I live in the city, an extension of downtown actually.
Yes, there are tons of homeless and crazy people everywhere, but I can also walk anywhere I need to go in my daily life (gym, grocery store, full liquor store… bars, restaurants, coffee shops everywhere, etc).
It’s one of the most expensive areas in the city to live, so if you’re lucky enough to be able to afford it, you generally trade space for convenience. My small condo is AWESOME and the building is full of amenities.
Tons of professionals do this btw.
There are people who love living in dense cities. There are people who love living in HOA governed suburbs. There are people who love a more isolated rural living environment. All of these are just fine.
There are people who think that all "single-family zoning" or single-family homes should not exist or be illegal and these people are absolute douchebags.
In the US, "inner city" is more of a euphemism for the ghetto. However, there are certainly many people who prefer living in urban areas. I think if schools, crime, and housing costs improved, more people would be willing to live in cities.
I prefer to be in the city. I grew up in a more inner city area and moved closer to the burbs… it’s very different and people are less community oriented. I knew my neighbors, the mail carriers, local store people. It was nice. In the burb area people keep to themselves and are so cold. Very different vibes. I also like to be in contact with public transportation.
Me, because I can't drive so I aboslutely love the public transit of the "inner cities". I've lived in Baltimore, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Chicago, DC, etc
Having the ability to walk/bus/train/lightrail/etc to a place easily...
Why do you like a flavor of ice cream over another?
Some people like space, quiet, and a calmer environment. Some people like a higher energy, dense livelier area. Some people can’t afford what they want and take what they can get.
Yes, lots of people (though of course not everyone) prefer this. I grew up in the suburbs and as a result I *only* want to live in "inner cities."
I currently live in a relatively small city but it has a decent amount of suburban sprawl around it, and I choose to live right near downtown in a neighborhood with a lot of stuff going on.
In the past I have lived in larger cities like SF, and I would 100% rather live in the SF city limits near a transit line than in the vast suburban area that surrounds it.
Sometimes when people say "inner city" they are specifically referring to the worst, grittiest, poorest neighborhood of a city. "Inner city" is sometimes a synonym for "place where crime happens." So you may get some answers based on *that* definition.
Frankly the cost of living is not at the top of my list of reasons I don't want to live there. I got tired of stepping around used needles and human feces on my way into my office. There's definitely a "terrible food, and such small portions!" situation there lately.
Most of the northeastern quarter of the city is as I describe it, and that's where most of the jobs are. I first moved to the mission and I noped out as fast as I could, but that didn't change the fact that I had to go to work near the civic center every day.
Most of the northeastern quarter*
* except Mission Bay, South Beach, the Embarcadero, Rincon Hill, Telegraph Hill, North Beach, Chinatown, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Upper Fillmore, Japantown...
No, it's also the Civic Center, it's not just Western SoMa it's nearly all of SoMa, it's practically the entire Mission, much of the Castro, much of JapanTown, much of the financial district, Polk Gulch, Lower Knob Hill, much of Potrero Hill, much of the Dogpatch. It's absolutely a problem in North Beach and Chinatown and Duboce Triangle and Eureka Valley. Blinding yourself to the problem doesn't fix anything. I lived there for seven years and worked extensively in this part of town. I am the first person to tell people that large stretches of the city are fine, but to pretend it's only a problem in the TL and *part* of SoMA and *maybe* the Inner Mission is absurd.
I think maybe you're listing neighborhoods where you saw a homeless person once as neighborhoods where you have to "step around used needles and feces"
If you think the Duboce Triangle is a depressing neighborhood I don't think there's an urban neighborhood on the continent you wouldn't find depressing.
I love hilly nature of yall's neighborhood names.
"Why does Seattle shut down for snow?"
Let's take a look at the neighborhood names: Queen Ann Hill, Beacon Hill, Victory Heights, Phinny Ridge, Capitol Hill, High Point....
I feel the opposite. Grew up in NYC and prefer the suburbs now. But not vivarium type; I like different home styles with sidewalks, hopefully a park, and stores/restaurants within shopping distance
Yea but I don't want to be far from a large city either. But I hate those cookie cutter homes. I lived in one in Arizona for a year, and that was enough for my lifetime
And I grew up in SF and don't want to live in the suburbs.
Now we just need someone to chime in who grew up in the suburbs and prefers the suburbs and we've got all combinations covered.
I think this depends on the suburban development. Many of them do not have any real nature. Its just a city, but lower density, but everything is still developed. You get your quarter acre lot but no real access to immediate nature without getting in your car and driving to it. Then others you can practically live surrounded by it.
I grew up in a Southern California suburban neighborhood that was all homes and then strip malls. Walking was unpleasant and few people did it. There city parks, but my neighborhood had no parks. Kids were more or less confined to being home or to a friend's home, which 99% of the time involved parents giving a ride.
