Poll: Do you prefer the city or country?

[suejnnhe]

I prefer the country too, though I like to be near enough to the city to take advantage of the shopping and entertainment.

My kids are a different matter. They want suburban with neighbors all around. They did not like it the one time we moved to the edge of town. Weren't even in the country yet!

Good luck with your decision!

[dwinterfield]

I grew up in a quiet suburb outside Boston. Nice, boring. Over the years I've spent a lot of time in urban, suburban and rural settings. They all have pros and cons, but I've come the think the edges are the best.

Smaller cities can be very nice places if their local economies are reasonably stable. Two that I've enjoyed are Northampton, MA and Durham NC.

Now I live about 35 miles south of Boston and commute in every day. The commute is long but comfortable. We're far enough out that it's "semi-rural". Another plus is that we're near the coast. We're a few miles from Plymouth - another small city (actually and big town). Plenty of good restaurants at better than urban prices. Movies, malls etc are near enough when you want/need them, but not so near that you have to see them every day.

Like many similar spots, we couldn't afford to live here if we hadn't gotten here 15 yrs ago. We don't have kids, we're doing okay financially, but the average home price in greater Boston is around $350k. According to recent census updates, Massachusetts was the only state to actually lose population over the past 2 years. Gee, could there be a connection?

[burnsbyrne]

I've been a city boy all my life (Detroit and Cleveland). I like being able to walk to the public library (2 in walking distance) or to the drugstore (4 of them). I can walk to the grocery store but I usually drive because I only go once a week. I live a five minute walk from a major bus line. There are eight Irish dance schools within easy driving distance. At least 20 churches within walking distance. No mosque or synagogue, though. I have to drive fifteen to twenty minutes for those.
Sure, there are disadvantages like, the neighbors' houses are about 15-20 feet away, but for me the neighbors have always been that close so I don't mind. Traffic can be a problem but Cleveland has almost no rush hour to speak of and I arrange to go to work early and leave early.
We have had possums, skunks, racoons and ground hogs in our back yard but no coyotes.
I think I'll stay here.
Mike

[Flyingcursor]

Stewysmoot. Is that some kind of nightmare version of HeeHaw?

[chas]

I would vote for "small town," but it's not offered. The town I grew up in was definitely not country, nor suburban, just a town of about 10k people, surrounded by somewhat smaller towns. We had most modern conveniences, shopping, town water, fire and ambulance, although the nearest hospital was 20 miles away. The place wasn't overrun with people and traffic, but most everything was within a 10 minute drive or 20 minute bike ride, plus there is a sense of community; I knew almost every kid I graduated high school with.

There wasn't a lot of "culture," but there were playhouses in some of the towns, and a couple of medium-size cities were less than an hour away, and big cities 2-2.5 hours away.

I'm in the 'burbs now. I'm getting used to it, but I wish there were about 10% as many people and cars. There are loads of things within a few miles, but those few miles take forever to attain. I'm about 12 miles from the Smithsonian, but no matter how I go, it takes over an hour to get there. There's public transit, but the bus routes are impossible to navigate unless you take it every day, almost all the Metro parking lots are full every day, and the system is just designed to get people in and out of Washington, but the majority of trips are from suburb-to-suburb.

I'm sort of with Lee -- I want two retirement homes, one in semi-rural New England, the other in the Blue Ridge mountains.

[OnTheMoor]

I once thought that I'd be able to live in the country, but I've come to realize that the burbs are for me.

I can only take the city in small doses, going out for something to eat, or a night out with friends, but otherwise I get frustrated and grumpy after I've hung around too long (and driving downtown produces a case of road rage).

Country's nice once in awhile, I love trips out to our cottage in the Valley, but after about 2 weeks the boredom starts to kick in (keep in mind I'm a 21 year old). I don't think I'd be able to stand it very long at this point of my life (not including a place like the Cape Breton Highlands).

As for the burbs, I live in a fairly wealthy, largely french city just outside "Ottawa" without many crowds (at the moment), no pollution and zero crime. At the same time, there are plenty of stores, good restaurants and nice parks. So I'm happiest here at the moment.

