Well, hell, let's just all move to the city. Come on, folks. Leave the burbs and country

[Skidmore]

behind so you can live longer. Study making its rounds on the teevee today and on NPR is that people who live in the city live longer. Neener,neener, neener. I say let's pile some more people on top of one another so we can all live longer.

[rainy]

1. I watched that! It was such BS.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

2. I can't afford the city but would move there in a heartbeat. n/t

[laruemtt]

3. i'll take our house

in the middle of the woods any day over urbania. not to put urbaners down in any way - just not for me.

[stirlingsliver]

4. How About The Close-In Suburbs Instead?

How about living in the close-in suburbs instead?

You have the advantages of urban life without all the disadvantages of being far from the city.

[NYCGirl]

5. Please don't. It's crowded enough here already. NT

[Stephanie]

38. lol!

:hi:

[Gregorian]

6. I want to live better, not longer.

But it is subjective.

And metro areas tend to be more progressive. The country definitely has it's drawbacks. Trust me, I'm on my fourth go at trying to find a place where mufflerless pickups, yapping dogs, peacocks shrieking at night, chainsaws mowing down forests don't ruin life. It's hard to find. The same mentality of freeperland is the same mentality in the country. "Just leave me alone so I can do any god damned thing I want". Even if it's destroying everything around them, and their neighbors.

Phew. I had to get that out. Can you tell I'm just a slight be gunshy of the country now.

[hedgehog]

8. There's country and there's outer suburbia.

Some of us move to the country so we can have yapping dogs and shrieking peacocks. Others move to the country and try to institute zoning rules to make the place into suburbia with humongous lawns. It ain't a country place unless there's at least one item neatly parked out back because it'll come in handy some day!

[Colorado Progressive]

10. where do you live? n/t

[hedgehog]

15. Upstate New York north of Syracuse.

New York has a lot of towns that 40 years ago were farmland but now are suburbs. People who live in the next town or two over are constantly fighting against a tide of suburbanites who think they want to move to the country but want all the amenities of living in suburbia. Thus they want to alter the zoning so the next door neighbor can't keep animals and can't give the kids 5 acres to set a trailer on, etc.

[Colorado Progressive]

16. after leaving Denver to escape the yappers

we are finding it very difficult dealing with the rednecks in the CO mtns. I thought they were just in the deep south! They actually use the word "liberal" as if its an insult, and they hate "viggitaryans", no shit

[NotGivingUp]

18. hmm...sounds scary...and we're planning to move to the mountains next year.

I see you're from Colorado. If we stay in the states, our top two choices are Tennessee and Colorado. Are you perhaps in the Colorado Springs area? I've heard stories! Do you think Estes Park would be similar?

[Colorado Progressive]

26. Absolutely not, Estes is up by Boulder and Ft Collins,

the havens for liberals in CO. We are west of COSP and the stories are true. Unbelievably 67% of voters voted Bush in 04. Even up west of Denver in Evergreen is much better than here. Our house is on the market just so we can get back up that way. Its too bad because the mtns down here are so beautiful! I think you would like Estes.

[NotGivingUp]

34. 67% Bush voters...YIKES!...that's not red, that's crazy!

That's too bad...they've ruined a perfectly good area. I hope your real estate market there is better than it is here in Florida. We'll be lucky to get out of here with the shirts on our backs! Estes Park looks so beautiful, but we're a little leery of all that snow. I suppose Boulder would be better weatherwise. Are you from that area? Any advice on which areas are best?

Much luck to you in selling your home and escaping the land of the loonies!

[Colorado Progressive]

47. Try Louisville

Its been repeatedly named one of the most livable cities in America. Boulder costs a fortune. I think you might get driven crazy by the snow and long winters in Estes, just my 2 cents!

[NotGivingUp]

48. Thanks! I'll check it out. n/t

[hedgehog]

21. Upstate New York, away from the Hudson River, has a lot of

little cities and village surrounded by farmland. There is a Democratic presence in the cities while the outlying districts are dominated by old-style Republicans. There used to be a lot of factories and plants that were unionized but are now closed.It makes for more moderate attitudes.

[Gregorian]

39. I don't.

I left Sillycon Valley after spending my life growing up there, and watching it turn to concrete.

1)4 years in Los Gatos hills in a 1890 cabin in the woods. And I mean cabin.
2)2 years on a couple hundred acres in the middle of nowhere in Mendocino county.
3)4 years on a farm in Humboldt county.
4)2 years on a Garden of Eden farm in Coquille, Oregon.

The cabin was wonderful. The big acreage was hellish in the summer. The farm was a conservative pocket in an otherwise liberal county, and I hated my shitty neighbors. And Oregon was Bush-clones tossing beer cans out of their trucks at 3am.

Now I'm just renting a house in the town of Mendocino. And It's quite livable. But it isn't "magical" any more. In just ten years this place is more of a suburb of the Bay Area than what I knew it as.

That's the story. And as of now, there is no place to go. Not with a marine influence, at least. I'm homeless with a king's ransom in the bank. It really sucks. But it could be... something. I'm worn out.