I grew up in the bottom of a canyon. Hop the back fence and *bam* you're in them thar hills. Going to the nearest store was a 15 minute drive. But we had nature.
I grew up in the suburbs and that's where I prefer to be. I like the size of my house, yard, and garage. I like that I can't hear my neighbors or smell what they are cooking, at least inside their houses. I don't want to have to walk my dog four times a day for potty breaks. I just open the back door and out he goes.
I got friends that grew up in the suburbs and still prefer to live there. This is pure suburbia too, right outside Tampa, Florida
But not me, I can't live in the suburbs I have to live in the city, with transit and walkability
San Francisco has Golden Gate Park, people who live in a very urban environment live within a 10 minute walk from an enormous park. They have over 1000 acres nicely taken care of open space within access to them. A lot of cities do not. I am from Riverside. We didn't. You had more of a yard, but most neighborhoods, and the one I grew up in, didn't have any kind of park.
Cities can be designed with parks to where the urban dwellers have immediate access to high quality open space. So can suburban neighborhoods, but it just seems to be much less common and more difficult to do because you need a lot of tax payers to cover the cost and the nature of suburbia spreads the tax payers out.
I think it’s funny thinking between little and big cities. Since I live in a little city, what you are describing is one of the more dense parts of the city. In a bigger city, it’d be semi suburban like Staten Island or Northeast Philly.
I understand that. There is a very large difference between living in a place like New Rochelle or Bloomfield and living way out in the boondocks or a suburb that's just acres and acres of tract houses with strip malls in the middle. If the situation were right I could see myself living in an inner/older suburb, because those sometimes *feel* like their own cities with a bonus of having a bigger city a short-ish train ride away.
"Inner city" is also a dated term. It's not the 1970s anymore - US city centers are highly desirable and boast some of the highest real estate prices in the world. Anyone who uses "inner city" to imply burning trash barrels and roving gangs of drug dealers either has not set foot in a city since the 80s or is trying to appeal to people who haven't set foot in a city since the 80s.
Yeah, I grew up deep in the suburbs and I'd never voluntarily live there again. I'm in an inner ring suburb that's very walkable and urban, and I'd likely choose to live in an actual city if I were single and making that decision on my own.
In the US some Intercity areas are being rediscovered and renewed as they occupy good locations and long commutes suck. Here in FL, St. Petersburg has really come a long way in 20 years.
I've preferred the inner city since I was 18, now in my 40s. Things tend to be a bit cheaper, ppl tend to mind their own business a bit more, I don't drive, so like the transportation infrastructure, live close to work, and some other stuff. All that talk about crime/shootings, although somewhat true, really hasn't been an issue with me personally, as I also mind my own business and don't start shit.
The Major glaring issue one could have with it all, is if they have racist issues, due to the mix if people being pretty diverse, and primarily African American where I live. Oh im white btw. Then again living in the city could fix that too. I've had a few things happen over the years that made think some stereotypes were definitely true, but then again I think alot if that shit has a least of grain of truth to it. But at the end of the day, of course it's "not all (insert racial minority)", so even when starting to think that way usually someone comes along and proves otherwise. So I'd say it's good for that kind of stuff also, if you have biases, which most ppl do, regardless of race/ethnicity, whether they want to admit it oR not.
There’s been a movement towards moving back into urban neighborhoods and making places more walkable.
The only thing preventing faster growth is now those inner city neighborhoods are now more expensive than the suburbs.
I grew up in the suburbs and hated it. My quality of life improved so much when I moved into a city neighborhood.
IMO the suburbs take the worst aspects of city and rural living with none of the benefits.
I think people who want to live in cities were looking for something specific in their life, whatever that may be. I was a suburban type, eventually moved to a city and preferred it. Now in my middle age, I would rather not be in a big city anymore because of density, noise, cost, etc. None of this bothered me when I was younger, but when you are old you change. I understand now fully why people would want to leave. I also understand fully why people would prefer cities.
I was born, raised, and still live in the city of Chicago. Yes, a good amount of people prefer suburbs like Schaumburg, Evanston, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, or Downers Grove but I have zero interest in the suburbs. As for income, I can only speak first hand about Chicago but you have blue coller middle class neighborhoods like the northwest side that is mostly teachers, police officers, and firefighters. Then you have upper middle class to upper class areas like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and Gold Coast. You also have areas that struggle with poverty like any city. Overall Chicago has a wide range of incomes which I suspect is also the case in a lot of cities across America
I spent a bit of time in DuPage County, and it was the suburbiest of suburbia. Tract houses, stupid traffic, strip malls, and lots of people terrified to go further east than Oak Park unless there was a Cubs game, and then they were determined to drive. Hard pass. The city proper was far preferable.