[StewySmoot]

Stewysmoot. Is that some kind of nightmare version of HeeHaw?

Just a few anecdotes of life in Okanoka WV (pop 12) circa 1985-1999. The Egg and I...

I have since found a place in Hedgesville WV, former home of the Hooterville Tavern. Turns out my phone # was there old one. Interesting calls at 3a.

[Montana]

According to the poll, a majority prefers the country. And reading the comments, many want to find a place away from it all. Who can argue?

But let's take the microcosm of C&F and expand it to the US population. The trend I have seen is that since so many want their place in the country, the places in the country aren't in the country anymore. Everyone keeps moving out and you have to go further and further away to move out. They call it suburban sprawl but "suburban" may not be accurate.
So we're destroying what we wanted to have in the first place. "When you finally find a paradise, it won't be."

Not only that, we're adding to greenhouse gases by moving so far out that we have to drive everywhere and often. People don't learn that they have to think ahead and stockpile, and still insist on having their immediate modern conveniences. At least Alespa is self-employed so he wouldn't have to commute to work...

Not trying to rain on this appreciation of country places but just trying to show how difficult it will become to find those nice places eventually if everyone keeps plopping down houses on them...

[Jennie]

The image of a fiddling neighbor is a great one, Lee!

I think we're in the perfect spot. On the tide, a mile from the harbor, a few neighbors within walking distance. A quarter mile to where we park the car. That precious peace of woods and water without the "stay on the path" signs or garbage someone else left.

I have been definitely adding to the greenhouse effect, however, by driving three hundred and fifty miles to go play Irish music. This is currently my biggest tradeoff. Alaska is like this, little pockets of people surrounded by miles and miles of uninhabited space. I feel lucky to be so close to this amazing wilderness.

Jennie

[anniemcu]

Since some of the properties we have looked at (not in person) are 3-5 acres, I am wondering if we'll get lonely out there. For instance, as I was going to sleep last night, I was imagining that that woods surrounded us, and we couldn't hear any neighbors. Seemed almost like camping. We love camping, but I suppose it would really end up depending on how close we are to general shopping (grocery store and such), and how many neighbors we had. What's really ironic, is that many people in our neighborhood don't really know each other, and we live side by side.

when we were still in New Hampshire, we did live literally in the woods. There is nothing quite like it. It's so quiet, but in a GOOD way if that makes sense. I really miss it. Also, it was nice to not have neighbors right on top of us like we do here. I liked the privacy to a certain extent...I didn't have to worry who was looking into my windows once I turned on the lights all of the time. Plus it just SMELLS nicer in the woods

Plus, if you want to go out and practice your high G whistle, nobody is gonna start throwing things at you over it... well... except maybe the squirrels...

[susnfx]

...let's take the microcosm of C&F and expand it to the US population. The trend I have seen is that since so many want their place in the country, the places in the country aren't in the country anymore. Everyone keeps moving out and you have to go further and further away to move out. ... So we're destroying what we wanted to have in the first place.

We see this in southern Utah rural areas all the time - people moving in from out of state to find their space and live in a small town atmosphere. The other side of the coin is that some of them immediately start attending town council meetings and try to change the towns into places that resemble the cities they left. They want roads built, golf courses, all the big-city amenities they were supposedly giving up for a simpler life. I think it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate small towns and rural areas and what it takes to maintain them so they can be enjoyed and not overwhelmed. (That's not intended to be a slap at all the city folks, either--after all, I'm a city folk myself now.)

Susan

[mamakash]

The trend I have seen is that since so many want their place in the country, the places in the country aren't in the country anymore. Everyone keeps moving out and you have to go further and further away to move out. They call it suburban sprawl but "suburban" may not be accurate.
So we're destroying what we wanted to have in the first place. "When you finally find a paradise, it won't be."

An excellent point. Take Central New Jersey, for example. My parents moved here in the early 70's, when it really was the boondocks . . . farms everywhere, farmer's markets, roadside stands. Not many people, real country. And then the 80's came and the houses went up everywhere. And now the really big houses are what's being build, out of the price range for most of the people who were born in this state. We really are an extention of NYC now. People who can't afford living in the city now live here, where $600,000 for a large, new construction house isn't as bad as city prices.