[redqueen]

How about we do it just to cut down on suburban sprawl...

and reduce our use of energy for transportation?

[ClassWarrior]

11. Amen.

NGU.

[redqueen]

12. Plus... better libraries!

:bounce:

[Skidmore]

46. So we just pile into a dozen of the nations cities?

That will solve all our problems.

Support expanding mass transit outward. I would welcome a shortline into the nearest metro areas. But out here, I use way less electricity to cool and to heat than I did when I lived in town. Also, I can grow my own vegetables and fruit in sufficient quantities to cut down on groceries.

[redqueen]

51. Mass transit will lead to more pavement in the countryside.

Sorry, I don't like that idea.

There are more than a dozen cities... dunno why you said that.

[frazzled]

7. Maybe the reason is walking more?

At one time in our history, rural living meant agrarian living, and so hard-working farmers might benefit from the exercises of their labors. Today, we rely mainly on cars--not to mention the acid rain and other pollutants that can interfere with good clean "country living."

Suburbs are definitely car-driven.

In the city, people tend to walk more to reach their destinations. Also, urban diets are becoming more sophisticated, while suburbanites might depend on The Old Country Buffet.

Just guessing -- I didn't see this study yet.

I like the country and the city. (I currently live in the latter.)

[hedgehog]

13. We live in the country, but so far two of my three kids who have moved out

have moved into the city. is planning on moving to the country ASAP so he has room to work on his cars and for his wood shop. None of them think of suburbia as a real place to live.

[Withywindle]

31. I bet that has a lot to do with it, honestly.

I'm built like my grandmother - and I have a very similar lifestyle to what she had in Baltimore in the 40s and 50s when my dad was a kid. I'm very, very far from a health nut, but I think I'm as fit as I need to be.

I had some online friends who live in suburbia/small cities visit me recently, and I love 'em, but man, I couldn't believe how much bitching and kvetching they were doing about all the walking--not a remarkable amount either, just what I do every day, going to work and doing my shopping and going out and socializing and stuff. I live in Chicago, it's all on foot and CTA for me, and I'm fine with that. Maybe I treat myself to a cab once or twice a week when it's late at night...

And they got so winded climbing my stairs (3rd floor, steep Victorian building). I do it a bunch of times every day, no problem--and I'm a smoker and they're not!

[frazzled]

35. Ditto

I live in Chicago and do almost everything by foot or CTA. Although we have a car, I don't drive in the city myself (too intimidated), so I only get transported when my husband drives, which is usually only if we're going to a burb to visit or shopping for lots of groceries.

I don't know about the three flights of stairs, though ... maybe you're younger than me. I'm not sure I could do that several times a day, though it would be damned good for me.

[Withywindle]

54. Yup. I don't see the point of cars in the city.

I've lived here for 15 years without one, and I don't particularly feel a desire for one - I don't think I'd want to live somewhere you had to have one to go anywhere. Had too much of that growing up in a rural area.

I'm 38, if it matters. But the best shape I was ever in my whole life was when I was 19 and doing an internship in NYC and lived in a 6TH floor walkup! :D

[City of Mills]

42. Organic Oasis and Urban Cafe

Places like this keep me in the city:

http://www.lifealive.com/

Yummy!

[wordpix]

9. I'm moving to a place where I can have a cottage near the beach

There are still a few areas that aren't expensive if you're not right on the shoreline.

[Warpy]

14. I live in the inner city out west

in an area that was a suburb in 1946 but is now equidistant from malls and downtown and within walking distance of nearly everything.

The area had a terrible reputation when I bought here but is now statistically the safest area of the city. Singles and retirees are buying up the little houses and fixing them up.

People thought I was nuts for buying in this area 11 years ago.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

[Ghost in the Machine]

17. No thanks! I kinda like living 12 miles from the nearest town.. out in the sticks

no noise, no traffic, no drunken, fighting neighbors, no sirens... just a laid back, peaceful life...

[sinkingfeeling]

19. Doesn't matter. The USA's life expectency ranks 42nd. , so we're all going to die young.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2147617,00.html

A combination of expensive health insurance and an ever-increasing rate of obesity appear to be behind a startling fall by the US in the world rankings of life expectancy.

Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, America has dropped from 11th to 42nd place in 20 years, according to official US figures.

[Deja Q]

30. Like the song says,

Only The Good Die Young Lyrics
Artist(Band):Billy Joel
Review The Song (26) Print the Lyrics


Come out Virginia, don't let me wait
You Catholic girls start much too late
aw But sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as well be the one

well, They showed you a statue, told you to pray
They built you a temple and locked you away
Aw, but they never told you the price that you pay
For things that you might have done.....
Only the good die young
thats what i said
only the good die young x2

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud
aw But that never hurt no one

So come on Virginia show me a sign
Send up a signal I'll throw you the line
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun
Darlin' only the good die young
(woah x5 )
i tell ya
only the good die young x2

You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation
You got a brand new soul
mmmm, And a cross of gold
But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary
(oh woah woah)

They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
the Sinners are much more fun...

you know that only the good die young
oh woah baby
i tell ya
only the good die young, X2


You say your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation
Aww She never cared for me
But did she ever say a prayer for me? oh woah woah

Come out come out come out virgina dont let me wait,
You catholic girls start much too late
Sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as well be the one,
You know that only the good die young

I'm telling you baby
You know that only the good die young
Only the good die young
Only the gooooooooooooooood
Only the good die young
Only the gooooooooooooooood
Only the good die young
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooo oooooooooo...

