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Thread: City vs Country Decision

  1. #11
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    I would never live in the country; the very thought depresses me. Or a very small town, for that matter, having lived in a burg of 300* souls as a child.

    I might live in a medium-sized college or resort town, or possibly a quiet neighborhood in the city, or a high-rise in the middle of said city, but really, suburbs suit me.

  2. #12
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    While the current health situation makes me glad I no longer live in a 250 sq foot tenement apartment in midtown manhattan I don't find our current urban living situation to be any more difficult than what I imagine it would be like to live somewhere less populous.

    Neither SO nor I has lived in a single family home during adulthood. It's possible that we will at some point, but hopefully it will be relatively new and small so that it doesn't need much ongoing work/maintenance, and will hopefully be on a small lot that also requires relatively little upkeep. It would take a society ending change for us to want to live somewhere that's not reasonably urban and full serviced and at least partially walkable.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by bae View Post
    Having lived here over 20 years now, I have come to realize that my true wealth is in relationships and social capital. Any fantasies I had of being able to do everything myself, all the time, with my own resources, quickly evaporated upon arrival.

    Stupid example: I needed a backhoe the other day for a couple of hours. In my previous mode of thinking, I would of course have had a large barn, filled with cool tools and toys, like backhoes. In truth, I use a backhoe about 1-2 days every 2-3 years. Silly to keep and maintain such an expensive thing. I know plenty of people who use backhoes nearly every day. I called one of them, and she came by to help out for a bit, then left me the backhoe for the rest of the day. I made pie as a thank-you.
    I have found it very helpful to exchange favors with my kinsmen because they are a lot more skilled with their gear than I am. I did more damage to my lawn with a wheelbarrow than he did with his Bobcat.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    I know a number of Chicago urban dwellers who are in the process of looking for places in the burbs. They are all ages - from 20 somethings to empty nesters who moved into the city after their kids were out of the house. They want to not be at the mercy of public transit, have more shopping choices, less congestion. A few who are staying in the city are actually buying cars again after having gotten rid of them a few years ago.

  5. #15
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    I have a number of friends of friends, no one I know personally, who have made the short term decision to leave San Francisco. They are all either no longer employed or can work remotely for the forseeable future and they rented, often in small roommate share situations. (Most people in California start with a one year lease that transitions to month-to-month after that, so it's easy for people to end their lease on one month's notice). Most of those people, though, intend to return once there's a covid vaccine, but just don't see the point of paying city rent at this time. Whether these people will in fact return probably depends on how long we remain in "Covid Normal".

  6. #16
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    There are amenity considerations and some of a person's pick comes down to personal choice, but when it comes to COVID-19 I'm not seeing any obvious advantages or disadvantages based only on rural vs. urban. I keep pretty close tabs on the various counties in my state since I have friends here and there. Basically the poverty stricken small towns away from the beaten path have done better by my estimate of infection rate, being proportionate to population. We have a few counties in small desolate farm counties that have zero reported cases. And similar sized towns in the touristy ski areas that have been the worst or even the epicenter of some infections. Or at least they were bad until all the restaurants and places to stay we closed to the influx of visitors from all over, including international. Then again, big urban centers like Chicago, San Francisco, or New York are just down right scary to me for number of reasons that include pandemics, riots and protests.

    My state is one of the few states in the sun belt that have not had increases in hospitalizations or new cases, so far. And the protests in Denver were not so dramatic compared to the other big cities I've seen in the news.

  7. #17
    Yppej
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    No change for me.

  8. #18
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    In 1967 Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote "Rocky Top". They said city life was like being trapped like ducks in a pen.

  9. #19
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    We're staying here. We don't know anyone else who's planning to move away.

    First, we're city folk, not country folk. Second, there are positives (for us, anyway) in the form of a more diverse social experience, many more cultural opportunities, and much better medical care. It will be far easier to be old and infirm here than in the country.

    Beyond that, though, both DW and I believe we are stronger in an ensemble than we are separately. bae provided a good example of sharing. One next door neighbor is the one who can fix anything; we can cook or give him and his wife rides to the airport or medical appointments and we used to watch their dog (and they ours while we had her). If the lights were out here we would share refrigerated space, Wi-Fi, whatever. And it's not hard to expand that circle based on people each of us know throughout our little pocket of the world.

    The interesting thing about the suburbs is their somewhat transient state. Many people opt to live in the 'burbs to avoid the drawbacks of the city while still being close to its amenities, cultural/medical options, etc. But a serious longer-term shift of people out of cities because of pandemics, riots, etc., will leave suburbs ... where? If the attractive parts of a city are no longer present, does the suburb either become New City Jr. to offer those thing or does it morph to being exurban/rural? Mind, I'm not knocking the choice to live in a suburb (I grew up in a suburb in the NYC metro and lived in the 'burbs for 15 years here before moving within city limits). Just ruminating on what a suburb becomes if/when its raison d'être hollows out.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  10. #20
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    The more I think about it, the more I just don't know. Which I guess is one of the reasons I think about down-sizing to a mobile/movable home. If I don't like it where I am, I can try somewhere else. I know there are all kinds of both benefits and drawbacks, but this is my thinking at this point in time.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

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