What is living out here like? The traffic is bad . . . roads and lights are not up to date with the population. The air stinks with car exhaust. And the farmer who still farms puts down a fertilizer that causes my mother and I, along with other people, to be ill. It's not manure. I get the worst migranes and nausea from it. The deer eat everything we plant in the ground. We've never been able to banish the woodchucks who moved in under the shed 15 years ago. Living out here is not what it was like when I was young.
I thought I'd hate living close to neighbors(right now we have a little under an acre) but I don't think it would bother me much now. It would mean less land and less upkeep. Right now, we have wells and septic. They require upkeep and sometimes need to be replaced, which would be another expense.

We are planning on a move in the near future.

[Flyingcursor]

But let's take the microcosm of C&F and expand it to the US population. The trend I have seen is that since so many want their place in the country, the places in the country aren't in the country anymore. Everyone keeps moving out and you have to go further and further away to move out. They call it suburban sprawl but "suburban" may not be accurate.
So we're destroying what we wanted to have in the first place. "When you finally find a paradise, it won't be."

I've experienced a similar trend. Over the 18 years I've lived in in Vicksburg, MI I've seen huge pieces of farmland convert to housing developments. Big houses in the middle of a field. I can't imagine wanting to live in a field without a tree in sight. Of course you people of the plains probably like it that way but I want trees. Of course every T, D and H who moves to one of these sterile abodes has to own three vehicles so every person in the house can drive alone at the same time in the same direction.

Not only that, we're adding to greenhouse gases by moving so far out that we have to drive everywhere and often. People don't learn that they have to think ahead and stockpile, and still insist on having their immediate modern conveniences. At least Alespa is self-employed so he wouldn't have to commute to work...

I think you hit the nail on the head. I am guilty of that very thing. My kids are also of the "we gotta go somewhere everyday" mentality. It's high time to reevaluate the priorities.

[dwinterfield]

...let's take the microcosm of C&F and expand it to the US population. The trend I have seen is that since so many want their place in the country, the places in the country aren't in the country anymore. Everyone keeps moving out and you have to go further and further away to move out. ... So we're destroying what we wanted to have in the first place.

We see this in southern Utah rural areas all the time - people moving in from out of state to find their space and live in a small town atmosphere. The other side of the coin is that some of them immediately start attending town council meetings and try to change the towns into places that resemble the cities they left. They want roads built, golf courses, all the big-city amenities they were supposedly giving up for a simpler life. I think it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate small towns and rural areas and what it takes to maintain them so they can be enjoyed and not overwhelmed. (That's not intended to be a slap at all the city folks, either--after all, I'm a city folk myself now.)

Susan

A couple of years ago we did a town wide survey of what folks valued (bout 70% of adults responded). By far (90% or so) the most important feature was the semi-rural atmosphere in the the town. In another part of the survey about 80% of respondents inducated they'd accept higher taxes (for open space purchases) to manitain the the semi-rural atmosphere in the town. Incredibly abut 55% of respondents also wanted sidewalks - a great hallmark of suburbia - installed through out the towm. Go figure. Maybe it's an education problem. --- I don't know what I want so I want everything ---

[chas]

Both houses my wife and I have bought have been in old neighborhoods. People ask, "Why do you want to be in an old house?" Answer: because in a fully developed neighborhood, they can't put up 10000 units at the end of your little street.

There was a case here about 10 years ago. There was a few-hundred acre farm between the two large towns, a breath of fresh air in an otherwise over-developed area. The farmer was getting on in years, and he sold it to his four offspring for a fair price. A fair price for a farm, that is. When the old man died, the IRS handed the four children a tax bill, with the estimated value being what it would be if it were commercial property. They fought it, but the IRS won in the end. The property went to auction, where it brought in less than half what the tax bill was based on, and, in the end, after taxes and penalties, the children were just about able to pay off the mortgages they'd taken out. There are 20 thousand people living and working there now. I'm not one of those who thinks development should stop the moment I move anywhere, but I was really sad when this happened.

Oddly, there's a new office-industrial park a few miles from that development called "The Preserve." To quote Fezzig, I don't think they know what that word means.