case with a lot of people....
I think I just mentioned that cause someone else did. Also part of this is reflections on my childhood. In my childhood Wal-Mart did have an association with cheap goods and there was a phrase "Wal-Mart fall-apart" to describe that.
These days that's not as relevant, so I maybe should have said "Dollar Store or thrift shop clothes." (Although do they even sell clothes at the Dollar Store?)
I'm here for personal reasons. 300 years of history and all the generations of people who toiled to build these centers of humanity, so I feel like I should respect these places by carrying on living here and doing my small part to keep our city healthy. Personally, I really do like living knowing of all the things going on around me: trains are moving, ships are coming into port unloading their goods, subways are running underneath me, streetcars are clattering down the street outside, people are going back and forth, up to the tops of skyscrapers and then down into subway cars. They're having business meetings, working in laboratories, studying in libraries, reading in a park, etc. etc. just to think of all the things that go into the vitality of a city, how could I not want to experience this and be apart of it? I think living in a city is a very important part of the human experience. To avoid this I think is to avoid a very critical aspect of ourselves, or at least to live in ignorance of it would be a real shame. Urbanity is my enlightenment. I'm not suggesting everyone needs to live here, but we need to be aware of what our urban centers contribute, and how they're all apart of our shared history.
(1)Am I the only one who thinks this post makes no sense? Just because people don't like LIVING in the city doesn't mean they don't like the city in general. You're connecting dots that just can't be connected.
I live in the suburbs. It's quieter, nicer, better school districts, I like having a house and yard etc. (2)It's the best place to actually live. But (3)I certainly still enjoy driving the 10 minutes(4)into the city to enjoy sports, restaurants, bars, theater.
(5)It's called having the best of both worlds. And at least in the metro I'm in, (6)us evil suburbanites don't create traffic issues. (7)Traffic slowing to about 50 mph in the expressway is a "traffic jam".
1. Yes, apparently.
2. Is that opinion, or empirical fact?
3. I used to enjoy driving. I don't anymore. Would you still enjoy driving if gas cost $4 a gallon? What about $5? Would you pay $6 a gallon and still say you enjoy driving?
4. Why aren't those things in the suburbs? Is it because the things you listed would bring "undesirable" elements into the suburbs, and you would rather keep those things at arms reach, rather than within your arms?
5. Or being selfish? Maybe? All of the rewards with none of the costs, is that it? And going back to #4, this certainly seems like the suburbs take full advantage of everything the city has to offer, and thoroughly enjoy the things offered, only to turn their back and say "You're good for everything, just not living". Is the city the suburbs "prostitute"? Love'em and Leave'em? Good enough for a good time, horrible choice to settle down with?
Will there ever be a city that is the Julia Roberts to the suburb's Richard Gere?
6. Are you in a car? Are you on the road? Then, yes, you are part of traffic and all the "issues" associated with cars on the road.
7. That's great you have a 10 minute commute into the city and might sometimes face a "traffic jam" that slows you to 50 MPH. But if gas goes up to $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, or even $10 a gallon, is it still a 10 minute commute by bicycle or walking?
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