Here at Lovelyish, we’re so grateful to live in the city. I know there are people who love the ‘burbs, but I am not one of them. There was never anything to do, so on weekends everyone just drank, smoked weed, and did drugs. The cultural center of our town was Starbucks and Barnes & Noble. Unless your kids knew each other, families mostly cocooned in their houses and luxuriated in the anonymous privacy of their homes.
Now I live in the city, and I feel so much more at home. There are cafes, good restaurants, street fairs and culture — all at the tip of your fingers. We have a block party every year, and people are very friendly though. It’s a totally different lifestyle.
Different strokes for different folks thought, right?
I know a lot of people who love to drive and can’t imagine paying extra to live in the city when you could get a bigger place in the burbs. I respect that, but it’s not for me. If I wanted to drive and have a big place, I’d move from the city straight to the country.
How about you: would you prefer to live in the city, suburbs, or country?
guest
I don’t think I could raise a family here, but I love being a college student in NYC !
daisy / 501 posts
I’m a New Yorker through and through. I have lived in suburbia and the country, and nothing compares to my city. I’ve always been a Manhattanite and always will be.
guest
I think the city is a great place to live when you’re younger and want to experience more. But the suburbs are better when getting older and you’re over all that stuff and are ready to start a family. But that is my opinion. I would have loved the city at a younger age (I don’t count living in Vegas because it’s like a giant suburbia with an adult entertainment spot in the middle) but now at 26, suburbia sounds better.
guest
I think the difference between city and suburb living is a little less defined where I live. You can live in a suburban area but still hit the city for a night on the town (we’re not far). Yes, we live in a quiet neighborhood and sometimes we do stay home on the weekends, but you’ll often find us spending time with friends, either at home (or their homes) or out and about. I haven’t lived in a rural area so I cannot comment on that.
guest
I eventually want some land of my own… but close to the city. Not sure how I’ll swing that, because Austin is expanding hugely.
hydrangea / 64 posts
I love urban areas, so city.
However, if I were to raise a family it would be in the ‘burbs, but still reasonably close to the city so they won’t die of boredom. lol.
dahlia / 2747 posts
omg that was an accurate depiction of living in the suburbs.
guest
I grew up in the burbs. It’s a land of strip malls, big box stores, public transportation no one rides, tract housing, 2+ cars per family, houses that actually have front yards, and there’s generally nothing to on weekends. I love my hometown, but at some point I’d like to move to an urban environment with commercial districts rather than strip malls, locally owned businesses, better public transit, apartment living, riding a bike/taking the bus/subway rather than having to worry about a car, and a ton of shit to do on the weekends.
At some point though I’d probably go back to the burbs.
guest
anything but the country.
guest
There’s definitely stuff to do in the burbs if you have transportation and money. I live in an NJ suburb in the NYC metro area – my friends and I go out to dinner, go bowling, clubbing, go into the city often for shopping, shows, dinner, etc. And yes, sometimes we do just chill at each others houses, but we take turns making dinner and watching movies. I love NYC, but I think it would be way too inconvenient and expensive to live there, partially because, as you mentioned, I like driving and having a car. I prefer to live in the burbs and take the train into the city when I feel like being there.
To me, your description of the burbs sounds more like the country. I went to college and grad school in an extremely rural area, and that was the only time during my life when I spent most of my weekends drinking and smoking weed, because there was nothing else to do.
daisy / 505 posts
I enjoy B&N being the cultural center of my community. I think you can have fun wherever you are. There are some people who are constantly bored unless they’re in Times Square. I just think those people don’t know how to have fun. There are so many things to do if you just look around. I lived in the city for a few months and I don’t think it’s worth it for the cost and the crowds. I prefer the not-city. Living 20 or 30 minutes from the city (Boston in my case) is ideal because you can go in for fun things and then return home for some B&N livin!
guest
Philly has been great for college, and I’m glad I will be still working in the heart of it, but I might opt to live in the less urban areas. Northeast Philly is still technically Philadelphia and within the city limits, but it is pretty much the ‘burbs. I’m just tired of worrying about leaving my place after dark, or having my place broken into again.
guest
I live in the city and I loveee it!! Nothing better than that morning quiet when the traffic isn’t heavy yet and you can hear the world moving. It’s breathtaking.
magnolia / 1054 posts
I’ve always been a city girl. But next fall, I’m going to be attending Columbia, so I’m super excited for nyc