Do you prefer the Suburbs, Country or City?

I’ve tried them all and keep coming back to the city. I don’t have the right temperament for rural living and I don’t like the driving suburban life requires.

What I do need is access to a large body of water. Took me a while to really understand that.

I love, love, love the city, but could never afford to live there — so I’ve always lived 5 to 15-minutes outside the city in a suburb that has public transportation that goes straight into the city.

I like the ‘burbs. I like being close enough to take advantage of the city, but I like having a yard for a garden, for kids and dogs, I like chatting with neighbors, I like the whole package.

I hate the ‘burbs. All the inconvenience of the country with none of the benefits.

I like country life and city life. Each has its strong points in favor, and their drawbacks. The burbs are all sorts of awful.

I can’t figure this out for myself.

I grew up in a tiny cow town where there was nothing to do. I live just outside a big city now, and it’s a lot better, but there is a big part of me that still doesn’t know how to deal with crowds. I take the subway to and from work every day and the crowds there really freak me out sometimes. I also miss living in a place that has more nature, though I’ve learned how to find it around here. But then, I hate driving, so having public transportation available to me is good, and I like that there are things to do besides go bowling, which is all we had growing up, lol.

I guess suburbs, as long as there’s public transportation available.

I live in the Suburbs and like it here. I grew up in Chicago and that is a great city but too busy and chaotic for me at this stage of life. I like the relaxed laid back life style out here in the burbs. Still have access to local art, music, great restaurants and nature galore. I have a cabin on a lake in Wisconsin that gets me away from it all. I have the best of all 3 choices.

I lived in suburbs my whole life. I now live in a rural area but I’m 10 minutes from a major, beautiful mall and lots of city and suburban shopping. I’m very happy where I am now. Lake on one side, horses on the other.

“Run with the dogs tonight, in suburbia…I only wanted something else to do but hang around, hang around”
Ahem, do excuse the random PSB interlude, we live on the coast, the rural part & it suits us down to the ground

Either suburbs or city. I would hate the country.

I prefer the country/hills/mountains and have lived rural for 25 years now.
I like to visit the city but I want to come home to peace and quiet and nature in a no, very low, crime zone. I leave my doors and windows open all night in the summer, never lock anything and my car keys are always in the ignition, where car keys should be left if people could live like decent human beings. lol
I live on a 12 acre horse property in the Sierra Nevada foothills here in Northern CA.

I am only about 5 minutes ( about 5 miles ) from “town” with all the amenities. Shopping, movie theater, restaurants, etc. but then, tucked away in the hills with 5 horses, 4 dogs, 4 cats, 22 chickens and a lot of rattlesnakes, coyotes, jackrabbits and squirrels. haha
I have lived on even more remote properties where it was 30 minutes or more from civilization, minus the local mom& pop feed store and tiny market.
Now that I am getting older I like having the best of both worlds.

Shopping and doctor/hospital, movies, dining close by but then hidden away at the end of a long rural road in the hills. Right now I am gazing out on the horses in their paddocks and watching the birds go nuts for the sunflower seed I just out out. It is completely silent, minus the occasional barking dog in the distance, just the way I like it.

Suburbs. The city is too crowded and the country is too frustrating, especially when you need something or medical care. My folks lived in a little town but every time you had a project to do, you had to figure out what parts you needed by noon in Saturday because the hardware store 8 miles away closed at noon. You could then drive 22 to 30 or 40 miles to a bigger town to get what you wanted… And in these little country places there is nothing to do on the weekends without driving for miles and miles… And the neighbors who make everybody’s business THEIR business…

Unfortunately at thus point I’m going to say suburbs. I grew up out in the country and spent the last eleven years cooped up in a condo near the city. Moving to the burbs near the country was a compromise but it’s worked out well.

If I spend more than 2 days in the country I get depressed. No atmosphere or conveniences is not for me. The suburbs would be ok if I was married with kids and knew my life was over. I’ll take the city.

I live in a small Midwestern town. I love it. I’m a part of a very special and close knit community.

Beverly Hills….. It is like living in the country and countryside but it is within a city…. So you can live on a beautiful big estate with beautiful gardens…..... and then drive out to Hollywood, Santa Monica in like 14 minutes….. Love it….

I’m in Beverly Hills right now. Tomorrow I’ll be in the desert. I can’t imagine living in a place where everything is the same for miles.

@rem1981 Love it :) Yeah, same here!

I lived in all three types. I currently live in the countryside and definitely prefer it over the other two.

I have a lot of space, grow my own food, beautiful scenery, quiet, and independence. The community here is much more synchronized with my own culture. You don’t have to compromise or tolerate diversity here like you would in the city.

”tolerate diversity”

@aldvp: Welcome to Fluther. Can you explain what this means? I’ve never read those two words together.

Cities tend to be culturally diverse. Views, mannerisms, and personalities are all different. This may cause conflict. If I find another culture offensive or repugnant in the city I reside in, then I have no choice but to tolerate the culture. They too reside in the city. The only option is to leave to a community where the culture is more synchronized with your own. That is what I did.

@aldvp: I see. So you value a homogenized community.

Interestingly, what you dislike about cities is exactly what I like about them.

I seem to be mostly a suburb person, but I like the convenience of the city and the green and quiet of the countryside. Being in a suburb with shopping right around the corner and plenty of green space around the corner too I guess is my best compromise.

There are some cities that have a lot of green space and nicely kept houses set back off the street and nice parks, that I can envision living in. Living in a “city city” like NYC, probably not.