Also living in Chicago. I moved here from a large-ish city (nowhere near Chicago size). I could have easily moved to the suburbs near where I used to live, or the suburbs around Chicago, like many people tried to get me to do. But I specifically want to live in the city, not the suburbs. Millions of Americans prefer to live in the city instead of the suburbs.
Yes and it's mostly the under 30 crowd. The people that have romanticized the excitement and activity of busy urban areas before they have enough life experience to recognize that it's mostly a hassle, expensive, and not conducive to raising children.
Speak for yourself. I’m over 40 and so are all my friends/neighbors. We’re all in the city and love it. It’s also more affordable than the suburbs. Some have kids some don’t.
What? When was the last time you actually spent any time in a city. Not just the downtown part but a neighborhood. Cities are full of the elderly, children, just people. I grew up in Minneapolis. My parents live here now. 2 of my 3 siblings live here with their families as do I. My sister lives in Chicago. Cities are where the communities are. Where the sidewalks are. Where you don’t have to drive to get milk. Where your kids can still walk to the park or corner store. I wouldn’t raise my kids anywhere else and I’m 38.
I prefer the city and I’ve been living in the city for 15 years. I’m considered high income. I prefer the community and culture of city life as opposed to suburbs where it seems like most want to keep to themselves, there’s nothing to do, and everything is cookie cutter and centered around family. All cities have good parts and bad parts. There are plenty of rich neighborhoods with million dollar waterfront condos.
A lot of middle class people who grew up in the suburbs move to the cities as adults and end up moving back to the suburbs when they have kids/get too old for the night life/want more living space/want quieter neighborhoods/get tired of crime/etc.
I have family members that have always lived in the inner city, in Boston. One of my aunts moved out to a suburb for a few years because she thought she would like it. She didn’t and moved back to the city after a couple years.
I grew up in a suburban/area and liked it. I’ve lived in the inner city too. I now live in an urban/suburban area. It’s not as quiet as a full-on suburb but it’s a short drive to mountains, desert and real wilderness.
It's important to remember that those European cities are much, much older than the American cities.
Hundreds of years ago the wealthy elite, lived outside the city on estates, and kept apartments in the city.
I live in the Midwest and I'm an average American. We live in the city, we could live in the burbs but much prefer urban life. And so do all of our neighbors. Three things to realize about the rise and continuation of suburban America.
1) Segregation. As you mentioned some of this was White flight. "Red Lining" was a system put in place to have literal red lines drawn around certain urban neighborhoods on maps used for real estate, and then post war America entire new suburbs, where non whites almost had no way of purchasing homes in those neighborhoods. Today some suburbs keep working class people out by zoning laws. Minimum lot sizes and allowing only single family construction, thus keeping housing prices high.
2) Subsidized. Because of the lack of density the services like roads, sewers, utilities, and the like, are much more expensive to build and maintain. But your taxes or utilities are not more expensive in the suburbs. The state, county, and fed, are building much of that infrastructure with tax money. That tax money is coming from folks that live in the city. So we encourage, and pay for, people to move to new suburbs. This is a very American set of policies. Even in Canada, which has tons of open space, you see much more dense housing.
3) Housing. Subsidized housing is a necessity. Millions of Americans live in subsidized housing. Suburbs are able to, if that is how their citizens vote, keep subsidized housing out of their city limits. That is just not possible in any major city in the US. Even though the US knows very well the outcomes of concentrated poverty, we still create it. It is just easier to build a housing project next to another housing project instead of trying to convince a 2nd ring suburb to do so. Even though we know the outcomes for everyone are better, especially for kids, if we do not put as many folks with the highest needs on top of each other, we still do. This has a sort of snowball effect. Kids in these areas are more likely to get into conflict with the police (expensive) and do worse in school (expensive). But subsidized housing is normally operated by a non profit, either government or other. Non profits pay no property tax, which is the main source of city tax revenue and school funding. Cities have a much higher percentage of properties that generate zero property tax dollars than virtually any suburb. So unless you live in a high tax city/state there is a good chance your schools, parks, police, fire, etc. are underfunded compared to the suburb 2 miles away.
So many cities are like this, due to the above policies. There are entire enclaves that are white, but those neighborhoods are upper middle class, or rich. They have either gamed the system enough so their schools, and parks are up to their standards, with little regard for the rest of the city, or they've gone private. They send their kids to private school and they create "Friends of the Park down the street" to essentially create a separate defacto tax system. The rest of the city lives in a much different community. So if folks, especially White, can't afford the expensive White neighborhood in the city they move to the burbs where their schools will be well funded and they don't hear gunshots or see people strung out.
Of course this is oversimplified but it would require a book, just to explain the long-term costs of just red lining.
A lot of that trend reversed starting in the 1990's.
At least on the west coast, every major city I know of, the suburbs are cheaper than the city, assuming you're comparing similar places to live: apartment vs apartment, house vs house, same age/state of repair.
