tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post901199798624747250..comments2023-09-01T04:29:11.256-04:00Comments on Suburban Soliloquy: Friday Night Frolic — For The Children (and Daphne)Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-23542250753634846672012-04-05T17:50:35.962-04:002012-04-05T17:50:35.962-04:00Hi Marian- "[...] for the benefit of the chil...Hi Marian- "[...] for the benefit of the children..." certainly that's why we're here. Yes, the kids have friends in the neighborhood and they have a couple of parks they can go to. But I'm not convinced life in the burbs is any more beneficial than life in the city (or life in the country, for that matter). In the suburbs, in general (well, ok, at least in the burn in which I live), "nature" consists of a half-acre to an acre lot on which the land is seeded, wired with water lines, and sprinkled with chemicals. We do have areas where we can find undisturbed land, but relative to the overall size of the suburb, it is, proportionately, chump change. And the really good green is closed off to the public. (To find miles of raw nature, we drive to New Hampshire or Maine or Vermont--so proximity of true nature to burbs is important.)<br /><br />It all feels contrived to me, and perhaps that is part of my ambivalence with suburbia. Wait, did I say ambivalence? Heh. ;)<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by, Marian. True--even less nature in the city. Although Boston has a remarkable emerald necklace of parks and nature, and NYC, of course, has its Central Park. 843 acres of it! I've lived in both cities and boy, I could get me some nature when I needed it. :)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-58790432262450999312012-04-05T16:08:35.970-04:002012-04-05T16:08:35.970-04:00I think living in the suburbs is for the benefit o...I think living in the suburbs is for the benefit of the children being closer to nature which the city most of the time cannot give.Marianhttp://www.braungresham.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-88665817068499001382012-03-13T22:35:20.176-04:002012-03-13T22:35:20.176-04:00Antares- I think you should get into the urban pla...Antares- I think you should get into the urban planning business. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-2921284891451014532012-03-13T22:34:44.068-04:002012-03-13T22:34:44.068-04:00"...outlying suburbs nation-wide will become ..."...outlying suburbs nation-wide will become the new ghettos." Ack! We'd better sell now! Smart kids of yours, Robert. Smart thinking. And smart living. <br /><br />"Pacific Northwest" -- sounds so exotic to me. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-67910977474395179492012-03-13T22:31:41.986-04:002012-03-13T22:31:41.986-04:00I'll try to keep it that way for as long as po...I'll try to keep it that way for as long as possible. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-8660185061807325862012-03-13T22:31:16.717-04:002012-03-13T22:31:16.717-04:00Dan- My brook could very well be the last vestige ...Dan- My brook could very well be the last vestige of nature! <em>My</em> brook. Ha! I can't imagine this "Educational Village" idea gaining much ground--at least not at the proposed site. Yet the mayor's used taxpayers dollars to have the property surveyed, etc... Yup. Thanks guy. Fix the potholes in the parking lot! ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-66362071922210184282012-03-13T22:26:51.460-04:002012-03-13T22:26:51.460-04:00Oh, now I could deal with a town like that. The tr...Oh, now I could deal with a town like that. The train would seal the deal. Particularly, in VA. If Max ends up at UVA (oh please!), I might seriously consider a place down there. I love that area of the country. Charlottesville, too, I'm thoroughly taken with. The lure might be too strong!<br /><br />JES, I'm on the <em>cusp</em> of MA. Very likely that fairytale/nightmare show (watched part of an episode just now--didn't hold my attention too long, ha!, what does?) was modeled on... no, could it be?! <br /><br />Pecan trees. Divine. :)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-43750965935060132112012-03-13T22:03:43.765-04:002012-03-13T22:03:43.765-04:00I know of what you speak. I think a perfect utopia...I know of what you speak. I think a perfect utopian city would have a wild forest right in the middle of it.Antares Cryptoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12197876328401157462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-27662603280486441152012-03-13T18:20:04.744-04:002012-03-13T18:20:04.744-04:00Our kids have completely eschewed the suburbs and ...Our kids have completely eschewed the suburbs and have embraced city life. When they told me the neighborhood where they bought their home I was terrified they