r/MURICA • u/HoneydewNo9941 • 12d ago

Suburbs

Post image

I can never get over how American suburbs look like. Every time I walk through one I wonder why they cant be accomplished more around the world. The yards, the safe feeling, and the homes. (I think Chile tried to replicate a bit) I just think it’s one of the beauties America has.

585 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

306 comments sorted by

View all comments

89

u/SirEnderLord 🦅 Literal Eagle 🦅 12d ago

I actually do like suburban houses.

Why? Well, we get our own backyard, our own perimeter around our house, our own driveway and garage, and the ability to just walk outside directly.

19

u/assasstits 12d ago

You get that in the country side too 

11

u/Lower-Task2558 12d ago

Country side has no walkability, no sidewalks, you need a car for everything and your commute to work is much longer. I walk with my kid in my neighborhood every day and have no fear of being hit by a car or a bike and no fear of aggressive people that I have encountered while living in the city.

23

u/Denalin 12d ago

Basically every suburb I’ve lived in has like three people who actually walk places. Everybody else just drives everywhere, mostly because there’s nothing worth walking to.

7

u/Lower-Task2558 12d ago

After 5 pm mine has a lot of people walking about. They aren't going anywhere, just exercising or walking their dogs or enjoying the fresh air. People are also much nicer than when I lived in the city. Most folks say hello, some stop to chat.

2

u/Denalin 12d ago

I guess my town was just too bland. Strip mall central.

1

u/abscissa081 10d ago

They’re not saying walking to a destination. Walking around the neighborhood just for exercise or fun

1

u/earthdogmonster 12d ago

Same. In an outer ring suburb, near the outside of the development, and that foot path near our house gets a ton of traffic. Lots of people obviously just out getting exercise, but also plenty of people not in a hurry walking or biking the mile to get to local businesses.

1

u/Gerolanfalan 11d ago

Yeah there's a big difference between a rich vs poor suburb

Lots of people walk their dogs after work and children actually play outside with their ebikes gangs and go around town here. This wouldn't have been possible where I was born.

I'm actually very appreciative of it when I'm not so annoyed by all the ebikes rising on the sidewalks and streets

2

u/ScrotallyBoobular 12d ago

Suburbs is one of those terms that has evolved due to horrible planning and zoning.

A suburb like this, adjacent to city centers, is pretty rad!

Most towns that organically grew, had something like this. Main city streets with businesses and some higher density housing nearby, then as you build outwards you get a little more room for wider streets and a yard.

The issue with suburbs haters is we're often talking about those awful, soulless developments well outside of a city that force you into utter car reliance, are horrible for the environment, etc.

4

u/The_Other_Manning 12d ago

no walkability, no sidewalks, you need a car for everything

Thats true for me in the suburbs as well lol

-4

u/Lower-Task2558 12d ago

It's not true for all suburbs but it is true for all rural areas

1

u/ejzouttheswat 12d ago

I live in a rural metropolitan area, way under 1,000,000. The city did not have sidewalks in certain neighborhoods. When they put them in, they only put them on one side of the road. The road was so small that it was technically two lanes, but you really had to let one person go around you. Our metro systems across the country have always been weak. We need more subways and L trains.

1

u/Lower-Task2558 12d ago

Won't find an argument from me there. The fact that the Moscow subway is much nicer than NYCs should be a shame on the entire country.

1

u/ejzouttheswat 12d ago

Imagine if taking the bus was a good option wherever you live in America. I wouldn't mind taking the hit every now and then. They wanted to be a car focused transportation system. That's why everything is spread out. Trains could bridge the gap and give people more good options for transportation. Especially if you could get a cross country ticket where you drive your car into it like a ferry. You just drive out in LA in your own vehicle.

0

u/assasstits 12d ago

Depends on the countryside. Some countrysides (especially around mountains) have long stretches of pedestrian trails where one can hike in nature. 

Commutes being long is true. Needing a car for groceries is true. Same as most suburbs. 

2

u/Zen100_ 12d ago

And in the country side, you can raise animals, hunt, and grow meaningful food. The suburbs don’t afford you any of that and don’t even offer walkability in return. The suburbs are the worst of both urban and rural worlds IMO.

12

u/lampstax 12d ago

Some people don't want acres of land. They definitely don't want to raise barnyard animals or grow a subsistence crop but they also don't want to be living right next to or on top of their neighbors. IMO a suburb with a 6k to 8k sqft lot is a great balance of privacy and space for a dog to run, kids to play and maybe grow a few herbs / vegetables.

3

u/youtocin 12d ago

I would love acres of land but I'm not driving 3 hours every day to commute to a place where well-paying jobs exist.

1

u/ejzouttheswat 12d ago

Most new neighborhoods have HOA's as well, I don't want to live under those. It's just a way to offset road maintenance to the communities, a secret tax.

8

u/TheRider5342 12d ago

Good for people that don't want to farmers

3

u/youtocin 12d ago

And want to live a reasonable distance from a healthy job market.

6

u/PolicyWonka 12d ago

I live in suburbs and we can have up to 5 chickens. We can have beehives. There’s plenty of space for a garden.

No, you aren’t going to be self-sustaining from that. But why would you want to be? That itself is a job unto itself. I’m busy and have shit to do — and I can actually do things outside of the home because there are plenty of amenities still.

4

u/BeepBoo007 12d ago

IMO it's the best of both. I get a little bit of space, disconnected housing, and still plenty more convenient access to things I wouldn't get out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. As someone who's 6' 175lbs and fit, I'm not looking for more excuses to do physical activity. I don't need to be forced to walk/bike to stay in-shape. I have hobbies that do that for me. Ergo, time is the only concern surrounding how "convenient" something is. A 5 minute walk might as well be a 5 minute drive. Bonus points: I grew up in the F&F era and love cars/hooning, so driving my manual sports car is fun to me.

3

u/SirEnderLord 🦅 Literal Eagle 🦅 12d ago

Exactly.

Living in the city means that you have a faster access to all sorts of things.

1

u/SirEnderLord 🦅 Literal Eagle 🦅 12d ago

Sure sure, but it isn't the city.

3

u/un-glaublich 12d ago

Where to?

1

u/Miserable-Implement3 12d ago

can you modify said land though?

2

u/SirEnderLord 🦅 Literal Eagle 🦅 12d ago

Er, yeah? If it's on my land then, yeah, it's mine.

1

u/Miserable-Implement3 12d ago

hmm, weird, i have an american friend whose opinion differs from yours.. might just be his neighborhood then

2

u/SirEnderLord 🦅 Literal Eagle 🦅 12d ago

"opinion"

"Might just be his neighborhood then"

That's not what an opinion is.