[RexImperator]

There was a rather interesting program on NPR this morning (hahaha...) about the changing preferences for urban over suburban life in the U.S. Yes, this a total SWPL program, and a lot of this stuff is old news but I still found it a worthwhile listen:

The End of the Suburb?

Quote:

In the 1950s, the suburbs were the place to be: lawns, fences, and a garage for the family car. But among millennials aged 20-35, suburbs are losing their luster. “They spent the last decade sitting on sofas in the suburbs watching Sex and the City and Friends and Seinfeld,” Ehrenhalt says. “Their orientation is to urban life.”

Indeed, millennials are abandoning their cars and choosing metropolitan areas over the white-picket-fenced suburbs of old. While this means that previously dilapidated sections of cities are being revitalized – or, to put it another way, gentrified - it also means that prices are becoming prohibitive for people who had lived there before.

As a result, suburbia is facing an identity crisis. To appeal to younger generations, suburbs are increasingly restructuring to include the amenities of big cities – yoga studios, high-end coffee shops, fancy restaurants, and walkable downtown areas with pleasing trees and streets. The rising appeal of “hipsturbia,” as the trend has jokingly been named, suggests that while suburbs may not vanish, they will look different.

In short, among the millennial generation the authors interviewed noted the following trends discussed much around here: declining birth rates, a preference for "Sex and the City" or hipster/urban lifestyles, and assortive mating preferences by class (by which they mean educational level).

Anyway, it resonated with me as I've thinking a lot about this kind of stuff and have been contemplating how to make a move back to a city.

[Celtic]

I grew up in the suburbs, live in the city now, wouldn't consider moving back. I can jog or take a quick subway commute to work, go out to happy hour in one bar, go out in another neighborhood, and get home, never have to worry about driving. Plenty of bars within walking distance where can I meet for a date- neither of us drove to the bar so we drink as much as we want, and then walk her back to my place.

[Menace]

How are these millennials able to afford expensive city apartments with their shitty jobs?

[HeyPete]

This is rather interesting. But of course these two broads take the numbnuts way out and use the "celebrity, TV show" example to partially explain the reasoning.

I wish women would stop citing SATC. That p.o.s. show ended almost a decade ago. Please let it die.

[LowerCaseG]

the term "suburbs" is over inclusive. There are wasteland suburbs like inland empire CA which have lost their luster, but there are plenty of affluent suburbs which are still accessible to downtown areas via public transportation which are as popular as ever, and real estate prices in these neighborhoods tend to go down significantly less than the overall market in downturns. Today's millenials could never afford these neighborhoods. They are probably already living there anyway, for free, in their parent's basements.

[Tuthmosis]

(11-16-2013 11:56 AM)Menace Wrote:  

How are these millennials able to afford expensive city apartments with their shitty jobs?

Having a shit-ton of roommates. They don't have a high quality of life.

[Celtic]

(11-16-2013 12:34 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  

(11-16-2013 11:56 AM)Menace Wrote:  

How are these millennials able to afford expensive city apartments with their shitty jobs?

Having a shit-ton of roommates. They don't have a high quality of life.

What's a higher quality of life though? Living close to work, close to bars, close to your friends, and living with people you like? Or commuting an hour plus to and from a studio apartment out in the burbs?

[scorpion]

I think a lot of this has to do with overzealous enforcement of DUI laws. If you're a young person in your 20's with an active social life going out 3-4 nights a week and having a few drinks, you just can't take the risk of driving back and forth from the suburbs to the downtown bars that much. It's just a matter of time til the cops pull you over, then you're in legal hell and looking at 10k in lawyer fees and possibly criminal charges. Shit is a nightmare. So the only option is living within walking or cab distance.

Even 10 years ago, DUI enforcement was much more lax. Unless you were swerving all over the road you wouldn't get hassled. Nowadays they've got special DUI units with arrest quotas and actively hunt for people. It's fucked.

[Brosemite]

Yeah in my area being Dallas/Ft. Worth, it's usually two extremes with smart people going the in between route.

Scenario 1 - Millennial with unstable entry level account executive position going all out to live in an overpriced trendy neighborhood for short-term excitement. Yeah the logistics are top notch, but I personally don't think younger people right out of college are emotionally ready to handle the tumultuous bounces of city life while trying to survive in a cutthroat world while trying to build a better long-term path. All really depends on how people play their cards.

Scenario 2 - Millennial after 1-2 years of entry level work experience just immediately buying an uninspiring home in the suburbs in order to build equity, but then complaining about long commutes and unhappiness in their love/social life. Also a huge problem because it's more of a buyer's market these days as this limits the career options one can take while subleasing is a process easier said than done. I honestly would not take the "comfort" of living in the burbs if it meant dealing with God awful traffic on the way to work. I don't mind driving long distances...but I just hate traffic. Lot of suburbs here are becoming a wasteland for fatties or peeps that have given up on life IMO.

Best solution is to find an in between deal that gives you access to a mixture of logistics, partying, shorter commutes, exposure to women on daily basis, and personal/career development while being able to save $$ for the future or traveling.

[Kingsley Davis]

(11-16-2013 12:34 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  

(11-16-2013 11:56 AM)Menace Wrote:  

How are these millennials able to afford expensive city apartments with their shitty jobs?

Having a shit-ton of roommates. They don't have a high quality of life.

Don't forget parents, trust funds/inheritance and credit..

[Collide]

The thing I notice about North American cities is you have the core city itself, and then somewhere lies an invisible boundary where it turns from city to shitty dispersed suburb almost instantly.

In other countries it seems like they just keep growing the city outward while keeping the condensation of smaller living spaces the same.

[Dr. Howard]

I've always liked the idea of having a room rented downtown during the week for work and my permanent residence out past the suburbs in the country.

[AnonymousBosch]

(11-16-2013 11:59 AM)HeyPete Wrote:  

I wish women would stop citing SATC. That p.o.s. show ended almost a decade ago. Please let it die.

It offers women a fantasy of living a lifestyle of hedonism and conspicious consumption, with a constant stream of attractive male suitors, despite being low value dogs and washed up sluts.

Since women have an unhealthy relationship with fantasy constructs, too often using them as basis for real life expectations, it's an especially toxic, life-damaging show. It's especially beloved of Media and PR drones, who believe they're living that lifestyle, so it's not going to stop being referenced any time soon.

[BigDave]

I don't really see this as a gender issue, besides the fact that suburbs have always been favored by nuclear families raising kids, so with a declining marriage rate the suburbs become less in demand.

But urbanization is good for both men and women. The "hipsturbia" phenomenon is troubling though, what's wrong with good old fashioned cities?