had chosen a high crime area. Unbeknownst to me, their neighborhood had been since gentrified, articles about their area of town regularly pop up in Sunset Magazine. Due to increasing fuel prices and more people choosing to live in the city it is predicted that the outlying suburbs nation-wide will become the new ghettos. In our area of the country (Pacific Northwest) house prices have remained steady and are actually increasing somewhat. It is interesting how cultural changes redefine what constitutes "quality of life".Robert the Skeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10863488312604865183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-67363428555506406092012-03-13T13:01:00.687-04:002012-03-13T13:01:00.687-04:00...and a train station. (How could I forget that?!......and a train station. (How could I forget that?!?) Rode the train into DC maybe a dozen times.JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-51795272267063183802012-03-13T12:57:21.362-04:002012-03-13T12:57:21.362-04:00One of the current crop of TV shows based on (loos...One of the current crop of TV shows based on (loosely adapted) fairy tales is called <em>Once Upon a Time</em>. The present-day action takes place pretty much entirely within the limits of a town called Storybrooke, in Massachusetts; every single resident there has a counterpart in one or more fairy tales. Until a new person shows up in the pilot, the time in the town always was the same. No one ever aged. And no one ever <em>left</em>.<br /><br />But that, of course, is fiction. (Er, are you sure you live in RI and not a little on the other side of the RI-MA state line?)<br /><br />When we moved into our house in 2001, it was already about 12-13 years old; it was built when the subdivision itself was still young. We don't have any sidewalks, but oh my do we have mature trees. I mean, GIGANTIC trees. When the pecans fall off the tree next to the house, they're so large and fall so far that it sounds like we're under meteor assault. :)<br /><br />But we're not within walking distance of anything to speak of, except an elementary school. And, if we're feeling ambitious, of a middle school and a public library.<br /><br />Your criteria for a good place to live reminds me of <a href="http://www.town.ashland.va.us/" rel="nofollow">the town</a> I moved to from NJ in 1990. I walked a <em>lot</em> during the 2-1/2 years I lived there: groceries, library, used books, post office, video store, convenience store, even a little old (and still operational) movie theater. And it was just about a half-hour's driving distance from Richmond, where all sorts of things were available.JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-65507708896756726952012-03-13T12:05:42.713-04:002012-03-13T12:05:42.713-04:00Serene looking spot.Serene looking spot.Sultanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06506141014376919585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-23761256757085679892012-03-13T04:55:53.904-04:002012-03-13T04:55:53.904-04:00yeah but, id love a little creek...i love how you ...yeah but, id love a little creek...i love how you americanos use brook...they just seem like the last vestiges of this weird thing amongst some people who call it nature...we go and 'visit' nature rather than live within it...dang that is a sad thing that poor planning threatens<br />the burbs have their attraction in some ways and i love the idea of such a swathe so close to your back door...but im a city boy as you know..<br />i really liked this post ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-42883756078383873852012-03-12T17:10:58.814-04:002012-03-12T17:10:58.814-04:00Friko - Your place is lovely--you're fortunate...Friko - Your place is lovely--you're fortunate. My sister lives in a beautiful part of New Hampshire, in the mountains. I'm envious. Every time I visit here there I think, <em>this is where I should be</em>. But then, there is, as you mentioned, that lack of amenities, forcing the drive. But at least you're living at one with nature. You have the opportunity to garden and grow food and be, at least in part, a self-sustaining homestead. (Which is how my sister operates to some extent.) I think that's a marvelous lifestyle. <br /><br />For me, it's one or the other. City or country. But city seems to make more sense right now. And as my husband has his own business, we are bound to a certain territory. Country someday. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-37341911616173386062012-03-12T17:02:47.243-04:002012-03-12T17:02:47.243-04:00Ha! JES, I remember being in Charleston a few year...Ha! JES, I remember being in Charleston a few years back and seeing a For Sale sign with those same words: Location, location, location! And then there was another one, on the gorgeous wraparound porch of a beautiful old home near Battery Park, that read: Picture yourself having cocktails here. !!! I said to hubby, "Now that's how you ought to be marketing."