The 'Burbs

[fbp]

Has anyone here ever moved away from living downtown in a beautiful city to a surrounding suburb, looking for some extra space, style and affordability? If yes, regrets? All positive? Do you miss walking to concerts and coffee shops?

Making some decisions on, y'know, life.

 

[JenniferS]

Has anyone here ever moved away from living downtown in a beautiful city to a surrounding suburb, looking for some extra space, style and affordability? If yes, regrets? All positive? Do you miss walking to concerts and coffee shops?

Making some decisions on, y'know, life.

No advice from me, but I wish you luck either way.

 

[Lucky]

I can't speak from first-hand experience. But many of my friends lived downtown in DC, NYC, Boston or wherever until they had kids, and then moved to the suburbs. With kids, you tend not to have time for the downtown amenities anymore, and the bigger houses and yards, safety, parks, athletic fields, school quality etc. you tend to find in suburbs become more important.

 

[acishere]

I'm actually looking to do the opposite. The best advancements at work are in my company's NYC office and the commute there is just too much.

If your commute is manageable from a nearby suburb, the space is great. I have an energetic dog so having a backyard, even a small one is great for them and saves you from having to walk them every few hours.

If you can find a town that has a great main street area you can get a lot of stuff like original restaurants and coffee shops a few minutes by car away. It helps ease the loss of all those places being downstairs a little bit and it means you aren't doomed to eat out at Applebee's every weekend.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Has anyone here ever moved away from living downtown in a beautiful city to a surrounding suburb, looking for some extra space, style and affordability? If yes, regrets? All positive? Do you miss walking to concerts and coffee shops?

Making some decisions on, y'know, life.

Depends on the city and jobs. I moved from inner city to not so inner city (but not quite burbs either) and have thoroughly enjoyed the breathing room. Unexpected downside would be gaining ten pounds, because I was used to walking everywhere (lived 3 miles away from work, too) and now I don't get that exercise. I moved to a very jagged area, there's a lot of hills and slopes and is rather hard to walk, plus some places don't even gave sidewalks. So there's that. But I gained a backyard that I just love planting in, a nice big deck for parties and not only one parking spot, but a driveway, two car carport and a garage.

It was difficult going from being so close to everything and then...not. But I see stars at night and it's so quiet... I'll wear those ten lbs proudly, lol

I still commute into the city's hub everyday for work. But at least when I go home, I'm going HOME, and not to another overcrowded area.

 

[Sans Souci]

When I returned to the States, we lived in the city. It was a blast; a 5 minute walk to the beach, the zoo and just a myriad of restaurants and bars. I also had quick access to museums and a huge park that hosts free concerts and events via public transport. We had a baby and as he approached school age, we moved to the suburbs. The public schools suck in the city, so it was better to move out here.

I do miss it and if circumstances allowed it, I would move back in a heartbeat. But, I do have a backyard now, very little ambient noise at night and my son is enrolled in a good school district, so it's a bit of a trade off.

I would definitely look for a suburb with a little town square/downtown area that you can walk to from your house, it's like of like the best of both worlds.

I think when my son leaves for college, I will most likely return to the city.