Recent research suggests that urban dwellers are significantly less likely to be happy than their suburban or rural counterparts.

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/06/t...qus_thread

It takes a very particular kind of person to enjoy living in very urban area.

I have a friend from college who won't live anywhere where she would have to drive a car. I would spend 90% of my day puking if I were her.

Hate large city life with a white-hot passion. There's no redeeming factor to them other than they are where the jobs are at.

It was fun when I was 22-26, but then although I lived downtown, Norfolk isn't a "large" city and the economy at the time allowed me to sustain a life in my own dwelling with spending money, even with a mediocre job. Not sure I would have been happy in a NY, SF, or Chicago. Sure, there is everything to do, but it is also very expensive and I have never been driven by keeping up with the Jones's and the whole rat race thing.

To me, suburbs are the worst place to live. I'm happy in a city and I'm happy in the country, but suburbs have most of the negatives of the city without the positives.

Beardos in skinny jeans need a hug.

I love living in midtown. The view off my balcony after the storm yesterday:



the burbs are for bland and beige old white folks...(but I get it, good schools, low crime)

within 5 minutes of me I've got:

Overton Square


Cooper-Young


and the Liberty Bowl so I can watch my Tigers play


I'm very happy in 38104

Just sold my house in Minneapolis last weekend. We got an offer over asking from the first person that saw the house within 45 minutes of viewing. Moving to the burbs to cut down the commute, get a little more room, and put the boys into better schools.

Living in the city was fun. But it was time to move on.....

Its a lifestyle choice. Lived downtown in my mid 20's. We got the hell out of dodge when it was time to buy a house and start a family. No way were we putting our kids in the dysfunctional city school system. And I don't miss the cruddy city services and extra 1% local income tax.

May consider going back to downtown living when our youngest leaves for college. Although I now thoroughly enjoy having garages, multiple dogs, yard, gardens, deck and fire pit for outdoor living, quiet, privacy and space.

It only takes me 15 minutes to get downtown for events and restaurants and then we get to skedaddle. The constant hum of city background noise and lack of personal space wears on you after awhile downtown unless you don't know what you are missing.

I think I could live in a big city for a limited amount of time. There's convenience in being close to everything and having choices.

The suburbs are a no-go for me. They're just the country dirtied up by people who flee the cities.

While I enjoy vacationing in rural areas more than in big cities, I prefer city life because it seems you just have more choices in the big city.

In just two short years I'm hoping to move so far out that I have to carry a cooler to the grocery store so the ice cream doesn't melt on the way home.

I too wish to retire in a smaller resort type area in the mountains.

Boise and New orleans have both been wonderful to me.

Young people, either single or without children, and with some disposable income would probably like the city more. Most other folks, not so much. I never had the disposable income when I was young so I never got to test that theory out. We always just drove the hour into Raleigh (Where Barney goes to party!) for clubs, concerts etc.

(06-28-2016 12:27 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  In just two short years I'm hoping to move so far out that I have to carry a cooler to the grocery store so the ice cream doesn't melt on the way home.

I never really thought of that as a way to measure sufficient distance from civilization, but I guess it is actually a good one.

If it wasn't that there's hardly anything to do in the country I would move to it. My favorite part of this area has been the Mimbres N.M. area. It's beautiful there and Silver City N.M. is close by (a very small town). But. It would get boring after awhile. We're city folks for the most part and I could not leave UTEP sports for the luxury of living in wide open spaces. In the meantime I'll put up with city traffic which is terrible in El Paso.

I've lived the majority of my life in a smaller town that gives pretty good access to a bigger city (Henderson, NC; Garner, NC; and a small town that became part of Lévis, QC). I think that's my true preference. The access to the bigger city is pretty dang important though because my time in Kodiak was hella boring.

(06-28-2016 12:27 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  In just two short years I'm hoping to move so far out that I have to carry a cooler to the grocery store so the ice cream doesn't melt on the way home.

If you get one of those Yeti coolers, you could live on Mars.

I'll visit a city but when I'm done with whatever place I've visited I can't wait to get out of the city.