<br /><br />Having worked, and still working to some degree, in only the commercial market, I, myself, have never uttered those words. I'd be hesitant to, as well, for the same reason you stated: the quality of a certain location may change. <br /><br />My concern right now ("right now" ha!) is living in an area that is more environmentally conscientious. Not in town Y that eats up every little bit of land it can (when there are perfectly good options for development that don't include finding loopholes in which to legally breach a contract. If that makes sense! Ha. A breach is a breach. The other interesting (or quirky, or uncomfortable at times) thing about this town is that no one seems to leave. At least not those born and bred here. So no U-Hauls around! This tends to promote a certain exclusive culture in various pockets of town. The younger generation is still living in the same town as their parents, but have moved on up to the biggish homes. This also perpetuates the white-bread suburban culture to which I've never been able to assimilate. But that's my little personal issue. Everyone else seems quite happy here. You think? But. There's NO town center!!<br /><br />Ack. I want a smallish home in city X, and a smallish garden in a smallish yard on a street with <em>sidewalks</em>, that's a walk away from the library/restaurants/shops/butcher.... Alternatively, I'll take a bungalow in Z, way, way out there. It's the Y that unrests me. ;)<br /><br />(Figured you meant the last ten years. Mature suburbia is nice, but it kills me that trees are leveled for new cul de sacs and homes while electrical wires are all still installed above ground!)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-52634575148022490932012-03-12T16:51:47.628-04:002012-03-12T16:51:47.628-04:00The diggers of developers get in everywhere. If yo...The diggers of developers get in everywhere. If you want to live in safety and with nature, you must get right away and live in the countryside, not in suburbia. But there, of course, you lack all amenities. I have just spent a day getting groceries from the supermarkets in the nearest larger town. I could have spent the day gardening or walking in the countryside, but I also need groceries. So I've polluted the air by driving many miles.<br /><br />You pays your money and you takes your choice, as they say here.Frikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04277167831642088694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-52185602579984205742012-03-12T16:26:02.645-04:002012-03-12T16:26:02.645-04:00Well-lived = love and harmony--I like that Michael...Well-lived = love and harmony--I like that Michael. Home <em>is</em> where the heart is. Having lived in NY (Brooklyn) many years ago, I know about the high cost of housing there. New York is a great city but too expensive for me. Wonderful to visit, though.<br /><br />The upside of the economic downturn is that it has humbled us. People are rethinking the oversized life. (Of course, that's not a good thing for all those who bought into it and would like to get out.) In Providence, our beautiful Arcade will be restored and reopened this year with the addition of "green" micro lofts (averaging around 400 sq. ft., I've heard). This is a really ambitious project. And encouraging--folks (probably mostly single, younger, just getting started w/career) will have the opportunity to rent (inexpensively) lofts in the middle of the city, where cars are not necessary. I hope we'll see more of this type of development going on, rather than our continued encroachment onto open space.Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-1702706576918921162012-03-12T16:07:32.044-04:002012-03-12T16:07:32.044-04:00Duta- Precisely what I'd like. ;)Duta- Precisely what I'd like. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-58018040499805281832012-03-12T12:13:23.203-04:002012-03-12T12:13:23.203-04:00Er... "until the 10 years" = "until...Er... "until the 10 years" = "until the last 10 years." I didn't expect readers to know which 10 years I meant. :)JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-26210149573521523232012-03-12T06:20:45.046-04:002012-03-12T06:20:45.046-04:00Ah, geography -- and the instinctive sense (well, ...Ah, geography -- and the instinctive sense (well, <em>of course</em>) that if only we lived at 123 Main Street instead of being stuck here, at #125...! :)<br /><br />You know I tease. Where we live DOES make a difference. Because I never had kids, I was spared the agonies of decision-making on behalf of a helpless someone else, extending naturally to living-here vs. -there. I've lived only in Suburbia, in fact (except for a few years in a tiny little village surrounded by farms). OTOH, until the 10 years it was always older suburbia -- neighborhoods of homes (and often families) which had often been right there for 20, 30, 40 or more years. Big old trees along the sidewalks. Birdsong. Like that.