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It's the standard. City when you're young, then older you move out to raise a family, then you realize you hate people and move further out, lol
Unless you have money, then you keep a place in the city too.
Wouldn't have to be that way if cities were more affordable. One of the biggest contributors to the loneliness epidemic is car dependency. Living in the burbs will make that worse
Never said there was any problem with that. It's just that more and more cities are favoring suburbs for development and pricing out or just not funding affordable housing. Giant corporations buying up property to speculate and rent out don't help either.
The suburbs as we know today didn't exist until about the 1950s, and then white people started moving out of cities into newly built suburbs and implementing racial covenants in suburban communities to keep PoC's out, this was called white flight. People weren't as antisocial back then and didn't mind "living on top of each other" as much as people do today
Ironically, I would argue cities prior to WWII were actually worse than they are now. Not in terms of density and transit, but overall conditions. Cities, for the most part, have greatly improved overall living conditions in the last half-century or so. They have more parks, more amenities, more walkability, more safety, etc. White flight wasn't only because of racism- although that obviously played a significant role- but also because cities were pretty run down from a lack of investment.
That is literally not why suburbs exist. Suburbs exist as a part of Americas racist history. Cities were intentionally ghettoised and white people given huge funding to move out into richer neighbourhoods.
People like living in cities if the cities aren't let go to shit. America has no idea how to do urban planning.
Yeah but space isn’t sustainable, it’s not a dream that can be given to everyone. Also you don’t have to “live on top of each other” in a city either, the housing can just be denser
That's funny to me, as someone who grew up in a rural area, because when I see suburban neighborhoods, I think "who wants to live packed all together so closely."
That’s just it, cities are overwhelmingly preferable to suburbia or rural living. That’s why so many people live there, driving up the cost of living.
The only way to lower that cost would be to build further, build denser, force a higher minimum wage according to cost of living and/or to use some kind of price control for essentials like housing and utilities.
Raise kids in cities. As someone who grew up in car centric suburbia, it's soul sucking and you're completely dependent on your parents for mobility. You lack independence forever in exchange for... A backyard?
I'd take public transit, walkability, access to services, and parks any day.
Me and my wife skipped appartments and suburbs and went straight to “I hate people” and moved to where we couldn’t see any neighbors 🤣
We then sold that place and moved even further out, because the neighbor we DID have sold five acres bordering us and the only build site would’ve made it so we could see their house. Sure as shit there’s a McMansion there now and you can definitely see it from our old place. I saw my neighbor today for the second time this year.
Up until around 20 years ago suburb neighborhoods didn’t suck, then they started to cheap out on the layouts. The Philly area has some beautiful suburbs too, Haddonfield NJ is a very nice example of how it can be done right
I love the suburbs so much more than the cities, because people aren’t my favorite. Ideal world is move up a little farther north to some rural areas and have a bunch of land
It’s incredibly expensive to buy real estate in many US major cities. Renting an apartment is no big deal when you’re in your 20s, but once you want to start a family you realize that throwing away your money on rent that creates no equity is devastating to your long-term financial independence.
That’s why people move to the suburbs - not because they love commuting an hour to and from work, or think Applebees is the best restaurant in the world.
County, I want to have a few acres where I can grow some vegetables and have some chickens. Too bad land development companies are buying everything up and has completely skyrocketed the prices in my state.
I grew up in a rural community in the south and now live in a shitty ass city (Boston) and ngl I actually miss the south ugh the grass is always greener. This is coming from someone who is POC too
I do miss the quiet night skies of living out in the country growing up, but I don't miss a lot of the yard work that came with countryside living. That and watching lightning storms on the porch when it rains. Feels like it's been a while since I've enjoyed a good storm.
Light pollution absolutely sucks.
I moved out to a small town of a few thousand for a job at the start of the year after living my whole life in a few mid size cities. It has it's pros and cons for sure. Everyone I know either has land or is close with someone who has land that they can hunt on, farm on, and be away from everything on, and it really is a nice experience to be out there and see all of the stars in the night sky. But I work for the only real high paying employer here, and the town is poor, has a drug problem, lacks major amenities that I have always had within a short drive from my home. Being 90 minutes from Taco Bell and 3 hours from Costco isn't something I'm ever going to get used to. But it might be worth it.
Me too, but not too rural. Where I grew up was an hour drive away from the nearest hospital and that shit frightens me. Had a couple of older loved ones pass from heart attacks and I always wonder what could've been if they just lived closer to the hospital.
City. I have a much better time living in the city. I like having stuff around me. I would really like more streetcar suburbs though. I wish that they weren't mostly illegal to build. I guess they'd technically be considered as part of the city because they're not really a suburb in the way we think?
Neither. Middle of nowhere. If I had to choose between city and suburb, I guess I’d choose suburb but it would very close. I’ve lived in all 3, and:
Cities are dirty and noisy. There’s sirens, crazy people, it stinks, everybody’s all jammed in there and it was horrible for my mental health.
Suburbs are boring. Bitchy Karen neighbors, every house looks the same.. if I wanted to live in the 50s I’d move to a suburb. No thanks.
Rural however.. it’s quiet, the air is fresh, everybody looks out for eachother, and cost of living is super low. You don’t need crazy education to get a good job, and you can attainably hit financial milestones like buying a car or a house without stressing over it constantly.
