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Urban, Suburban, Village or Rural?

Where would you rather live?

  • Medium to high density urban area.

    Votes: 24 38.1%
  • Suburb.

    Votes: 13 20.6%
  • Rural.

    Votes: 13 20.6%
  • Village.

    Votes: 10 15.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 3 4.8%

  • Total voters
    63

d@v3

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Rural as long as I have cable internet! :yes: That's where I'm at now! :D
 

Shaula

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Definately not suburbs.

I would get bored in a rual area too quickly.

I currently live in a village and it's okay but not a lot to do. Most people resort to sex, booze, and volunteering for entertainment here. But I'd prefer a village in a cooler climate.

I liked living in a medium-sized city the best.
 

FDG

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I'd like a "town" of around 40'000-50'000 people or so.
 

CzeCze

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In the states I need a city. A big one.

Abroad? The novelty and excitement of living in another cultural context will more than make up for any 'quiet' of village or small town life.

Unlike Lady X, I don't really need or seek out nature but I think most big cities in the states are at within an hour of decent hiking, camping, 'the outdoors'.

Also, some 'cities' are really like giant suburbs. There are a lot of people, but it's not necessarily 'urban'.

For instance, Kansas City is urban. Salt Lake City is urban? Salt Lake City has more residents than Washington, DC, but I would say Washington, DC is more 'urban'. Portland, OR is also technically urban. Notice how I said technically? Miami is a city so I guess it's considered urban but northeast urban (philadelphia, nyc, boston, etc.) is very different from pacific northwest urban which is different from uh, california, which is different from etc. I heard Atlanta and even LA described as a bunch of smaller cities/suburbs connected by road/highway. Lots of different kind of 'urban' out there.

BTW, Silicon Valley, where I grew up, is a suburb but it's the second largest (maybe largest?) population of a metro area in CA and has more people than some bonafide 'cities'.

I like the CA suburbs, they're pretty much all the same NorCal or SoCal, strip malls, nice weather, easy parking. It's pleasant. There's lots to do.

Still wouldn't want to live in the suburbs though. Maybe when I'm 45, married, with teenaged children.

I love the excitement, variety, and worldliness of a city. DC is on the smaller side for me, I dream of living someplace faster, bigger, more - like LA or NYC or Chicago.
 

bluebell

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But I get the feeling that many - especially families - prefer to live in the suburbs because they are able to have a garden and lawn area. On the other hand, dense urban areas could have community gardens, roof-top gardens, large balconies, courtyards and public parks to replace the lost personal gardens.

I know it contributes to urban sprawl but I really want my own garden. A space that's my own. I find gardening to be calming and grounding (no pun intended). I wouldn't get that in a communal garden. I like to be able to wander out the back door and go into the garden whenever I feel like it. Also, I'm seriously considering getting a dog, which I'd hate to do in an apartment block.

I voted suburban.
 

SilentStream

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Also, some 'cities' are really like giant suburbs. There are a lot of people, but it's not necessarily 'urban'.

For instance, Kansas City is urban. Salt Lake City is urban? Salt Lake City has more residents than Washington, DC, but I would say Washington, DC is more 'urban'. Portland, OR is also technically urban. Notice how I said technically? Miami is a city so I guess it's considered urban but northeast urban (philadelphia, nyc, boston, etc.) is very different from pacific northwest urban which is different from uh, california, which is different from etc. I heard Atlanta and even LA described as a bunch of smaller cities/suburbs connected by road/highway. Lots of different kind of 'urban' out there.

BTW, Silicon Valley, where I grew up, is a suburb but it's the second largest (maybe largest?) population of a metro area in CA and has more people than some bonafide 'cities'.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I live in the 'city' Adelaide in Australia and city is indeed a very loose term. Even though a million people live here it's more like a very large suburb.

I know it contributes to urban sprawl but I really want my own garden. A space that's my own. I find gardening to be calming and grounding (no pun intended). I wouldn't get that in a communal garden. I like to be able to wander out the back door and go into the garden whenever I feel like it. Also, I'm seriously considering getting a dog, which I'd hate to do in an apartment block.

I voted suburban.

