I think the cost of housing in the big cities is a real problem. It's a question of how far are you willing to go to live where you want, and can you still have culture in smaller, newer communities.
ironically i feel more overwhenmed when i'm in one of the smaller, newer "communities" than i do when i'm in a larger, older east coast city. i recently went to phoenix and was able to stay at a friend's house in the suburbs. for the few days i was there, i was basically forced to become a suburbanite, sitting around the house watching tv, eating at chain restaurants, etc. i never really felt like going out because just to get to a museum, park, or decent restaurant i was probably looking at 30 mins driving, but more likely close to an hour.
i think the real problem is that people don't really give a shit about culture anymore. in the past, as bad as things got in the northern industrial cities, they had institutions, traditions, public spaces, and communities that all kept people from jumping ship. if you were born before 1950 and not a recent immigrant, you were more than likely born into a community where your ancestors had lived and palyed a part in shaping and there was a certian pride that could be taken in that, even if you lived in a hellhole.
big cities in decline, small cities growing
An article about population shifts in the country on CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/30/census.cities.ap/index.html
I think the cost of housing in the big cities is a real problem. It's a question of how far are you willing to go to live where you want, and can you still have culture in smaller, newer communities.
Hmmmm.
ironically i feel more overwhenmed when i'm in one of the smaller, newer "communities" than i do when i'm in a larger, older east coast city. i recently went to phoenix and was able to stay at a friend's house in the suburbs. for the few days i was there, i was basically forced to become a suburbanite, sitting around the house watching tv, eating at chain restaurants, etc. i never really felt like going out because just to get to a museum, park, or decent restaurant i was probably looking at 30 mins driving, but more likely close to an hour.
i think the real problem is that people don't really give a shit about culture anymore. in the past, as bad as things got in the northern industrial cities, they had institutions, traditions, public spaces, and communities that all kept people from jumping ship. if you were born before 1950 and not a recent immigrant, you were more than likely born into a community where your ancestors had lived and palyed a part in shaping and there was a certian pride that could be taken in that, even if you lived in a hellhole.
Woodside in Dartmouth is a hellhole but at least I am only 2 miles down the highway from where my great-great-grandfather is buried...
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