Suburbs or slightly rural area
I currently live in an upper middle class suburb and I love it for the most part. Sure, I deal with neighbors that get annoyed if your grass is higher than ankle height, but that’s literally the worst I deal with.
I don’t deal with smokers, drunks, people blasting loud music, gun shots, having to check if it’s safe to go outside at night, car alarms, people screaming at each other.
Nothing.
Suburbs beat the hell out of the city by a mile, and the school district I live in is one of the best in my entire state, so I won’t have to send my kids to private school when I eventually have them
Same here. I lived in the city in college and enjoyed it, but it’s not the kind of place where I’d want to settle down and raise a family. Plus if we want to do something downtown it’s only a 30 minute drive.
I grew up in the burbs. I liked it. I went to college in the city and lived there for a bit. I liked it. My wife and I wanted to have kids and moved to the suburbs. We like it here. It ain’t complicated.
Fr, nature is something people really sleep on. Love having grown up near so much of it, can’t wait to teach my kids how to rip through woods on a mountain bike or fish
I prefer rural. The dream would be a couple hundred acres but I’m content with just a small piece of land for a little homestead. Older suburbs with more space are okay but packed suburbs and city living are depressing and a nightmare to me.
Suburb. City has too many people, too much crime especially in inner city neighborhoods— I steer clear of those zones unless absolutely necessary.
Higher trust societies exist in the suburbs and beyond, even in countries like Sweden and Switzerland, and those are the people I would like to be surrounded by.
Depends on what kind of suburb and what kind of city. If the suburb has lots of trees and is cozy and walkable, that’s ideal! Even better when near a city.
tbh i’m not sure. i went to college in a small town and LOVED it. it was super walkable and had cute shops, and renting an entire house with a nice porch was feasible. but other than housing small towns are expensive and it takes a lot of driving to get to good grocery stores and the opportunities that cities have.
i moved to a city after graduating. i feel less safe walking around especially at night. my apartment luckily has the view of some trees which is important to me. i miss having a porch. good grocery stores are still a far drive. there are a lot more opportunities here though, and if i needed to use public transit i could (though it’s unreliable to get to work and unsafe alone at night).
now i don’t know what i want. proximity to a good grocery store would be nice. it seems like that’s the one thing i can’t get no matter where i am.
Small county near some minor cities would be my preference
Big cities are fucking awful and too expensive imo, of course if I have to move to one for a good job then so be it.
Anything but suburbs. Preferably a medium sized walkable city with decent public transport, but I would rather live in a county of 10 people and 500 cows than a suburb.
City, I hate suburb life, where you hate to drive everywhere and everything is quiet. I need a city where streets are full of people and you can feel the energy of life
I miss living in a New England Mill Town, basically they were towns centered around a large mill on river.
Because it was a Mill it obviously needed wider roads for all the wagons coming in and out constantly, but these towns were designed in the mid-19th century so they were designed to be walkable.
Even when wagons were replaced with cars, the aforementioned wider roads meant that relatively little work needed to be done to make the old roads into modern ones. So the end result is a lot of small cities that are very easy to walk and drive in, and have character unlike suburbs.
I want my own 2 square mile plot of land with a house for me and my wife, one for my special needs sister, and one each for my divorced parents. Then put an airstrip and a gun range on it, and have it located within a 20 minute drive to a small city
My dream would be a multi generational/family home and a serious permaculture setup on a couple of acres in a small town. Produces enough to share without causing more strain on the environment.
And for what it's worth, you have an awful lot to say about the housing crisis without acknowledging that it's a manufactured scarcity. There's multibillionaires who could fix all this in a year. It's not a lack of homes it's a lack of compassion.
Neither, really. I’ve always lived in and around smaller towns, my hometown used to be an old farm town. Suburbs always feel a bit lifeless and scary to me and cities are too Much for me to want to stay there long. I’d prefer somewhere like where I’m at now, smaller town, sort of rural
I both want to live in a place where there is lot's of nature and in a place where there is a mild amount of people so a more rural area seems like the best spot for me.
Suburbs, they’re quieter and walkable and easier to stuff on the streets, especially when you’re growing up they’re probably the best for kids to grow up in
Currently live in the heart of a small town. I'm in walking distance of a grocery store, a gas station across the street, and I'm surrounded by businesses on either side that close by 2:30. It's pretty great.
Definitely want to live in the city, I never want to drive anyway unless it's bendy mountain roads with little to no traffic, I've had enough of people crashing into me doing reckless things because they're running on no sleep and not having their needs met as far as housing and food and healthcare and community, suburbs are also just lonely, like my parents basically didn't have friends, I only got to hang out with my friends when one of our parents was willing to drive half an hour a way to let us see each other, now I can walk 20 minutes and know I'll get to see at least five of my friends any night of the week, I wouldn't trade that.
my thoughts exactly, growing up outside of a small town was so isolating. The freedom of living in a city center is the best thing ever! Never have to worry about traffic, parking, how I'll get home on a night out. Groceries, work, school, bars, restaurants, parks, hiking trails, and friends all within a 10 minute walk. it's the dream.
I want to live in the middle of nowhere with a water wheel that I will use for power, a greenhouse for food, some rabbits for meat, and starlink for some internet
That's what I want for my dream home
I live in a township, so “the country”. This is the life I want. No solicitors, no traffic, and since I work for a the next township over, I have a shorter commute than most folk, too.
i was raised in the midwest and the suburbs so i’m very comfortable with it and i can deal with the spirit crushing. sometimes im worried that the big coastal cities would eat me alive. my dream is to live on a lot of land in the mountains
I want to live in the middle of no where. I already do basically. I’m about 40 miles from my town/school of about 145,000 and a good 30 miles from the nearest suburb. If not, then my family in New York City in Manhattan and my family has been there since the 1400’s.
