Why don’t Americans embrace urban living?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

You must live in a very expensive part of the city, because our section had few kids because of lackluster schools, and no running to the park because it was overrun with homeless and drug paraphernalia

Cities work in other countries because they accept higher taxes for social welfare: thus funding much better transit options, less homelessness because of housing and programs, more crews to clean public parks, better city schools, and less extreme poverty in general (which impacts school populations)

Also, if you don’t own s SFH, you have to worry about decondo, power mad HOA boards, neighbors who smoke pot constantly seeping through the walls or adjacent windows… on and on. Some of this is better in Europe (I assume an investment company can’t buy out s condo building and tosss you to the curb)

Urban schools that are undesirable did not get that way due to insufficient funding. DC schools, for example, are typically spending the most per student of any of the surrounding districts.

Due to teacher salaries, because nobody would teach in DC or similar otherwise. It’s hazard pay.

LOL. You should get out more.

What I said is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

You can't go nude in your own hot tub in a close by awesome park. For that you need a private yard.

Um, ok. I'm totally sold on driving an hour to work and eating at applebees because going nude in my hot tub is my favorite activity.

I don't drive an hour to work, and please tell me you understand that there are great, upscale restaurants outside of urban cores? You do know that, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

Suburbs have both great parks, great yards, friend to walk to.

Capture the flag, catching lightning bugs while parents visit on the deck.

Have you ever lived in a city? Do you think that doesn't happen here too?

So we get a yard AND friends running to park. How is that not better?

Who wants to mow a lawn? Treat grass?

No thank you.

Suburban dweller here. You really think we all mow our own lawns? In my neighborhood it’s generally just the retired military guys who mow their own lawns. Otherwise we contribute to the local economy by hiring lawn services.

Even worse.

np. why? (I mow my own lawn by the way. I hire out cleaning, though)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

We have a big patio, and during the pandemic, we had friends over and socialized outside. It was awesome.

I noticed that during the pandemic and wfh now a ton of people are moving out of DC. I'm confused by why city people would want to move out? (I'm not confused, but maybe you are?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For whatever reason, folks in Singapore, London, Hong Kong don’t seem to have these hang-ups about “the neighbors,” “living on top of one another” or “sharing walls”

Are you geographically challenged to not know that London is a city in the UK, and the UK has a ton of people who live outside of London, my ILs included; and that Singapore is a country, and Hong Kong is super tiny?

This. People commute via train from rural farms to London

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For whatever reason, folks in Singapore, London, Hong Kong don’t seem to have these hang-ups about “the neighbors,” “living on top of one another” or “sharing walls”

I mean.. neither do people who live in NYC? But folks in Surrey, England and Charlotte, NC sure do. Do you think everyone who lives in England lives in London?

Villages/suburbs in Europe are generally much, much, much nicer places to live than our strip mall hells here in the US.

Their homes and roads are also a lot smaller. I like my space. DH from the UK also likes the space we have here. When my ILs come here, they like the space we have.

And do they have strip malls. My ILs live in the UK, a suburb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For whatever reason, folks in Singapore, London, Hong Kong don’t seem to have these hang-ups about “the neighbors,” “living on top of one another” or “sharing walls”

that's because they largely don't have the breadth of choices that we have.

.

So London does not have the choices DC provides? This must be the funniest thing I have read for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

Suburbs have both great parks, great yards, friend to walk to.

Capture the flag, catching lightning bugs while parents visit on the deck.

Have you ever lived in a city? Do you think that doesn't happen here too?

So we get a yard AND friends running to park. How is that not better?

Who wants to mow a lawn? Treat grass?

No thank you.

Suburban dweller here. You really think we all mow our own lawns? In my neighborhood its generally just the retired military guys who mow their own lawns. Otherwise we contribute to the local economy by hiring lawn services.

I think part of the point is who wants to either do it or hire people to do it? It's work, and also, if you generally need to mow your green monolithic grass lawn, it's absolutely terrible for the environment.

Do you travel? Fly? Terrible for the environment.

[Anonymous]

OP, this thread, like many on DCUM can be summarized as "There are lots of people in the US, they have different preferences and different abilities to afford things, and they make different choices about the things that make them happy."

I'm an urban guy, but that's me. I get it that other people will have different preferences and this is OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

Suburbs have both great parks, great yards, friend to walk to.

Capture the flag, catching lightning bugs while parents visit on the deck.

Have you ever lived in a city? Do you think that doesn't happen here too?

So we get a yard AND friends running to park. How is that not better?

Who wants to mow a lawn? Treat grass?

No thank you.

Suburban dweller here. You really think we all mow our own lawns? In my neighborhood its generally just the retired military guys who mow their own lawns. Otherwise we contribute to the local economy by hiring lawn services.

I think part of the point is who wants to either do it or hire people to do it? It's work, and also, if you generally need to mow your green monolithic grass lawn, it's absolutely terrible for the environment.

Do you travel? Fly? Terrible for the environment.

DP. I travel via Amtrak domestically, including pretty long distances. I do not travel via plane much due to the environmental impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why the obsession with huge houses 3 miles away from everything. Why not access to parks, trails, restaurants, schools, grocery stores, socializing in coffee shops, biking etc?

Why not? And why not the homeless tent encampments, the fentanyl peddled in the public school restrooms, the playground bullets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this thread, like many on DCUM can be summarized as "There are lots of people in the US, they have different preferences and different abilities to afford things, and they make different choices about the things that make them happy."

I'm an urban guy, but that's me. I get it that other people will have different preferences and this is OK.

this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We let the car lobby dictate urban planning, and now we all are paying the price. And also, racism.

This is it.

And the lobby/politics to inhibit integration post 1964. We are pretty unique with these overlapping interests.

I can’t believe there’s not more focus on this. White flight was (is?) real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the people who want yards. I think I'd rather live right next to or very close by some awesome parks. When I was growing up, we only played in our yard until we were 6 or 7, then it was just playdates with other kids.... which you'd have to drive to in the 'burbs. My city kids walk around the block to play with their friends. Sure you need money, but DC is amazing for having close-in neighborhoods with green space and parks and being pretty safe.

Suburbs have both great parks, great yards, friend to walk to.

Capture the flag, catching lightning bugs while parents visit on the deck.

Have you ever lived in a city? Do you think that doesn't happen here too?

So we get a yard AND friends running to park. How is that not better?

Who wants to mow a lawn? Treat grass?

No thank you.

Suburban dweller here. You really think we all mow our own lawns? In my neighborhood its generally just the retired military guys who mow their own lawns. Otherwise we contribute to the local economy by hiring lawn services.

I think part of the point is who wants to either do it or hire people to do it? It's work, and also, if you generally need to mow your green monolithic grass lawn, it's absolutely terrible for the environment.

Do you travel? Fly? Terrible for the environment.

DP. I travel via Amtrak domestically, including pretty long distances. I do not travel via plane much due to the environmental impact.

That's weird. You are weird. Admit it.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I hate the lack of space, the smell, the noise, the rats. I also don’t like living in a box in a bigger box. Some of us just need space.