(Like, obviously a huge newly-built mansion in the suburbs is going to be pricier than a run-down studio apartment in downtown; you have to compare similar housing.)
In any case: I'm one of those weirdos who really *really* hates the suburbs; I hate acres of parking, I hate having to drive because the alternative is the loneliness of a suburban bus stop next to a shopping center and navigating busy roads that might not even have a sidewalk.
Where I live now I'm a short walk from most things, a short bicycle ride from even more things, and a short transit ride from nearly everything else. The only thing that's a hassle is going out of town, and even then I don't \*need\* a car, it's just that the buses to various outlying places like the coast only run once or twice a day.
Sometimes I live in the country.
Sometimes I live in the town.
Sometimes I get a great notion to jump in the river and drown.
Good night, Irene, Goodnight.
Good night, Irene, Goodnight.
I’ll see you in my dreams.
I loved living in apartments in San Francisco in the 1980s and 1990s. We moved to the suburbs in 1999 because we could afford a starter home there. We couldn’t touch a 2 bedroom condo in San Francisco.
At the time I fully expected to move back to the city when we could afford it. But we found we enjoyed the suburbs too. It was just different.
As we approach retirement we consider where to live. We’d like a small place in the heart of a downtown or commercial district. But probably not San Francisco. I’m looking north to cities around Sacramento or up in Oregon or Washington. Everything that seems interesting to me is off I5.
If I lived in a place with a decent amount of stuff within walking/bussing distance, I’d like to for a little while. But I grew up in the country so really like being away from people.
Yes, definitely. There are millions of Americans who choose to live in cities vs suburbs for a variety of reasons. I personally choose to live in the city because I like the option of not having to drive everywhere and I find the suburbs bland and boring.
I grew up in the inner city. Later, my family moved to a rural small town. I have always preferred the in city. There was so much more opportunity there to pursue the things I wanted to do.
Maybe when i was younger and going to the bars and nightclubs. Not so much anymore. I'll just drive to the city for concerts, museums or what have you but I'd rather live in the country to be honest. Nothing like peace, quiet and bonfires
I've lived in both the suburbs and the city and I vastly prefer living in the city. I don't enjoy driving. I like being able to walk and take public transit everywhere I go. I have everything I need: shops, grocery stores, restaurants and bars, daycare center, Doctor, dentist, park etc. all with walking distance of my house. Because most of the people in my neighborhood walk daily I feel I see them more often and I feel more connected to my neighbors. I can't ever see myself moving back to the suburbs.
I prefer the city because for me living in suburbs is boring as fuck. It’s like a ghost town after 5 and there’s nothing to do unless you get in your car and drive. Winter blows as it’s dark so early, you leave in the dark, get home in the dark and sit in your house. I hate it.
I grew up in the city. New York. I moved to fucking Australia for my wife and live in the burbs. At least it’s near a beach, so that’s a plus. But overall I just miss the energy of a big city and Sydney is a it of a snore fest to be honest. I just miss home I guess. Yeah it’s a fucking pain to live there. It’s getting expensive as fuck but at least when I was feeling like shit I could go for a walk and find the most random shit or just sit and people watch or take a ride on the subway. 🐨 🗽
It’s my favorite. And I always want to hear about everyone else’s public transportation too! Check out Glasgow’s subway if you haven’t already - it’s the cutest.
Core city ie "inner city" for those stuck in the 60s is desirable for some people. When I was single and in my 20s I lived in midtown Sacramento and loved it so much I never thought I would ever live in the suburbs. It was actually depressing when I was sharing a house with roommates in a suburb. But my then gf now wife was the complete opposite so I moved in with her in the suburbs. After 8 years of renting we bought our first home and now have a pool. It's not even the pool or being in a less dense zone like a suburb that I like more about my home over the city but that I have a 1/4 acre lot that allows me to spend a lot of time outside doing ornamental gardening and landscaping. I could never go back to apartment life.
When the last child earned his diploma, my wife and I hammered a For Sale sign in the yard of our nice, upscale suburban home and moved into town. Lots of reasons:
\- I work from home, but it's a short commute for my wife.
\- It's convenient to everything, including great restaurants, things to do, and places to see.
\- I like being able to walk to places as opposed to having to drive literally everywhere.
\- I like the diversity in every sense of the word. We felt like the suburbs were a bit too Stepford for our tastes.
\- Truthfully, keeping up a big house and yard is a gigantic time suck. There are other things I'd like to do with my free time than shoving a lawnmower up and down the yard.
I'm an elder millennial or "xennial," born in '83.
For Gen X millennials, urban living was where it was at. Most of our media revolved around urban life, the suburbs were widely decried as terrible, soul-sucking, dead-end places of suffering.
Lots of us did indeed move from the 'burbs or country to major cities. My family moved to the inner city in Boston from a rural area when I was still in middle school, and I went from there to LA and SF before moving to Asia, where I lived in megacities. Now I'm back in the US, in a suburb of Phoenix.