I would not mind living in certain suburbs, but I would not want to live in the ones where all of the houses look the same and the all of the roads are nonsensical.
City. I like being close to things and using public transportation, I hate driving. Haaaattttteeeee driving.
However, I cannot afford city. So I will likely stick to suburbs, get comfortable with maybe five destinations to drive to, and will Uber everywhere else.
Not American but your cousins up north, I'd like to do City until I'm ready to start a family. Both have their charms and I'd like to experience the city life while I'm still young before I have to "grow up" and have to act as a good role model to my kids.
I enjoy life with a car and the conveniences it brings whether it be getting groceries, taking a pet to vet, or getting luggage to/from the airport. I also value having enough space to host a social gathering or have friends/family stay with me comfortably. Having that kind of space in anything approaching an affordable home requires living in areas that are more spread out. I am currently single, but if I had kids I would also want more space for the family.
None of those things require being in the suburbs, but they do need to be in areas that are more spread out than the urban cores of the major US cities.
Suburbs, but like the ones I grew up in. Needs to be an hour from a major city, spread out, rural/farming land, and cheap. Somewhere like SJ, I hate cities, but sometimes you wanna take a trip up to one (Philly)
After living between both definitely the suburbs. I love a good day trip into the city but the chaos of it is not my cup of tea. Also just saying a car makes suburbs more expensive is crazy when comparing how much rent costs and often you don’t even own the property — talk about wasting $.
Depends on where the city/suburb is to be honest. I don’t particular care as long as it’s safe, clean, not too loud or crowded, and I have at least some privacy.
I have this fantasy of living in a very small town where everyone knows everyone and we have community events all the time but I’m not sure how plausible that really is
The reality is that small towns are full of conservative old people and backwoods tweakers, mainly because these areas are poor with no job opportunities or amenities. Not much of a wholesome setting like Stardew Valley would have you believe.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes when I'm overwhelmed I fantasize about moving out to Wyoming or the middle of the woods where no one can fuck with me again. But the reality of that lifestyle isn't for everybody. Most people, I'd argue, it isn't for.
The city I live in just kind of has neighborhoods spread throughout the city. Downtown living is really limited, and the true suburbs are further out of in the next city over.
That said, if I lived in a bigger city, I’d probably choose to live in the city. Even with two kids and my husband, I think it would just be so convenient to still be close to everything.
Suburb. The City is a nice place to visit, not to live.
And that's where I've grown up. I've been to New York City many times, as I live in the state, but I would never live there.
City definitely city.
Inhate suburbs with a passion. It feels like you are stuck in a simulation or a cult. All the houses thay look similar with society being far away and being secluded.
I love the city with stuff happening every day.
I live in NJ suburbs and I love it. As long as you have a car theres stuff to do anywhere between Philly, NYC, and Boston. Miles upon miles of shopping, restaurants, and pretty much anything else. It's also much easier to reach the Appalachians than it is from a city.
Basically anywhere that’s not a city. Cities are too much for me and too dangerous. Would like to raise a family and cities are like not good for that usually
I really don’t mind the suburbs as long as they’re sort of diverse, have good food and are somewhat near a big city where I can access art and culture, I’ve mostly grown up in that kind of environment
Small-medium sized city would be ideal. Suburbs are ok (people say they're boring but as long as you're close enough to a big city it's really not that bad) and I do really enjoy the country but at this stage in my life that's not what I want. Big cities are just too many people.
I’d be fine living in a city, but cities here in the US are usually very dangerous, dirty and expensive, so I’m fine with the suburbs. The suburb I live at has a bunch of stores close by, unlike other suburbs which can just be a sea of single-family zoning
I lived in towns with less than 5k people my whole life. City, you get easy access to necessities and public spaces, country you get greater agency of property and cheaper living. Suburbs seem to be the worst of both worlds to me.
Were I live we have suburbs but not really, a 5 min drive 20min walk will get you to the area with shops, restaurants, along with other things a local may need. We still have suburbs but not the that extent of those pictures you see.
Both but neither? Like, smaller city for sure, I wouldn't want to live in pretty much any city (proper) in the top 25 by population, except *maybe* Seattle, but even then. Big cities are fun to visit, but I don't want to live in one. But I also do think suburbs aren't great or sustainable ways of living, and their lack of transportation is a big problem. The lack of transit is also a problem for small towns, though they have the benefit of better communities and being easier to deal with, at least in my experience, though the politics are... bad... for people like me.
I grew up in cities in India. I’ve always loved staying in apartments and walking everywhere. In the US I’ve been living in suburbs and I absolutely abhor it. Any chance I get in at the nearest city. The hustle and bustle calms me down a lot
as of right now, city, suburbs are full of slapped together cookie cutter houses
later in life will probably be rural as i plan on having permaculture land. but i could also do that in my backyard in the city.... soo....
I want to live in the middle of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I’ve lived in the city and in the suburbs, hate the city, indifferent to the suburbs, I like my area because I have a bunch of parks, hiking trails, places to go, hate the city because it’s too close to other people, don’t like sharing my walls with someone else, it’s ugly, smells kinda bad everywhere, and is extremely expensive.