<br /><br />I know you've worked in real estate; you must have heard (maybe uttered) the "Location, location, location" more times than you can count. The twist, the real complication to that is the changing nature of locations as homeowners follow their lure... which means, well, a phrase like "Ooooooh... you live <em>there</em>!" can mean something entirely different now than it will a few years later, when it becomes, more flatly and less breathily, "Oh. You live <em>[beat]</em> <strong>there</strong>." We were talking recently about that comic book -- the aliens' being frightened by our everyday climbing into big steel projectiles which we then fire up and aim at one another. I wonder what they'd make of our U-Haul culture, every one of all those little Chinese checkers ceaselessly rolling from one little resting place to another.<br /><br />(They'd probably wonder, for starters, why we call them "resting" places. I imagine a Martian interrogator who comments, "You're being ironic again, aren't you?")<br /><br />You seem to be doing a fine job as parents of cultivating your kids' minds and sensibilities. I suspect that <em>that</em> landscape will ultimately serve them best. It's the one they'll carry with them. Ultimately, I think that's part of the appeal of the title <em>Suburban Soliloquist</em>: the suggestion that, geography aside, it's the <em>self</em> who lives there which decides how happy and secure s/he will be at Location X, Y, or Z -- that, not the location per se. (I know: real-estate blasphemy!)JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-31078109743413201312012-03-11T22:21:12.812-04:002012-03-11T22:21:12.812-04:00Oops, I meant "reeling"...
:)Oops, I meant "reeling"...<br />:)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539850495318868267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-16076049884776302782012-03-11T22:19:33.657-04:002012-03-11T22:19:33.657-04:00Jayne: Your posts are always beautifully written, ...Jayne: Your posts are always beautifully written, and always encourage us to wonder. I can only say that I was raised in a suburb in the Mid-West that was very much like "That 70's Show". But in America, our culture has shifted so drastically that it is permissible to question how people regard one another and what they DO have. I prefer a smaller home to a Beverly Hills "bachelor pad" with several wings and a staff of servants. A home that feels "well lived in" to me is one where there is love and harmony. "Home" means so many things to each individual. I have a friend in Manhattan. She and her husband pay over $3,000 a month for a tiny apartment. So while it is all relative, I like the reasons you cited for moving where you are. I know things are in a state of flux all around us, but we have to keep our gravity and remember that our culture is realing on a wild glide slope. This too plays a role in altering our perceptions! ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539850495318868267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-21512300789489072742012-03-11T20:08:19.536-04:002012-03-11T20:08:19.536-04:00Very nice shot of the brook, the fallen branches, ...Very nice shot of the brook, the fallen branches, the mud!<br /><br />I'm for enjoying both worlds, that is, living in a house with a garden ( big enough for crops and children's games) - located within the city, at a plausuble walking distance from the city center.DUTAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12979375799258978432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-86064434978944218882012-03-10T19:12:29.922-05:002012-03-10T19:12:29.922-05:00Ha! Win-win? No, no, Billy, the burbs ain't Pa...Ha! Win-win? No, no, Billy, the burbs <em>ain't</em> Paradise. Far, far, far from Paradise. I think I may have to cross the state line for that. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762878187346313358.post-37713566977965067402012-03-10T19:09:04.197-05:002012-03-10T19:09:04.197-05:00Scary... and for good reason, Cold!
As much as I ...Scary... and for good reason, Cold!<br /><br />As much as I miss the snow, I'm looking forward to that green grass, now. But not the tractors that use all the gas to finely cut all that biggish lawn, nor the early morning choral thump of all the underground sprinklers that keep the biggish green grass moist. The cost of the perfectly manicured lawn. Meh. ;)Jaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06694559900539722616noreply@blogger.com