I still generally prefer those dense, urban environments, but now I've got a family. The cost of buying a place in a major American or European city is asinine expensive; rent is too, and while I could afford it and still offer a decent living space to my wife and child, we'd have to deal with the realities of life in a major urban core in 2023: crime, homelessness, less-than-great public schools.
I can see a few scenarios where we could move there again, still. Maybe we will. I'd like to, honestly. But, the cost of living and the returns you get for that cost have gone from so-so, to bad, to pretty shit. I need to focus on good schools and safety now... Not walking distance to nightlife and a cool skyline.
In the US, "inner-city" is code for an economically depressed, majority Black or Latine urban neighborhood. We don't want to call them "ghettos" because it sounds kinda racist and we don't like to admit we have a caste system here. Most major US cities also have many neighborhoods that are highly sought-after and expensive.
Also there are plenty of suburbs that are more economically depressed and less sought-after or prestigious than the stereotype. There are even wealthy and poor rural areas. But our economic divides are almost always racial. Most places with higher percentages of people in poverty are majority Black, Latine, or Native American.
I grew up in the suburbs - 1hr from the major metro center (Seattle). The general opinion was that "suburbs are better for raising a family!" And so thats what my parents did. But the thing about raising kids is that, generally, they want to do things. And entertaining things within walk/bike distance is something almost all suburbs lack, all of the cool stuff was a 30 minute drive at a minimum!
Naturally i intend on living in an area that at least has good public transit options for my children to be able to go where they please, when they are old enough. Being locked in an endless, monotonous landscape of HOA lawns and 40mph roads on your doorstep is exactly why "kids are always on their phones/tablets/nintendos".
I grew up in Edmonds and it was perfect. 15 or 20 minutes to Seattle, and had its own downtown with shops, a movie theater, waterfront, and bushings that went downtown.
I preferred the inner city in my 20s, when I was partying and getting rowdy and painting trains and general hoodrat stuff with my friends Now I’m in my 40s with kids and a career and prefer the suburbs.
>Would middle class people want to live in the inner cities to be closer to various amenities their city has to offer ?
>Just to be clear, I'm talking about the average American mid-west or Southern city of a few million inhabitants. I know places like New York have always been very densely populated and mixed-income
Sure, tons of people do. I personally can't stand cities for various reasons (no matter how many times I try) but I know lots of people enjoy them. Even in less densely populated areas.
Despite what Hollywood Movies, the 7 O-clock news, and the local newspapers have spoon fed everyone, the inner-cities aren't THAT bad.
Some people like living there, because there's a sense of community in the neighborhoods and familiarity for the people living there.
Some people prefer the suburbs,
Yes, a lot of middle class (and some upper class) people prefer to live in cities.
However, I think you are overestimating the size (population wise) of an average Midwest or Southern city. Only four cities in the U.S. (NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston) have a population of over 2,000,000, and only an additional five cities (Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas) have a population of over 1,000,000. Cities like Memphis and Detroit, which were probably the types of cities you were thinking of when you wrote this question, have populations of around 620,000.
Look up gentrification. There are hordes of middle-class and up people who have moved back into the inner cities since the nineties. Developers bought up inexpensive real estate and built nice condos and homes and in many cases completely changed “bad” neighborhoods into thriving upscale communities.
From what I’ve see this is starting to change though with the housing issues being created due to rising prices. There’s a homeless epidemic in many cities that started in the past five years made worse by the response to the opioid epidemic. These nice new communities are now full of tent cities and homeless people that are driving down the appeal of the inner cities. Unless this changes these cities are going to experience a new “white flight” like we had in the sixties and seventies. And history, as usual, will repeat itself over the handful of decades.
As you say, after WWII there was a huge move to the suburbs, as soldiers came home and started families, and then the subsequent "white flight" from the cities in the '60s, '70s, and early '80s. But then, in the late '80s and '90s all those kids who grew up with nothing to do in the suburbs started moving back to the cities. Today, while plenty of people still prefer the suburbs, downtown city life is also very popular, especially among single people and young couples.
Personally, I wish I could afford to live in a proper city, but am currently stuck an hour away in a small town (which is still preferable to a suburban housing development, in my opinion.)
Depends on the city
For an international city on par with Paris, London, Zurch, etc...
Yes, plenty of people want to live in the urban core. NYC, San Fran, Seattle, San Diego, etc... all have vibrant city centers.
A lot of second tier commuter cities have a highly desirable downtowns which house lots of successful professionals surrounded by a ring of poverty surrounded by affluent suburbs that gradually tail off into working class suburbs and then into rural areas.
In the 90s a lot of cities took on successful urban renewal projects which were helped out significantly by falling crime rates across the country making city centers much more attractive.