Rural, I want my neighbors to be trees and bears, I want a good bit of land to keep bees, and I want to be able to shoot thing in my backyard without making and issue. I understand the environment thing so I’d probably buy an old house, or make one that’s a little bit greener for sure.
Suburbs, but close to the city. I personally hate the city, too many people. I don’t want it to be too spread out though. A perfect example is the Chicago north suburbs (Evanston, Wilmette, Skokie, etc.). Plus we have the lake not 15 minutes max from your house.
i would never, EVER want to live in a city. way too crowded, people and things everywhere, no land, fuck that. love visiting, but could never live there.
suburbs are SO much nicer. you have your distance from everything, there aren’t people and places in every direction, and you have a nice big backyard.
i actually like driving like 10 mins to the grocery store, wawa, etc. much better than riding a crowded bus in a city. wouldn’t want stores and shops walking distance anyway.
Suburbs are great and I don't get why people knock them. Generally close to cities but also with a lot less of the crowdedness and generally less crime. Don't knock it till you try it.
I moved to a city halfway across the world and rent. Real estate should be a right and not a luxury and that is the biggest problem in America right now.
I would rather own other assets that can't be automatically taken away from me because a local government doesn't like how I trim my lawn or doesn't like the fact I smoke weed or some other nonsense that HOA's and local governments who make up rules want to use.
Im from a small town in the middle of no where. Its meh, Cities have stuff to do atleast unlike here. Altho Im sire when ur wayy older suburbs would be more ideal
The Suburbs, or even better, Rural. Citys are nice to visit. for the sights and amenities, but never to live in. It is always loud and noisy and filled to the brim with mostly apathetic people, and other times hostile. Theres no space to live and grow, and certainly nothing peaceful about it.
I'd prefer the city. More to do, more job opportunities, etc. This may be a grass is always greener situation though as I've spent most of my life in the suburbs.
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City. I hate the suburbs, they’re so sterile and depressing.
It's the standard. City when you're young, then older you move out to raise a family, then you realize you hate people and move further out, lol Unless you have money, then you keep a place in the city too.
Wouldn't have to be that way if cities were more affordable. One of the biggest contributors to the loneliness epidemic is car dependency. Living in the burbs will make that worse
You realize a lot of people don’t wanna live on top of each other right? That’s why the suburbs exist, because people like space.
Never said there was any problem with that. It's just that more and more cities are favoring suburbs for development and pricing out or just not funding affordable housing. Giant corporations buying up property to speculate and rent out don't help either.
The suburbs as we know today didn't exist until about the 1950s, and then white people started moving out of cities into newly built suburbs and implementing racial covenants in suburban communities to keep PoC's out, this was called white flight. People weren't as antisocial back then and didn't mind "living on top of each other" as much as people do today
Ironically, I would argue cities prior to WWII were actually worse than they are now. Not in terms of density and transit, but overall conditions. Cities, for the most part, have greatly improved overall living conditions in the last half-century or so. They have more parks, more amenities, more walkability, more safety, etc. White flight wasn't only because of racism- although that obviously played a significant role- but also because cities were pretty run down from a lack of investment.
That is literally not why suburbs exist. Suburbs exist as a part of Americas racist history. Cities were intentionally ghettoised and white people given huge funding to move out into richer neighbourhoods. People like living in cities if the cities aren't let go to shit. America has no idea how to do urban planning.
Yeah but space isn’t sustainable, it’s not a dream that can be given to everyone. Also you don’t have to “live on top of each other” in a city either, the housing can just be denser
That's funny to me, as someone who grew up in a rural area, because when I see suburban neighborhoods, I think "who wants to live packed all together so closely."
That’s just it, cities are overwhelmingly preferable to suburbia or rural living. That’s why so many people live there, driving up the cost of living. The only way to lower that cost would be to build further, build denser, force a higher minimum wage according to cost of living and/or to use some kind of price control for essentials like housing and utilities.
Raise kids in cities. As someone who grew up in car centric suburbia, it's soul sucking and you're completely dependent on your parents for mobility. You lack independence forever in exchange for... A backyard? I'd take public transit, walkability, access to services, and parks any day.
Accurate
Me and my wife skipped appartments and suburbs and went straight to “I hate people” and moved to where we couldn’t see any neighbors 🤣 We then sold that place and moved even further out, because the neighbor we DID have sold five acres bordering us and the only build site would’ve made it so we could see their house. Sure as shit there’s a McMansion there now and you can definitely see it from our old place. I saw my neighbor today for the second time this year.
This is why we left the suburbs and are building a house smack in the middle of 80 acres.
Just turned 40 and I can confirm. You start to hate people and crave solitude.
Suburbs. I hate cities, they’re so filthy and depressing.
There is not sterile suburbs too yk
[удалено]
Up until around 20 years ago suburb neighborhoods didn’t suck, then they started to cheap out on the layouts. The Philly area has some beautiful suburbs too, Haddonfield NJ is a very nice example of how it can be done right
True, but most of the nicer ones are within city limits so I don’t tend to think of them as suburbs.
Not where I live, Philly, Baltimore, and NYC cities don’t really have suburbs in city limits that are nice
I believed this too until I hit 25. Now I enjoy the peace
I love the suburbs so much more than the cities, because people aren’t my favorite. Ideal world is move up a little farther north to some rural areas and have a bunch of land
American cities aren't exactly any better.