I'd love to have my own garden one day and do this too, so I completely understand the appeal of the suburbs. There is just so much about suburbs that is ecologically unsustainable - it is inherent in the whole concept. There must be some way planners can incorporate private gardens into denser developments for those that really can't live without them. Perhaps compact townhouses with private gardens are a good alternative. Can you live without a driveway if well-designed public transport was just a 5-10 minute walk away? If you could, then roads leading to housing could be narrowed and priority could be given to pedestrians and bikes.
 

Lookin4theBestNU

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I was forced to spend my teen years in a rural suburb. I swore that I would never leave the city when I got out of there! Now that I am older I hate to admit it but I find that I am becoming a full-blown "suburbanite". I haven't purchased a minivan yet but I could see the appeal if I had more children :). Unfortunately, I'm in a suburb of a city that is incompetently managed with outrageous bills, and very high crime. The corruption that is costing the taxpayers makes the headlines of the paper often with convictions and jail time for many of them. I want peaceful living, a nice yard, community involvement and most of all some privacy. We are saving to move to a suburb where I actually look forward to going into the city and that is a couple of hours closer to the ocean:yes:.
 

INA

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I like the rural village and the megapolis most. Ideally, I'd live in one very close to the other.
 
Last edited:

Trefle

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About me...well. I don't think every answer is the --best-- for me. I mean, all has its oppoturnities, risks, goods, and bads :)

within urban areas, it'll be packed (which would be both bad and good at the same time) and it has SO MANY THINGS (again, both bad and good), and I simply like the view of skyscrapers, somehow. I wanna live in an apartment D:
but then, the pollution. The traffic.

Suburbias *has this disturbing need to type Disturbia >_>;* are definitely pleasant and somewhat safe but...blahboringthanks. And the dirty laundry~ I don't know the real situation in US but based on what I've watched (Desperate Housewives, mostly) it's annoying. Here...moreso. It's like, everyone SHOULD know everyone's problems and DUH.

rurals and villages would be very peaceful (albeit boring) and refreshing but again, boring. Wouldn't hesitate going for a holiday, having a sanctuary to run away from stuffs, though.

So...more of a city kid here. >_>;
 

bluebell

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Perhaps compact townhouses with private gardens are a good alternative. Can you live without a driveway if well-designed public transport was just a 5-10 minute walk away? If you could, then roads leading to housing could be narrowed and priority could be given to pedestrians and bikes.

I don't want a huge house and garden. I want a small townhouse (maybe 60-70 square metres) and a garden that's maybe 10 metres x 10 metres.

A 5-10 minute walk is not really acceptable to me. a) I've yet to live anywhere where I'd feel comfortable walking by myself late at night through a laneway and b) when it's cold/rainy/stormy, again I don't want to have that walk (specially if I'm carrying heavy bags of groceries).
 

SilentStream

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I don't want a huge house and garden. I want a small townhouse (maybe 60-70 square metres) and a garden that's maybe 10 metres x 10 metres.

A 5-10 minute walk is not really acceptable to me. a) I've yet to live anywhere where I'd feel comfortable walking by myself late at night through a laneway and b) when it's cold/rainy/stormy, again I don't want to have that walk (specially if I'm carrying heavy bags of groceries).

Personally, I'm not likely to be walking at night by myself either, but it has been observed that urban areas with a mix of commercial, residential and retail buildings, with a healthy night-life - such as popular restuarants and theatres - are more likely to be safer. There are more 'eyes' so to speak - free security surveillance. It really depends on how the city is planned, if social problems are taken care of - such as security - environmentally based planning can be implemented more easily.

I don't know how much grocery shopping you do at once, but if you lived in the same street as your local 'Fruit and Veg.' store, butcher and bakery, it is likely you would only buy small amounts at a time but more often. On the other hand, weather is different matter all together! Stinking hot weather here is more likely to be a problem for me, but our cars are usually twice as hot when we get in them than the outdoor temperature, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad, especially if there are some shady trees over footpaths.
 

sandwich

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I grew up in a village (population > 3,000) and I've been living in a city for the majority of the last two years. Not a fan of suburbs or villages, but I could take either extreme. I want to either be within a ten minutes walk to a coffee place or further than a ten minutes drive to my closest neighbor.
 