Much of the gentrification debate in the US involves suburbanites moving into these poverty rings and drastically changing the socioeconomic characteristics of these neighborhoods.
Basically, young professionals move into these poor areas and the property values broadly follow their natural career income growth. So the average income might start out at 60K, but end up closer to 100K as the newcomers follow a relatively predictable income growth path for their professions (adjust these numbers regionally but the same idea still applies).
Yes. Millions do. These places have severe housing shortages. People pay millions of dollars to live in these places. Other than some places with extreme geography that is very scarce (such as beach front in a highly desirable area) city living is generally more in demand and more expensive.
The idea that cities are for poor people is something that hasn't been relevant in a very long time.
Before I had kids I lived in (near) New Orleans. Great place to live if you don't have kids. Once I had kids I moved to rural Maine to raise them away from all that crime etc..
Grew up rural. Got out of there as fast as I could. Moved to the suburbs first (baby steps), but by 21 I had moved to the city. I own a home in the city, I work in the city, I hang out in the city. I don't live in the downtown corridor, but I'm a quick 5 minute drive in a very diverse, mutli-use, city neighborhood. My extended family all still live out in the middle of nowhere and talk about the city as if it's a death row hellscape with car jackings and murders at every corner (Even though they never come to the city for anything except for big events and nothing has ever happened to them there).
Obviously many people prefer the city, or it wouldn't be a city.
“Inner city” in the US usually means the poor urban areas. I grew up in a poor neighborhood of a city, not the hood or public housing, just generally poorer, and I don’t ever mean to go back to that. I like it better out in the sticks where I am now. Nobody’s stealing my car batteries.
As for just urban city living, which is what I’m assuming you actually mean, yeah. Some people love living in the cities because they get better access to amenities, entertainment, food, and they don’t have to drive as much. It has its perks if you can afford to live in the nicer parts of town.
>My question is are there any types of people who prefer to _______
There is every type of person in the USA.
Some prefer city living and others do not.
I personally enjoy the suburbs.
The extra space does it for me. I like having my own yard, garage, and cars that I dont have to park on the street. Of course there's trade offs, but everything has cons.
Because I like the inner city vibe in New York. I live on the border of a rich neighborhood and a rougher one. My kid gets to grow up with the best of both worlds.
Yes, there has been an urban renaissance over past 30 years or so and more middle-upper middle class families are staying in urban areas. When you hear talk of gentrification, that’s a big part of it. Areas formerly poor, immigrant, etc. becoming higher end areas as wealthier people want to live closer to the urban core.
There was a government subsidized mortgage program for working class people to buy houses. This government program was limited to houses built in culd-de-sac style neighborhoods. This subsidized program was not available to people shopping for condos or duplexes/multiplexes. This massive federal program helped distort market demand.
Oh 100%. Give me a city or give me the country. I can't stand the suburbs.
That being said, the 'inner-city' is more of the real poor parts, the hood. I come from those spots. I'd take it again in some ways, maybe there was some nostalgia for me, but there will be people that prefer this.
Before I moved to Chicago, I lived in a third tier midwestern community where people were better served living closer to the edges. "Downtown" was small and more of a place for bars than office buildings. Employment centers were closer to the suburbs, or in them.
In Chicago, there is a substantial population that prefers living in (certain parts) of the city itself.
Me in my 20s, unmarried, and childless: *Why would anyone want to live in the suburbs*
Me in my 30s married with kids: *Why would anyone want to live in the city*
Young and no kids = city living.
30 to 60 with kids = suburban. Unless you are uber wealthy.
Older with no medical issues = RV.
Older with savings = back to the city.
> Older with savings = back to the city
City as in "city limits," maybe, but the retirement meccas you see in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and "cities" all over Florida are nothing but suburban sprawl.
Also: Dont forget that city planning is completely different here than in Europe. There are many sprawling cities (both large and small) that feature suburban neighborhoods within the city limits (such as Jacksonville, Phoenix, and LA).
Inner city as a term has a certain pejorative meaning that makes your question a little nonsensical.yhe best urban neighborhoods are more sought after than anywhere else around here, and as such, nobody would call them inner city.
Cities are desirable to the young and childless. Suburbs are desirable to parents.
There are always going to be exceptions to these rules but that is the general trend.
I grew up on Chicago's near north side. I spent about 20 years living in the Inland Empire of Southern California. There was almost nothing in the way of public transportation. When I worked in downtown LA I was lucky in that my hours were 6 AM to 2 PM. This meant that if I drove it was only an hour each way instead of the two hours or more it would have taken had I worked a more 9-to-5 job. As it was, I took the commuter rail to the subway and added 30 minutes each way, but made up for it with being able to read or sleep on the train, plus my company subsidized my transit through a state program, which saved me a lot of money on gas.
My last year there, my company moved our office to a suburb near orange county. Public transportation would have taken three hours. I started driving, and it was the worst time of my life. When I moved to Chicago, I made sure I could walk to work if necessary.