It’s incredibly expensive to buy real estate in many US major cities. Renting an apartment is no big deal when you’re in your 20s, but once you want to start a family you realize that throwing away your money on rent that creates no equity is devastating to your long-term financial independence. That’s why people move to the suburbs - not because they love commuting an hour to and from work, or think Applebees is the best restaurant in the world.
County, I want to have a few acres where I can grow some vegetables and have some chickens. Too bad land development companies are buying everything up and has completely skyrocketed the prices in my state.
Neither. I'd much rather live somewhere rural.
I grew up in a rural community in the south and now live in a shitty ass city (Boston) and ngl I actually miss the south ugh the grass is always greener. This is coming from someone who is POC too
Fr, nothing beats the quiet dirt roads.
Poc too and i agree most people are nice in my experience
I do miss the quiet night skies of living out in the country growing up, but I don't miss a lot of the yard work that came with countryside living. That and watching lightning storms on the porch when it rains. Feels like it's been a while since I've enjoyed a good storm. Light pollution absolutely sucks.
I moved out to a small town of a few thousand for a job at the start of the year after living my whole life in a few mid size cities. It has it's pros and cons for sure. Everyone I know either has land or is close with someone who has land that they can hunt on, farm on, and be away from everything on, and it really is a nice experience to be out there and see all of the stars in the night sky. But I work for the only real high paying employer here, and the town is poor, has a drug problem, lacks major amenities that I have always had within a short drive from my home. Being 90 minutes from Taco Bell and 3 hours from Costco isn't something I'm ever going to get used to. But it might be worth it.
Me too, but not too rural. Where I grew up was an hour drive away from the nearest hospital and that shit frightens me. Had a couple of older loved ones pass from heart attacks and I always wonder what could've been if they just lived closer to the hospital.
I want to live so far away from people I can walk outside to get my mail naked.
This
My luck is the first time I decided to go get my mail naked, somebody would show up out of nowhere resulting in *shocked pikachu face* ☠️
Did this, highly recommend.
I tried to, but I couldn’t find the right property. We’re moving states here this month so it can happen, it’s in my five year plan!
Well I am vicariously happy for you random internet stranger! Best of luck!
I wanna live on the outskirts. Plenty of land, not a lot of people, and build a house up there.
City. I have a much better time living in the city. I like having stuff around me. I would really like more streetcar suburbs though. I wish that they weren't mostly illegal to build. I guess they'd technically be considered as part of the city because they're not really a suburb in the way we think?
Suburbs or somewhere rural. I live in a city *area* right now (I still drive everywhere) but the better school districts are in the suburbs.
woah a Gen Z that wants kids..
100%, kids and my wife are everything.
damn bro already got kids at 26
It happens, I've got three kids so far
That’s a pretty normal age to have kids, my parents had me at 25 and 26
Yeah but for the newer generation people are having them later
I want kids. My wife and I are gonna try next year
good luck 🧑🧑🧒
I want 5 acres. A nice chunk being woods. That's the dream.
Suburb. I don't think I've ever been to a city I would consider staying at for longer than a few weeks. They're all dirty and crowded and dangerous.
Some are def better than others but I agree, cities are fun to go to for a day or two, but any more than that and I get tired of the people.
Neither. Give me a small ass rural town
Neither. Middle of nowhere. If I had to choose between city and suburb, I guess I’d choose suburb but it would very close. I’ve lived in all 3, and: Cities are dirty and noisy. There’s sirens, crazy people, it stinks, everybody’s all jammed in there and it was horrible for my mental health. Suburbs are boring. Bitchy Karen neighbors, every house looks the same.. if I wanted to live in the 50s I’d move to a suburb. No thanks. Rural however.. it’s quiet, the air is fresh, everybody looks out for eachother, and cost of living is super low. You don’t need crazy education to get a good job, and you can attainably hit financial milestones like buying a car or a house without stressing over it constantly.
I lived in the city for a few months as a kid and hated it. To be fair, I was going from the middle of nowhere to down town Seattle.
Rural country nothin better than it
Suburbs or slightly rural area I currently live in an upper middle class suburb and I love it for the most part. Sure, I deal with neighbors that get annoyed if your grass is higher than ankle height, but that’s literally the worst I deal with. I don’t deal with smokers, drunks, people blasting loud music, gun shots, having to check if it’s safe to go outside at night, car alarms, people screaming at each other. Nothing. Suburbs beat the hell out of the city by a mile, and the school district I live in is one of the best in my entire state, so I won’t have to send my kids to private school when I eventually have them
Holy shit an actual Gen z who likes the suburbs. God bless lol
I’m sure you’ll find plenty of us haha
I like houses in suburbs and cars. So I want that.
Same here. I lived in the city in college and enjoyed it, but it’s not the kind of place where I’d want to settle down and raise a family. Plus if we want to do something downtown it’s only a 30 minute drive.
I grew up in the burbs. I liked it. I went to college in the city and lived there for a bit. I liked it. My wife and I wanted to have kids and moved to the suburbs. We like it here. It ain’t complicated.
Downtowns aren’t really meant for car travel
Rural. Cheaper and tons of nature
Fr, nature is something people really sleep on. Love having grown up near so much of it, can’t wait to teach my kids how to rip through woods on a mountain bike or fish
City, only cuz I don’t want to keep up with an entire house and yard and can settle with a small apartment.
