Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do you think one of the reasons why people choose not to live in urban areas is because the home is too small? I know that suburban houses typically give you more square footage than an equivalent urban apartment or condo in a city. How much does the issue of square footage affect you, for those living in a city? Does it make you want to cry how small your house is? For those who fled the city to the suburb or country because of space, how bad was the situation that you absolutely had to get out of the urban home to a place with more elbow room?
On the opposite side, do you like having a small urban apartment over a big suburban home because your heating and cooling bills are lower, or other advantages like it being easier to clean and having less maintenance?
I want to live in a city one day when I have enough money, but I know that most people including my parents went to the suburbs because they didn't want to feel like they are in a stackem and packem high rise apartment where it feels like you're stuck in a small box. I personally think if cities want to attract families with kids more, they should set aside some areas near the city connected by transit where they can build mixed use high rises, and offer at least 2,000 square feet per unit. Of course that itself would cause problems with eminent domain and all but it be a good concept if it did happen.
Home sizes have NOTHING to do with me personally not wanting to live in a larger city. For me it is the constant traffic noise, people everywhere you go, the go-go-go mentality, etc.... In other words it is the crowding and everything associated with it.
I think it's an issue for a lot of people. Do you ever watch shows such as Property Virgins, My First Place, House Hunters, etc. on HGTV? It's funny to see a young couple's list of priorities change over the course of an episode. At the beginning, almost every couple is looking for a place in the city, close to restaurants and transit, with lots of charm and character. Then they tour a home meeting those criteria and many of the couples react, "OMG, the master bedroom is only 20' x 20' it's so small!" or "There's only THREE bathrooms?" or "I must have TWO walk-in closets!" or "Where's the 'MAN CAVE'?" Ugh... man cave... I guess we are neanderthals after all.
By the end of the episode, the couple has settled on a 5-bedroom house in the 'burbs with a 3 car garage and two "bonus rooms" so hubby has his man cave and wifey has her "scrap booking room"
Drywall is cheap, which is why home builders try to inflate their McMansions as big as possible, even if they are generally a grossly inefficient use of space that requires more energy to heat and cool and more work to maintain and clean. Somehow people used to get by just fine with more space, they just left the house more often--if you want space, the public park is down the street, if you want entertainment the movie theater is just down the street, and the street itself can be entertaining and interesting.
"OMG, the master bedroom is only 20' x 20' it's so small!"
Hahaha. I live in a studio where the main room is something like 10 x 15. I have high ceilings though...
But to answer the OP's questions, my view is I'm just one person so I don't need a whole lot of space. I'm perfectly happy in my little apartment. I don't have a bunch of crap that takes up room, and I've learned ways to conserve space. I feel the trade off is completely worth it. I may not have a huge house, but I also don't have a huge house to clean, pay for, maintain, and I live in a highly walkable neighborhood with everything I need in a 4 block radius (public transportation, markets, hardware stores, entertainment, restaurants, and a city park).
So, while I'm sure many people choose to live outside of an urban area because of space issues, I don't and I'm totally content where I am.
We have a 2,000+ square foot house in the Austin suburbs.
Not gigantic by any means... but large enough for our needs.
Nice yard. No privacy though.
But with no sidewalks (that lead anywhere except around and around the subdivision), extremely limited public transit and being a one family car...all those square feet seem stifling and too little. I'd trade it for a smaller place downtown that allows me to walk places, be involved and engaged with my community and out and about instead of stuck in front of this computer all day or doing routine housework. Not sure the kids or wife would appreciate that though. Which may the differences between the two groups here?
Anyways, I can see the points about privacy and noise. My extended family lives out in the woods and it's very nice and relaxing out there. Especially when there's no one there breathing down your neck! Even if living in the woods is bad for the environment.
Suburbs can seem like the worst of both worlds if you ask me.
No privacy (I can see 15 houses from my back yard ) and no sidewalk culture or anything to do outside the house.
In my city (Knoxville) there are plenty of houses in the 2500 sf+ range within 2-5 miles of downtown. All price ranges. Lots are 50 x 140 up to 1/2 acre - sometimes more. So space is not the issue when deciding to go urban or suburban.
Do you mean that 'space is not the issue when deciding to go urban or suburban' ... in Knoxville.
Then I wonder, what is 'the' issue in Knoxville? Crime? Pollution?
If you can get the exact same house and yard in a secure location either close to everything or far away I wonder what else it could be? Ease of apocalyptic evacuation? The coveted 'Head-for-the-Hills' factor?
It seems to me that space will always be one of many variables constantly being considered in house hunting."You get what you pay for" and sometime you have to sacrifice one thing to gain another.
Give up space to have a safer location.
Or pay more but you're 3 miles from downtown.
Or live in Bug Tussle, AL but you have a cheap place right downtown.
The laws of supply and demand usually demand a higher price for
dense 'urban core' properties that haven't been 'donut holed' by crime.
Do you mean that 'space is not the issue when deciding to go urban or suburban' ... in Knoxville.
Yes, that is what I mean. Schools are the #1 reason people might choose the burbs, kids' activities as well. Other factors are proximity to work, wanting a newer house, proximity to a variety of shopping. Crime or perception of crime factors in as well though it's not an issue in many neighborhoods.
I guess from the viewpoint of some posters we are just a bigger version of bug tussle but I wanted to mention there are cities where the central core is not just crime/wasteland or high priced condos and nothing else. I don't think Knoxville is unique in this regard.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
how small your house is? For those who fled the city to the suburb or country because of space, how bad was the situation that you absolutely had to get out of the urban home to a place with more elbow room?
) and no sidewalk culture or anything to do outside the house.