I now live on a major bus line, and chose my apartment specifically for that reason. I have coworkers who commuted into downtown on the commuter rail, and I don't want to do that again. (Our company went full remote after lockdown.)
I live within walking distance of the place where I volunteer, the grocery store, the pharmacy, and good places to get Mexican food and sushi. Taking the bus gets me access to even more food options, plus the blood bank, and my PCP. I am one transfer away from my shrink, my podiatrist, and my optician. I have a car but really only use it when I'm going to the bank for my boss or to visit friends.
It is cyclical my Grandparents were The Silent Generation and they grew up in the city. They then moved out to the Suburbs in the 50s. My parents generation stayed in the Suburbs but now my generation is largely preferring the city and there has been a boom of younger people gravitating to the city. Next generation or so will get tired of the city and move back to the suburbs.
Everyone is different certainly but I have noticed a generational thing where every generation or two people see the grass as greener on the other side and move from one to the other.
I prefer the city to the burbs. So does my family. I won't live in the burbs and the world has gone to hell if by some remote chance 8m living in rural America.
We are not a hive mind… we all like and prefer different things. Some people like living in trailer parks or apartment buildings or suburbs or lake houses or log cabins or tents off the grid or self made nuclear bomb shelters…. Some of us wear skinny jeans or cargo shorts or get ugly tattoos or dye our hair red or wear contacts instead of glasses. Some of us drink tea, some drink milk, some prefer coke over Pepsi… there’s millions of us with all different ways of thinking and living life, just like people all over the world do.
I personally always have been a cit-dweller and always will be. I do live in an inner suburb of a city - think outside the downtown ring area - but still in the city limits. I just like the city and all it offers.
Yes I grew up in the middle of a big city, live there now (different neighborhood but still in the same city) and do not want to live in a suburban, exurban, or rural area. I like having everything close by, the amenities etc
Yes, me
I pay a lot of extra money to live in San Francisco rather than a suburb, even though my work is fully remote.
Being able to walk or take a bus/train to any type of store or restaurant or amenity I want, and being among such interesting stuff happening all the time and such a variety of cultural stuff is that valuable to me.
Some. And many city centers are very expensive. A major part of the appeal of the suburbs is that you can get a 3 or 4 bedroom house with a garage and a yard for the cost of a downtown 1 bedroom.
So a lot of people move to the burbs when they start thinking about a family and the city centers tend to have more young professionals, childfree professional couples and such.
I've lived in the inner city my whole life. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else (maybe just a different city). The suburbs are so slow and boring and QUIET. I'm not us to it and I can't stand it. Not only that, in the inner city much more things are walking or biking distance easily.
I'm torn. I lived in the downtown of a city for several years post college, but now moved to the edge of a small city. In general, I think suburbs are the worst of both worlds and would prefer to either be urban or rural. I sometimes miss living in the city center, but it's expensive and I like having space to raise ducks and have trees.
Urban home are generally more costly per square foot than suburban homes- market values would be flip flopped if there was less of a demand for urban living
And now it’s the reverse of “white flight”. White millennials are now moving from the suburbs to the cities itself, especially specific downtown areas.
Cities have things closer together so you can just walk to where you want to go rather than driving. Suburbs are great and all but I hate having to get in a car just to drive somewhere for 5 minutes to get shredded cheese
So the advantages of living in the inner city:
Less car dependent. Closer to amenities. Closer to "the action." Likely closer to your job. (Downtown Raleigh, for example, has some really great bars, restaurants, and a number of companies, like [Red Hat,](https://redhat.com) are located there.)
The disadvantages:
Smaller apartments, higher costs. Noise. Less able to "get away from it all." Generally you don't have a yard for your dog or for your kids to play in. Traffic. Did I say noise? Yeah, the noise.
----
When I was younger I loved living in an apartment within walking distance of the Americana in Glendale. When I got older I was happy to buy a house in the suburbs in the hills above Glendale. As I got much older, I got sick of Los Angeles and moved to Raleigh, to a house in an 'exurban' area, on the border of the suburbs and more rural land. (There are two horse ranches within spitting distance of where I live, and the Mountain-To-The-Sea trail is a quarter mile from here, next to Falls Lake.)
If I were young again, I would want to be near all the excitement Los Angeles had to offer. When I get so much older I'm not able to drive myself, I'd seriously consider moving into a 'mixed-use' complex, an apartment (sound-proofed of course, because 'noise') above a 'mixed-retail' area--similar to the Condos at the [Americana](https://apartments.americanaatbrand.com/?_gl=1*uz1na9*_ga*MjAwMzE0Njg5LjE2OTg4NjAzNDM.*_ga_CY8X08Q761*MTY5ODg2MDM0My4xLjAuMTY5ODg2MDM0My42MC4wLjA.), though something (obviously) a lot cheaper.
