Urban, rural, or suburban? (employment, neighborhoods, live)

[High_Plains_Retired]

Definitely I would select rural west Texas living. I would much rather see sunsets and sunrises with a million colors than a two-toned 30-story building of glass and steel.

[FL70]

I voted suburban, although I would proabably technically prefer sub-suburban. Meaning, not in some mega development (i.e. Plano - which to me is practically urban, just without the tall bldgs), but I can't live out in the sticks either - where your next door neighbor lives ½-mile away.

[theSUBlime]

I like urban Texa...thought it should be noted that the urban NE might be too much to handle even for someone who likes urbanity in TX--there's that much difference.

[C24L]

I prefer rural and suburban areas.My dream is to live on a ranch of my own at least part-time.Maybe have a house in the suburbs.I never have been a big-city urban type.

[TheOverdog]

i grew up in a rural area - no way I'd ever move back to that or subject my children to it. Maybe once I'm retired. Suburban or urban are both fine. They really aren't very different in Texas.

[happly retired]

we leave or garage door open all day never lock the shop or back door and no gd traffic signals - only a stop sign in town

[supfromthesite]

I like small towns or out in the middle of nowhere the best. I worry about finding a wife there though. Of course, when you are young, it is quite fun to go to tons of bars with your friends and meet other young people. This is what I'm doing now and I love it. But, with that said, from ages 0-17 and 27+ I would much prefer living in a small town.

[tcualum]

We live in a big city but in a neighborhood that feels suburban. I feel like right now it's the best of both worlds. Before we self quarantined we could easily visit the museums and eat at the local restaurants we loved that we wouldn't have in a true suburb or rural area. We also have access to the excellent healthcare available in a major city. Right now though, the neighborhood streets aren't crowded so I feel comfortable sending my kids out to bike and walk the dog without fear of them not being able to social distance. We also have a backyard where they can play. Since we're still in a big city, we can easily get groceries from a variety of stores and meals from locally-owned restaurants delivered. Our local indie bookstore even delivered books to us during the lockdown. Because of our hybrid lifestyle, self quarantining has been relatively easy. We're continuing to do so because we're a high-risk family.

[DPatel304]

I grew up in suburban DFW and currently live in urban Dallas (also spent sometime in urban Austin) and I voted for urban. For the forseeable future, I'm very happy with where I live, although I do wish our cities were more walkable, bike friendly, and had better mass transit.

[BobTex]

Old post revived from 13 years ago. Good stuff. Good to see TexasReb's posts. I miss Randy and his spit and vinegar. His historical knowledge was outstanding.


I live rural and chose that over the rest which I have also sampled. I also grew up partially extremely rural.

I'd just like to list what I perceive to be the drawbacks of rural living.

Work. Always something to do ... I never catch up.

Inconvenience . If I go to the local store I might as well budget 2 hours for it. 30 minutes there and back plus the time shopping. Could be more if I add extra items to do. That's just locally (12 miles away). Specialty things are further. I travel 50 miles to Beaumont, 100 to Houston.

Wear and tear on vehicles. Let's just say this is substantial. I have 3 main vehicles. Wifes 2016 Rav4 with 95Kmiles. My 2007 1/2ton GMC with 179K miles. My commuter 2019 Camry with 25K miles (I sell/trade-in my commuters at 200K). A farm truck which doubles as a hunting truck (175K miles). My daughters (older - 2003) Toyota sedan (205K miles). I just co-signed for my oldest son's Ford PU ... it's new. Looks like a car lot around here.

Medical . Don't need critical healthcare or it's gonna be delayed by distance and time.

Extra expenditures . Most city folk don't need tractors, and tractor implements, welding machines, heavy duty mowers, utility vehicles, multiple generators, water wells. I'm sure there are others too.

There are plenty of positives too.

all of this I weighed out and made my decision. Been here 22 years now.