Having lived in both, big city no question. People stay out of your shit there.
I want to be able to have your take, but I get so overwhelmed by crowds of people and noise…
Big city, I am an urban animal, I enjoy having a wide cultural/activity offer, having a grocery store down my stairs, and be able to do tons of stuff by walking/cycling.
Big city! Given those 2 extremes. Not that I genuinely know. Every choice of residence has been out of extreme necessity. Never made a “voluntary” choice to move with proper time.
I want walkability, access to services, and robust infrastructure.
2nd choice is middle of nowhere where I can do all that stuff myself and homestead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_city
wealthy+nontechie+extrovert+nocar=city middleincome+techie+introvert+car=rural
They are both too big for me. I like a small rural community, where everything is close enough that no car is needed (an island in my case). I grew up in a city, and I’m so glad I got out of there.
If I could live in West Virginia but without West Virginians, I’d probably do that.
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What’s that? Big city filled with cars, roads and useless pocket greenspaces, but with no small town community or flexibility?
- North American city planners, circa one city construction ago.
Oil industry lobbyists are a bitch, eh?
It wasn’t just them, or the auto manufacture lobbyists that were probably more powerful at the time. There was also the influence of slightly older conspicuous consumption, so suburban lots were designed to look like mini country estates, and generally the re-emphasis of connection with the outdoors and nature that came in the midcentury. Plus, if it’s a totally new neighborhood, you can keep minorities out from the start.
It seems designers thought people in suburbs would, like, be close friends with everyone on the cul-de-sac, and they’d spend all weekend chilling outdoors and having barbecues. Maybe make one giant croquet course all down the street. Instead, you barely know your immediate neighbor’s names, and anyone two doors down is under suspicion of being a violent criminal.
To be fair, they aren’t the first or last designers to fundamentally misunderstand how the public will interact with the infrastructure; that’s still a source of surprises today. I just wish we had changed course as soon as the truth became clear.
I thought we were talking about inner city planning, but yeah, suburbs are the flip side to the same coin.
that includes mini scooters for me, and guys on racing bikes in full spandex gear yelling “cmon!” to people
And if they’re not yelling “c’mon” at you they’ll be yelling “cheater!”. Like bro this isn’t tour de france, I’m just tryna get to work…
Costco or bust.
City.
I want to be able to surround myself with a variety of people and cultures, while also being able to surround myself with the community that makes me feel welcome.
Growing up gay in a rural town that was relatively progressive was still a nightmare, and the town’s best feature for me was the commuter train that took me to the closest big city.
I love having access to basically everything relatively easily and I love having a multitude of options for all the things I have access to. Small towns can’t provide that.
I also hate yards, though gardens are nice.
So yeah, for me while I have found some small towns I could make work, I would always be giving up things that I value to do so. Big cities are the best, and smaller cities can be good, too, but I’m a city boy through and through.
I prefer living i a nice suburb with excellent public transport to get to work in the city.
Just like I have been doing for all my life (:
The city is a place you visit, and then come home to your nice suburb walk home from the bus stop along a small, quiet canal, sometimes there is an event in the park you pass through, else it is just quiet.
Need to get to work in the city center? Get on the bus that departs every 5-10 min during rush hour, 30 min later switch to the underground that departs every 5 min, switch lines, get off 15 and walk to the office, arrive 45 min after you left home having slept or watched videos on your commute.
It is really expensive to build public transportation in lower density suburbs.
Nope, not if you build it before selling land and building houses.
Here in Sweden, it usually works like this:
The municilapity decide to develop some land, this includes public transport, in lower density areas a few well placed bus stops is all that is needed, they connect with the suburb center, and might even have a few lines connecting further away, the suburb center usually has a train station and a small shopping center, the train then takes you further along to your destination.
If you don’t build public transport during or before construction of the neighbourhood then it will obviously be a higher cost. But build it before or during construction and it will be quite resonable
I live in a small city of about 90k and I love it. We have the important amnesties, eg shopping and a hospital, but in a few minutes you’re out in the open fields. Meanwhile buses to nearby large city depart every 6 to 30 min from my street.
Country. But I admit I love cities for the “night feel”. Small towns are a decent mix.
The older I get the more remote I want to live. I just want a good grocery store, a hardware store, doctor and vet in approx 10 min drive distance and I need something to charge my car nearby. That’s all the „city“ I need. Otherwise I want peace and nature around me.
75% of the water pumped out of America’s rock needs treatment for particulate. You’re going to need food municipal water for a while if you’re in America, and that is gonna limit your range from city hall.
Also. Low-density is the worst configuration for housing on a cost/benefits and land-use perspective. We left the 1950s a long time ago, so, no matter where you live we can’t go back to sprawl and low density.
Bad for your water (and other infrastructure) and bad for the planet. Otherwise, enjoy!
If low density is the worst for housing cost-effectiveness, why is living in large cities so much more expensive?
Because people prefer living there and (in the US) because low density development is given legislative preference
The thing I’ve heard is, think of how when you’re a mile away from each neighbor, it’s your tax dollars paying for the road, sewer, sidewalks, water, electric, gas lines, for a half mile in each direction. Initially and for maintenance and replacements. That’s why a lot of rural areas just don’t have sidewalks or fiber internet or sometimes they’re using well water.
In a city duplex, you’re paying half the utilities for like 20 feet in front of your house.
It just is more efficient to live closer together, the reason cost of living goes up is because everyone wants to live in the city and employers want that supply of workers so they try to get in or close to the city too and it’s a virtuous cycle of concentration. But housing supply being what it is, and all the jobs being nearby, means housing prices go up. Still worth it to most people hence why there’s still demand, but higher than living in a place with fewer jobs and amenities.
Subsidies. Both in form of roads and home ownership incentives being focused on single family homes. The fact that renting is the primary way to live in the city seems detrimental to it being cost effective too.
I find your point about renting compelling, is there anything that could be done to improve the situation?
Housing cooperatives seem good. There have been some successful uses of community land trusts to keep prices in check too.
Better laws surrounding collective loans feels necessary for medium density too high density housing to be bought up by groups tenets. This just an issue at large for community and worker owned coops in my experience. There are some creative crowd funding type bonds out there but its not very responsive and better suited for long term plannings then seizing on need or opportunity.
Lastly there are tenet unions to at least mitigate the rise of rent and unmet obligations by land lords.
I’ve lived in both, and prefer big cities as long as I’m living in a walkable neighborhood.
I think a small city works well enough for me. It’s basically the best of both worlds.