Kyrielle

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Like seriously, doesn't the title of village require you to have like, a local idiot, a town crier, and people running around in robin hood-esque clothes?

Do people REALLY want to live at the Rennaisance fair?

That sounds...awesome! But only if we have to live in ecohouses shaped like hobbit holes, too. Go all the way or don't go at all I say. :D



I voted "village", but not for the silly idyllic reasons above. I hate big cities as much as I hate suburbs. Right now, I live in a large "town" that has lots of green, but it's about as large as I can tolerate. I want to live near nature, but I want to keep the ability to walk to just about anywhere I need to go. I hate it when I have to go home to my parents and realise the only way to get anywhere is to drive. With a village/town, at least it's possible to walk to most places within a reasonable amount of time.
 

Amira

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Definitely rural for me. I would be bored out of my gourd in a city, so rural or village are my thing.

As far as the topic of planning good communities, Amazon.com: Human Scale: Kirkpatrick Sale: Books is a FASCINATING book. So much information and theories in there I don't even know how to begin describing it. I loved reading it...
 

Oom

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Rural.

Might be boring to some, but entertainment isn't all about buying stuff or seeing a movie. Sometimes it's about exploring the land.
 

prplchknz

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Personally, I'm not likely to be walking at night by myself either, but it has been observed that urban areas with a mix of commercial, residential and retail buildings, with a healthy night-life - such as popular restuarants and theatres - are more likely to be safer. There are more 'eyes' so to speak - free security surveillance. It really depends on how the city is planned, if social problems are taken care of - such as security - environmentally based planning can be implemented more easily.

I don't know how much grocery shopping you do at once, but if you lived in the same street as your local 'Fruit and Veg.' store, butcher and bakery, it is likely you would only buy small amounts at a time but more often. On the other hand, weather is different matter all together! Stinking hot weather here is more likely to be a problem for me, but our cars are usually twice as hot when we get in them than the outdoor temperature, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad, especially if there are some shady trees over footpaths.

I live with in a block of the grocery store and usually buy one or two bags worth of groceries at a time, and just go when I run out of things. So it's not bad at all. Except going on sunday afternoon's that always sucks. but when I lived more then 4 blocks from the store it was a pain to go, so I used peapod, but now that you can see Jewel out my window and I cross one street to get there it's more conveint for me to go.
 

OrangeAppled

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Urban. I like cities. I could see myself in one. I like the hustle & bustle & culture. For a young, single person, suburbs are soooo boring.

However, the older I get, the less evil suburbs seem. I think in 10-15 years time I could be content in one. I mean, where I live now is clean & relatively "safe", with spacious yards & homes, friendly & personable people, less traffic, less pollution, but within a reasonable drive to major cities, the beach, and the mountains. It also has far less job opportunities, more conservative/bland people, little to no culture, is very cookie cutter, and is very family-oriented.

I'm not interested in rural or a small town / village. I could do a sleepy beach town maybe, but I think I'd get bored. I like a lot of stuff going on around me.
 

Feops

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I'm more of a city person. I don't see much value in the whole lawn and fence thing. Also I dislike urban driving - a lot. So in an ideal setup I'd prefer to live centrally and have easy access to everything. Unfortunate bit is that living centrally/downtown tends to be a bit scummy, crime, etc. The city makes jabs at central revitalization but the middle class needs a bit more economic incentive to make the shift.

Right now I live near the edge of the city but I've got a pretty nice setup in being close to an active commercial block. Most shopping needs are within walking distance and public transit is right outside and a straight shot downtown. It's not perfect, but what is, really. :D
 

Wade Wilson

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I went with other.

I used to be all about the city life but now I want nothing more than to live out in the desert somewhere.
 
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Well when I say village I mean an isolated clustered small community in an agricultural area, whereas by rural I suppose I meant on a farm or on an isolated single property, perhaps a log cabin in the middle of a dense forest.



Village or rural it is then :)


Hmmm it's strange answering your thread sis :D
 
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