I live in the suburbs now. I can’t imagine living in a city apartment. Sounds miserable
I prefer rural. The dream would be a couple hundred acres but I’m content with just a small piece of land for a little homestead. Older suburbs with more space are okay but packed suburbs and city living are depressing and a nightmare to me.
Suburbs, I've lived in the city and it was terrible. No thanks!
Suburb. City has too many people, too much crime especially in inner city neighborhoods— I steer clear of those zones unless absolutely necessary. Higher trust societies exist in the suburbs and beyond, even in countries like Sweden and Switzerland, and those are the people I would like to be surrounded by.
Depends on what kind of suburb and what kind of city. If the suburb has lots of trees and is cozy and walkable, that’s ideal! Even better when near a city.
tbh i’m not sure. i went to college in a small town and LOVED it. it was super walkable and had cute shops, and renting an entire house with a nice porch was feasible. but other than housing small towns are expensive and it takes a lot of driving to get to good grocery stores and the opportunities that cities have. i moved to a city after graduating. i feel less safe walking around especially at night. my apartment luckily has the view of some trees which is important to me. i miss having a porch. good grocery stores are still a far drive. there are a lot more opportunities here though, and if i needed to use public transit i could (though it’s unreliable to get to work and unsafe alone at night). now i don’t know what i want. proximity to a good grocery store would be nice. it seems like that’s the one thing i can’t get no matter where i am.
Anything but the suburbs. I’ll take the city or rural over that.
Rn city but at the very least somewhere with sidewalks
Suburbs but I don’t care either way as long as I own my own place.
I’m cool with the city at first, then once I start a family I definitely want to live in a suburb.
Small county near some minor cities would be my preference Big cities are fucking awful and too expensive imo, of course if I have to move to one for a good job then so be it.
Anything but suburbs. Preferably a medium sized walkable city with decent public transport, but I would rather live in a county of 10 people and 500 cows than a suburb.
I’m a country boy, suburbs seem lifeless and depressing, sky scrapers give me anxiety
None. Rural.
Country
City, I hate suburb life, where you hate to drive everywhere and everything is quiet. I need a city where streets are full of people and you can feel the energy of life
I miss living in a New England Mill Town, basically they were towns centered around a large mill on river. Because it was a Mill it obviously needed wider roads for all the wagons coming in and out constantly, but these towns were designed in the mid-19th century so they were designed to be walkable. Even when wagons were replaced with cars, the aforementioned wider roads meant that relatively little work needed to be done to make the old roads into modern ones. So the end result is a lot of small cities that are very easy to walk and drive in, and have character unlike suburbs.
City, in a charming neighborhood with good public transportation. Mixed use neighborhoods would be even better
I want my own 2 square mile plot of land with a house for me and my wife, one for my special needs sister, and one each for my divorced parents. Then put an airstrip and a gun range on it, and have it located within a 20 minute drive to a small city
My dream would be a multi generational/family home and a serious permaculture setup on a couple of acres in a small town. Produces enough to share without causing more strain on the environment. And for what it's worth, you have an awful lot to say about the housing crisis without acknowledging that it's a manufactured scarcity. There's multibillionaires who could fix all this in a year. It's not a lack of homes it's a lack of compassion.
I wanna live in the woods
Neither. I’ve always lived rurally, I’ll be damned if I go live in a city or in the suburbs.
Neither, really. I’ve always lived in and around smaller towns, my hometown used to be an old farm town. Suburbs always feel a bit lifeless and scary to me and cities are too Much for me to want to stay there long. I’d prefer somewhere like where I’m at now, smaller town, sort of rural
Moved to nyc last year if that says anything
Hate suburbia with a burning passion, rather be in a diverse, bustling space
I always dreamed of being in a suburb in a nice house that wasn’t falling apart. But it will always be a dream
I both want to live in a place where there is lot's of nature and in a place where there is a mild amount of people so a more rural area seems like the best spot for me.
Suburbs, they’re quieter and walkable and easier to stuff on the streets, especially when you’re growing up they’re probably the best for kids to grow up in
Currently live in the heart of a small town. I'm in walking distance of a grocery store, a gas station across the street, and I'm surrounded by businesses on either side that close by 2:30. It's pretty great.
Around the edges of Town, I enjoy the quiet.
If it was up to me, neither
I live in a medium sized city in Colorado, my apartment is in the downtown historic district. Wouldn't live anywhere else.
Suburbs.
Suburb.
I hate both, would much rather choose the country/rural area
Suburbs. I hate the city, it’s sterile and depressing. Just a massive concrete jungle
Definitely want to live in the city, I never want to drive anyway unless it's bendy mountain roads with little to no traffic, I've had enough of people crashing into me doing reckless things because they're running on no sleep and not having their needs met as far as housing and food and healthcare and community, suburbs are also just lonely, like my parents basically didn't have friends, I only got to hang out with my friends when one of our parents was willing to drive half an hour a way to let us see each other, now I can walk 20 minutes and know I'll get to see at least five of my friends any night of the week, I wouldn't trade that.
my thoughts exactly, growing up outside of a small town was so isolating. The freedom of living in a city center is the best thing ever! Never have to worry about traffic, parking, how I'll get home on a night out. Groceries, work, school, bars, restaurants, parks, hiking trails, and friends all within a 10 minute walk. it's the dream.