But right now, I like where I live.
The central business district or downtown often is among the most expensive area of town as well in terms of per square foot. A lot of that is office space but yes a lot of our downtowns have very high rents and high property values.
Our downtowns tend to not have many residents though compared to the rest of the city. Downtown Indianapolis has about 33,000 people. That's compared to about 900,000 in Indianapolis/Marion County and 2 million in the metro area.
Of course there are. People have lots of different preferences. Inner city real estate in many cities is some of the most expensive, because people want to live there.
Obviously some people do or people wouldn't live there.
Personally I couldn't imagine a worse hell than having to live in a city instead of the spacious, sprawling suburbs, but to each their own.
I've spent most of my life in the South. I've always preferred older city neighborhoods that are mostly single-family with some low-rise apartments, but a bit more compact and walkable than the stereotypical suburb. Most of the neighborhoods I've lived in also have small commercial/ entertainment districts, which is really convenient.
I do like having my single-family house and small yard though. I wouldn't want to live in a large condo building somewhere like Chicago or New York, as much as I enjoy visiting those cities.
Early 2000s the trend really started to reverse and gentrification started happening in inner city neighborhoods close to downtowns. Nowadays in just about any major or medium city there are lots of nice (but expensive) neighborhoods close to downtowns. There's also been a lot of infill with big apartment complexes in downtown neighborhoods. I've seen a lot of this trend having spent a lot of time in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh.
I cannot stand the suburbs. I will live in the city or a rural area but flat out refuse to live in the suburbs ever again. It the worst of what the city and rural areas offer all rolled into one without any of the good stuff.
Most, if not all, American cities of a certain size will have at least a few luxury condo developments downtown intended for affluent professionals. So there's a market for that.
Note that in American English, "inner city" usually refers to poor/ rundown/ less desirable areas of a larger city.
It's very common for people to prefer living in cities. Generally more options and more convenience for all sorts of amenities, from employers to restaurants to medical care.
I would begrudgingly move back to an inner ring suburb if that's all I could afford. I absolutely hated growing up in suburbia and much prefer living in a city. There is no world in which I would willingly move out to a suburb unless it had extremely easy access to a city.
Americans have never liked cities that much. Our cities have always been filled with immigrants. The people leaving the cities for the suburbs in the midde of the last century were the grandkids of immigrants who were becoming Americanized.
I live in one of the largest cities in the mid-west.
It is exceptionally expensive to live in the "nice" parts of downtown. There are exclusive apartment buildings, and housing is very expensive.
The people who live downtown, in the nice neighborhoods, very, very much want to be there. That is where they want to live.
I would say that in a lot of the downtown neighborhoods, the average Amercian could not afford to live there. These are very successful, fairly wealthy people who do live there.
It is a very attractive lifestyle for some people, and is aspirational.
For other people, not so much. And both are cool.
Lots of people choose living in a city with a high cost of living over having more money and living in the suburbs
If the city has stuff you want to be close to, it’s not hard to choose the city over a small house 40 minutes away
Not every city has quite this kind of divide. It is *much* cheaper to live in the "inner city" of (for example) Portland than to live in large stretches of the suburbs. Of course it depends on the suburb. In my small city people absolutely pay through the nose to live in crummy tract houses on the edge of town as opposed to well-maintained bungalows near downtown.
Most large US cities these days have nice urban/“inner-city neighborhoods that people like to live in for a variety of reasons including walkability, proximity to trendy restaurants, etc.
There has been a lot of gentrification all over so previously undesirable neighborhoods are now expensive and increasingly becoming so. The trend, for some families at least, seems to be to be in these neighborhoods until the kids start elementary school and then they’ll move to the suburbs for more space and better public schools.
Yeah, different people have different preferences. There are pros and cons to high-density living. Some people find they prefer the walkability of dense inner cities. Some people find they prefer the space and privacy of lower-density suburbs. Personally, I would prefer to live in a rural area, but I have to be close enough to a population center to access the jobs and infrastructure, so suburbs.
I do. I live in downtown Denver, and don't have a car. I can walk most places and also live next to a regional transit hub. I love this lifestyle and plan on continuing it for the foreseeable future.
With that said, I'm in my 20's and single. It is common for people in my demographic to live in city centers, and then move to the suburbs as they marry and have kids.
"Inner cities" tends to carry a certain negative connotation, I assume you mean living within a city limits as opposed to suburbs. I'm sure there are, yes. Generally speaking though, especially when you have kids, it just doesn't make a lot of sense, so more people would prefer the suburbs because you have the space you need to live with kids, raise them, etc. But there are people who like the draw of cities and what they offer.
In the end it's a completely personal decision. I was born and raised in a major city and I would never live in the suburbs ever. But that is just me, the suburbs are what many, many families prefer
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