(Only the good die young)x2

[FloridaJudy]

20. Let's hear it for the city!

Everything you need is in walking or public transportation distance: Stores! Libraries! Movies! Museums! Art galleries! Restaurants!

And anything that gets me out of having to maintain a lawn is a Good Thing.

[hedgehog]

23. It is one of life's mysteries to me why people insist on buying

a house with a huge lawn that is only a source of annoyance since it must be mowed, watered and fertilized to keep up with the neighbors. The only time these people exit their houses is to care for the lawn; they are always inside in the air conditioning otherwise.

[CRF450]

49. I own about 2 acres, plus several more around it that the owners abandoned.

And its great when I can be able to ride the dirtbike and have some fun! My closest neighbors are about a half a mile away too. My job is 65 miles away, but I only make two round trips a week.

Country life is great! I will never live in city.

[JuniperLea]

22. If you call this living... eom

[tularetom]

24. Depends on what you want to deal with

We've lived out here for 20 years. I have one neighbor 1/2 mile away and then nobody for about 3 miles in either direction. We've had sheep killed by coyotes, at least one sheep killed by a mountain lion, rattlesnakes up the wazoo, I've been bit by a black widow and I've chased I don't know how many hunters off the place. But I've never had to worry about loud music, parties until 3 in the morning, neighbors dog shitting on my lawn, or cars parkin in front of my driveway.

I like it that way. But my wife doesn't. She feels isolated and she's scared shitless of the friggin snakes. I shoot em when they get onto the driveway and scare the horses but she doesn't even want to get close enough to do that.

To each his own I guess.

[hedgehog]

25. Bravo! I really think the Story of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse

should be required reading! Just don't move to the country and try to turn it into the city or suburbia!

[ClassWarrior]

27. That's the problem with the suburbs...

They starve the cities and devour the country.

NGU.

[redqueen]

52. But that's what happens... people move outside the city,

expanding the suburbs, year after year.

[Katherine Brengle]

28. Must be all the walking and food variety.

I love love love cities. I dream of an obnoxious morning commute on the subway that takes an hour longer than it would in a car.

I really do.

[Deja Q]

29. Well, some do say sex is thereaputic...

:hide:

[DU GrovelBot]

32. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

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[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. I like genuine, self-contained small towns; I like big cities

but suburbia is the worst of both worlds.

[hogwyld]

36. Once the oil is gone

We'll all be forced to live in the city, or be completely isolated from it. No more weekend farmers commuting to the office.

[Stephanie]

37. Um, no need to take it as a personal insult.

And no call to insult city-dwellers because of it. That's just rude.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

40. Is this sour grapes?

[taterguy]

41. Let's leave the burbs behind to save our country and the Earth

We'll let living in the country slide because let's face it, we'll always need farms and a place to escape but really, is there any good reason to live in the suburbs? Other than thinly veiled excuses to get away from people that might have a different skin color.

[Fla_Democrat]

43. It's not that you live longer...

It's that it's so miserable living in the "city", it SEEMS longer. :evilgrin:

[BlooInBloo]

44. Woot! I'm almost smack-dab in the geographic middle of one! I'll live 4EVAH!!!!!

nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

45. I am moving to the country.

Selling my house in the near in suburbs so I can survive. The electric bills (thanks Governor Goodhair and your damn deregulation/Enron etc) and the property taxes are killing me. We don't have a state income tax in TX. So they get ya in other ways.

The place I'm moving to has nothing to do for excitement. I have no interest in gospel music, going to church or fishing or hunting, so I'll just have to fix up the house. I think the main cause of death for the people and the roaches is probably boredom.

Anyway, in the summer, you can only do yard work for 15 minutes and then you come inside and drink ice water and cool off, or you're gonna get sick. Unless you're on a riding mower.


My electric bill for July for a 2000 square foot house, on 3 phase electricity (which is cheaper) was almost $380.00. Gag.

[Telly Savalas]

50. Yes. God forbid we abandon the lifestyle of sitting our fat asses in cars

driving around hours a day in endless suburban sprawl.

[RandomKoolzip]

53. Some of us LIKE living in the city.

What the fuck is there to do out in Bumfuck, Iowa? Any clubs? Any good record stores? Book stores? Any good Korean BBQ places open 24 hours? Do any good bands stop there on tour and play? Anything happening anywhere?

Fuck that. Give me Chicago any and every day of the week.