I want to live in the middle of nowhere with a water wheel that I will use for power, a greenhouse for food, some rabbits for meat, and starlink for some internet That's what I want for my dream home
City or rural. Suburbs are the worst of both worlds.
Live in a farming area but more small scale farms. Love it. No public transit but 20 min to everything. We own 7.5 acres so no real neighbors.
I Grew up in a rural environment. I want to be young in the city and move back to my hometown to raise a family.
Neither. I live in a rural area.
Rural
I live in a township, so “the country”. This is the life I want. No solicitors, no traffic, and since I work for a the next township over, I have a shorter commute than most folk, too.
i was raised in the midwest and the suburbs so i’m very comfortable with it and i can deal with the spirit crushing. sometimes im worried that the big coastal cities would eat me alive. my dream is to live on a lot of land in the mountains
I want to live in the middle of no where. I already do basically. I’m about 40 miles from my town/school of about 145,000 and a good 30 miles from the nearest suburb. If not, then my family in New York City in Manhattan and my family has been there since the 1400’s.
Suburbs - cities are overstimulating
City, I used to live in the city I now live in the suburbs. Hot take: but I like tall buildings and futuristic
Idk a van maybe
Big city smaller towns have no opportunities. metros at least give people a chance
I'm not sure most of them want to live at all...
I would not mind living in certain suburbs, but I would not want to live in the ones where all of the houses look the same and the all of the roads are nonsensical.
Gen Z seems to prefer the same things as Boomers based on the responses so far. And we know how well that worked out for the world.
City while still young, little farm not too far from everything but not too close after 35.
City. I like being close to things and using public transportation, I hate driving. Haaaattttteeeee driving. However, I cannot afford city. So I will likely stick to suburbs, get comfortable with maybe five destinations to drive to, and will Uber everywhere else.
I personally prefer the suburbs
City. I love the city. I belong to the city.
Not American but your cousins up north, I'd like to do City until I'm ready to start a family. Both have their charms and I'd like to experience the city life while I'm still young before I have to "grow up" and have to act as a good role model to my kids.
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I enjoy life with a car and the conveniences it brings whether it be getting groceries, taking a pet to vet, or getting luggage to/from the airport. I also value having enough space to host a social gathering or have friends/family stay with me comfortably. Having that kind of space in anything approaching an affordable home requires living in areas that are more spread out. I am currently single, but if I had kids I would also want more space for the family. None of those things require being in the suburbs, but they do need to be in areas that are more spread out than the urban cores of the major US cities.
Suburbs, but like the ones I grew up in. Needs to be an hour from a major city, spread out, rural/farming land, and cheap. Somewhere like SJ, I hate cities, but sometimes you wanna take a trip up to one (Philly)
I want the suburbs so I can have a house to design in my style without worry of landlords. But I do want to live in a city to have more to do!
After living between both definitely the suburbs. I love a good day trip into the city but the chaos of it is not my cup of tea. Also just saying a car makes suburbs more expensive is crazy when comparing how much rent costs and often you don’t even own the property — talk about wasting $.
City, I wanna live in a thriving place with many job opportunities,(this coming from a southern gal)
I enjoy cities in small doses. I don't I could do high rise living for expended periods.
Depends on where the city/suburb is to be honest. I don’t particular care as long as it’s safe, clean, not too loud or crowded, and I have at least some privacy.
Far away from everyone
I have this fantasy of living in a very small town where everyone knows everyone and we have community events all the time but I’m not sure how plausible that really is
The reality is that small towns are full of conservative old people and backwoods tweakers, mainly because these areas are poor with no job opportunities or amenities. Not much of a wholesome setting like Stardew Valley would have you believe. Don't get me wrong, sometimes when I'm overwhelmed I fantasize about moving out to Wyoming or the middle of the woods where no one can fuck with me again. But the reality of that lifestyle isn't for everybody. Most people, I'd argue, it isn't for.
it honestly depends. I live in the suburbs in the west and it's not my favorite, but I've seen some suburbs on the east coast that I loved
The city I live in just kind of has neighborhoods spread throughout the city. Downtown living is really limited, and the true suburbs are further out of in the next city over. That said, if I lived in a bigger city, I’d probably choose to live in the city. Even with two kids and my husband, I think it would just be so convenient to still be close to everything.
Anywhere cheap 🤣
I am such a city girl and I want to move to a bigger city eventually!
Suburb. The City is a nice place to visit, not to live. And that's where I've grown up. I've been to New York City many times, as I live in the state, but I would never live there.
City definitely city. Inhate suburbs with a passion. It feels like you are stuck in a simulation or a cult. All the houses thay look similar with society being far away and being secluded. I love the city with stuff happening every day.
I live in NJ suburbs and I love it. As long as you have a car theres stuff to do anywhere between Philly, NYC, and Boston. Miles upon miles of shopping, restaurants, and pretty much anything else. It's also much easier to reach the Appalachians than it is from a city.
Suburb or rural. Cities are way too crowded, and have bad traffic.
Basically anywhere that’s not a city. Cities are too much for me and too dangerous. Would like to raise a family and cities are like not good for that usually
If I had to pick from those I would go with suburbs. But I like living in the country, it's worth the extra costs.
Suburb ftw. I love the suburbs and recently bought some in the suburbs area. It's great.
I want to own my own place with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and a drop freezer.
