Urban vs. Suburban

I agree with a lot of what's been written regarding the diverging views of urban america and suburban america.

We who live in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, and a host of other urban locations have a different reality than those of most of america who live in the suburbs.  I see that every day in many little ways and many big ways.

I am fairly certain my friends who live in the suburbs don't have to kick the drugged-out bum off their stoop some mornings. 

I am fairly certain that my friends who live in the suburbs don't have the guy playing his keyboard for small change down the street. 

I am fairly certain that my friends who live in the suburbs don't have guys in their neighborhood park offering dime bags to their kids. 

And I am fairly certain that my friends who live in the suburbs like it that way.

And Jeff Jarvis urges all of us urban dwelling democrats to move out to the suburbs.  He says at the end of this post:

You'll survive, believe me. I did.

Well you know what, I didn't.

In 1993, with two kids and a third in mind, The Gotham Gal and I moved our family from Brooklyn to the suburbs.  Chappaqua NY to be specific.  Chappaqua is a wonderful place.  It's exactly as Jeff describes the suburbs:

I like the 'burbs. I have land and trees around me and convenience and places to park my car and good schools and quiet and stores and malls and a big house.

We didn't survive the suburbs.  We came back to the city.  And thank god we did, because while we have druggies on our stoop, bums down the block, and drug dealers in our park, we also have a vitality that doesn't exist in suburbia.

It's what we chose for our life and we love it.  And so do our kids.  And so all I have to say to Jeff and the rest of the suburban majority is the following:

You can have your safe stepford country.  It's fine with me.  Just don't make me live it with you.

Comments

[Tony Alva]

Dude,

A little Jacksonian (re: Jackson your bro) tinge to your post with that last comment. No need to be a 'burbs hata.

It's a preference thing for the most part and an economic one as well. The whole thing is rather silly if you ask me. Right now in my life, I prefer to drive 15 minutes to play a round of golf vs. an hour plus. I’d rather pay a crap load less in taxes than move to DT Atlanta and get lousy services. I’d rather get home at a decent hour and have dinner with my wife and kid vs. struggle with a sub par mass transit or sit in arguably the country’s worst traffic sans LA (you can’t equate NYC’s transit system with all other cities. Our’s is horribly inadequate and ineffective).

I think the “snootiest” comment (to use Jeff’s expression) you made was to suggest that there is a lack of vitality in the burb’s. I’d be here all day writing about how wrong you are, but I have to work.

On balance, I’d love to live in the city (NYC, not many others), but economics make it impossible. From a hit the lotto perspective, I'd live in both.

"safe stepford country...", please. Maybe in Chappaqua.

[jackson]

I may be a 'hater', my Girl certainly accuses me of it. I hate ignorance and injustice without a doubt. I do not hate the burbs, however, I live there remember? And you Tony, you work AND live in the burbs, if you worked in DT Atlanta, you might feel different. It's a silly argument, Fred is defending his position as per Jarvis, and you're taking offense somehow, whatever....'beats picking cotton, waiting to be forgotten'

[Scot]

"You can have your safe stepford country.
"It's fine with me. Just don't make me
"live it with you.

Live and let live is a fine sentiment and all, it's just too bad Democrats had to lose so completely before adopting it.

How long has it taken? 70 years?

"If only we had more Democracy! It would solve problem Y!", my Democrat friends and family would say. Democratize this and democratize that was the solution to everything.

I told my Democrat friends that Democracy isn't the same as liberty or freedom. I warned them that one day the Republicans would take them seriously and be advocates and supporters of Democracy, finally giving up on the idea of limited government.

Well here we are.

And you can thank 70 years of American leftist thought for it.

[jackson]

What? 70 years of leftist thinking has done what? Are you saying that the left has had the power for 70 years? Certainly you are mistaken. Live and let live is what we've been yelling about, let me live my life free from restriction from the christian right. You are twisted in the head my friend. The one thing you got right was that we don't have democracy, we never have. Where do you come up with this stuff? Oh yeah, you don't, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh do, and you morons eat it up.

[boris]

From my point of view this was a really interesting post. I had the luck as a european to live in both downtown and in the burbs of a major american city (specifically chicago) for five years.i tend to agree with fred opinion on that but that's not the point: the funny thing is this topic is turning into another bitter left vs right feud. the right blames the liberals for holding a decades-long cultural egemony in the country, the leftists accuse the conservatives to be basically a bunch of dumbos brainwashed by dubious anchormen.well you know this kind of pattern have been going on for so long here in italy and trust me it's no good for anybody, it spells cultural decline. all of you highly educated american dudes please prove me that i was right in admiring the lack of fanaticism of american society, you don't wanna go down the same road we have taken believe me...

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[kingtuc]

With all do respect I think you missed the mark completely.

You can buy dime bags in suburban parks I bought plenty!

Your chances of break in robbery sky rocket in the suburbs... think about it. everybodys off to work... suburbia unguarded. no door man or apartment density for protection.

Why are the homeless in downtowns? Because us white folks left in a hurry in pursuit of what we call the American Dream during time called "white flight" (politically incorrect) We left the poor and the poor have stayed. We left our problems in downtown. We ran instead of solving the problems at hand. There are ways to live in harmony. Its how life should be. We have to live with the good the bad and the ugly. Running makes you weak and a target. Proper planning and design can solve these problems. Suburbia is an inefficient model for living and our quality of life is at risk because of it.

-Victim of Suburbia

[kingtuc]

With all do respect I think you missed the mark completely.

You can buy dime bags in suburban parks I bought plenty!

Your chances of break in robbery sky rocket in the suburbs... think about it. everybodys off to work... suburbia unguarded. no door man or apartment density for protection.

Why are the homeless in downtowns? Because us white folks left in a hurry in pursuit of what we call the American Dream during time called "white flight" (politically incorrect) We left the poor and the poor have stayed. We left our problems in downtown. We ran instead of solving the problems at hand. There are ways to live in harmony. Its how life should be. We have to live with the good the bad and the ugly. Running makes you weak and a target. Proper planning and design can solve these problems. Suburbia is an inefficient model for living and our quality of life is at risk because of it.

-Victim of Suburbia