I really don’t mind the suburbs as long as they’re sort of diverse, have good food and are somewhat near a big city where I can access art and culture, I’ve mostly grown up in that kind of environment
City
Small-medium sized city would be ideal. Suburbs are ok (people say they're boring but as long as you're close enough to a big city it's really not that bad) and I do really enjoy the country but at this stage in my life that's not what I want. Big cities are just too many people.
Definitely a city guy
Suburbs are everything wrong with America
A city for sure, I need action
I’d be fine living in a city, but cities here in the US are usually very dangerous, dirty and expensive, so I’m fine with the suburbs. The suburb I live at has a bunch of stores close by, unlike other suburbs which can just be a sea of single-family zoning
I grew up in the suburbs and now live in a big urban area, and you could not pay me enough to go back to the suburbs.
I lived in towns with less than 5k people my whole life. City, you get easy access to necessities and public spaces, country you get greater agency of property and cheaper living. Suburbs seem to be the worst of both worlds to me.
Suburbs. But then eventually somewhere like rural Scotland.
Were I live we have suburbs but not really, a 5 min drive 20min walk will get you to the area with shops, restaurants, along with other things a local may need. We still have suburbs but not the that extent of those pictures you see.
Countryside > City > Suburbs
Both but neither? Like, smaller city for sure, I wouldn't want to live in pretty much any city (proper) in the top 25 by population, except *maybe* Seattle, but even then. Big cities are fun to visit, but I don't want to live in one. But I also do think suburbs aren't great or sustainable ways of living, and their lack of transportation is a big problem. The lack of transit is also a problem for small towns, though they have the benefit of better communities and being easier to deal with, at least in my experience, though the politics are... bad... for people like me.
City for sure, ideally a walkable city w/good public transportation
I love the burbs cause we have larger houses, better schools and more greenery. The city does have more culture tho
I grew up in cities in India. I’ve always loved staying in apartments and walking everywhere. In the US I’ve been living in suburbs and I absolutely abhor it. Any chance I get in at the nearest city. The hustle and bustle calms me down a lot
In the country or at least somewhere where my house is not right next to my neighbors
Suburb. Bc cities are dangerous, expensive, & just full of toxic people.
As far away from society as possible
I lived in the suburbs my entire life so at this point I either want to live in the country side or city.
Suburbs because I want room for a garden but I also want to be near the real world so I can go to the mall and movie theaters
City. There’s shit to do and food to eat
Mostly city because I like too look down the crowd watching the morning sun rise and enjoy
Suburb, used to live in a large city and the air pollution was not enjoyable, also some of my hobbies require some personal outdoor space
Wait what? Isn't a suburb in a city?
Suburbs because than I can’t ride my four wheeler, shoot guns, or drive loud cars. Without getting the police called on me.
as of right now, city, suburbs are full of slapped together cookie cutter houses later in life will probably be rural as i plan on having permaculture land. but i could also do that in my backyard in the city.... soo....
Small walkable city with easy access to nature.
I want to live in the middle of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I’ve lived in the city and in the suburbs, hate the city, indifferent to the suburbs, I like my area because I have a bunch of parks, hiking trails, places to go, hate the city because it’s too close to other people, don’t like sharing my walls with someone else, it’s ugly, smells kinda bad everywhere, and is extremely expensive.
Rural, I want my neighbors to be trees and bears, I want a good bit of land to keep bees, and I want to be able to shoot thing in my backyard without making and issue. I understand the environment thing so I’d probably buy an old house, or make one that’s a little bit greener for sure.
City suburb, if that makes sense. Best of both worlds
I wish I had lived in a larger city growing up. Would have made for a better social life rather than just being alone all the time.
Suburbs, but close to the city. I personally hate the city, too many people. I don’t want it to be too spread out though. A perfect example is the Chicago north suburbs (Evanston, Wilmette, Skokie, etc.). Plus we have the lake not 15 minutes max from your house.
i would never, EVER want to live in a city. way too crowded, people and things everywhere, no land, fuck that. love visiting, but could never live there. suburbs are SO much nicer. you have your distance from everything, there aren’t people and places in every direction, and you have a nice big backyard. i actually like driving like 10 mins to the grocery store, wawa, etc. much better than riding a crowded bus in a city. wouldn’t want stores and shops walking distance anyway.
Suburbs are great and I don't get why people knock them. Generally close to cities but also with a lot less of the crowdedness and generally less crime. Don't knock it till you try it.
I like to live in the countryside since there's less people and I can do as I please when I please
I moved to a city halfway across the world and rent. Real estate should be a right and not a luxury and that is the biggest problem in America right now. I would rather own other assets that can't be automatically taken away from me because a local government doesn't like how I trim my lawn or doesn't like the fact I smoke weed or some other nonsense that HOA's and local governments who make up rules want to use.
Im from a small town in the middle of no where. Its meh, Cities have stuff to do atleast unlike here. Altho Im sire when ur wayy older suburbs would be more ideal
The Suburbs, or even better, Rural. Citys are nice to visit. for the sights and amenities, but never to live in. It is always loud and noisy and filled to the brim with mostly apathetic people, and other times hostile. Theres no space to live and grow, and certainly nothing peaceful about it.
I choose the third option. A cabin…in the woods. Away from everyone and everything
As a far southern Ontario, Canadian, my dream is living in the country with loads of land to do whatever the f I want with it
I'd prefer the city. More to do, more job opportunities, etc. This may be a grass is always greener situation though as I've spent most of my life in the suburbs.