I have 3 kids. In the city I can afford a 2 bedroom in the suburbs I can get whatever I need. It's not that I prefer it... It's not really an option
this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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They didnt ask me or anyone I know
Have you met people?
I'll do almost anything to keep my distance.
If the suburbs weren't subsizided and homeowners had to pay premiums for living so far from central services it may change their opinion.
How about a any house in a cycling-based community?
Ok that's misleading a bit. The poll asked if you'd rather live in a larger house that's further from other people but stuff like restaurants are miles away, or smaller and closer together but stuff like restaurants are within walking distance. I'm paraphrasing but only slightly here.
You're extrapolating the car based and walking based part, but these people could also want more public transportation and bike routes. Maybe these people already live in cramped apartment buildings and just dream of having a big house. There's other factors than just "me dum American me want car"
Yeah sorry, neighbors are usually assholes who stick their noses in other peoples business. I'll live as far from other people as I can.
If I could choose my friends as neighbors it'd be different.
Seriously, I just don't want to be bothered by people or live in an apartment where I get to hear my neighbors or constantly encounter them.
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Yeah it's unclear how much fantasy was allowed with these questions. Like if commute and money and pollution were no object I'd prefer to live on 1000 acres in the mountains with a cabin-mansion and hobby farm.
But realistically for cost and commute I just want a big yard for gardening, and peace and quiet.
Probably due to most of them already living in car based societies that are far apart. Living like that makes me people hate their neighbors, and they want no one to encroach on their kingdoms
Most Americans are selfish fucks.
Signed,
An American.
54% of Americans read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.
I bet there's a lot of overlap between these two groups.
Every apartment I have ever lived in has been akin to hell on earth. Loud, unruly neighbors. Unwalkable area. So far away from amenities it takes 15 minutes of driving to get anything. No shade. Bad smells.
Its no wonder. There's a few awesome neighborhoods i would love to move to, with great walkable street, groceries, books, restaurants all only a few minutes of walking away. I would love to move to those places but they are so expensive I could never dream of it.
Some of us have big houses in walkable communities. You can have both, though you have to sacrifice on the yard / lawn (which is a good thing anyways, seeing what Americans do with theirs ; which is to say they do nothing, and on purpose too !)
For me the yard is what I really want. Being able to grow fruits and veggies and attract birds and pollinators is my jam. I think my family could live quite happily with basically a bedroom attached to a big kitchen. But I don’t think I could forfeit the yard.
This is my problem. I essentially want a suburban-sized lot, cause I would make use of every inch of it. I really dont want to live surrounded by 1000 other identical lots full of people who just want to have a big patch of non-native turf grass that they are going to complain about in the rare event that I see them actually outside of their house.
I think there are a hell of a lot of people who would actually be happier in just a roomier condo or townhouse if they: 1) had ever lived in one that wasn't just the cheapest possible student housing, and 2) they weren't conditioned to believe that a single family detached home is the only place that a non-poor person should live.
I have the best of both worlds: small house in a car-based community. Sigh.
Hyperindividualism and apparent institutionalized agoraphobia.
My agoraphobia comes from a lifetime of being bullied by people so I don’t like people. I like my small house and small suburban backyard that I grow vegetables and have chickens in.
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I don't necessarily want a big house but I do want space for a workshop where I can build/fix furniture and such and a garden where I can sit outside and chill by myself. I don't see how I could have those things living in an apartment.
Moot point though. I doubt I'll ever be able to afford a house. Let alone a nice one.
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Why not both?
Big yard
Small town
Everything you need in the town centre
Bus going around every 30 minutes
Good enough for me
When I started writing this post I thought
I would only write two or three
Lines
And now this format has proven
Inefficient
Doesn't work if the small town is one gigantic stroad of abandoned or soon to fail local shops, that cuts the town in half. And the only flanking businesses are corporate mega chains that asphyxiate the local economy. Which are like 90% of small towns™ in the USA.
I think that it is because many Americans have no experience with the other as a lifestyle.
It’s even the basic things, like sidewalks. If you never use a sidewalk, why waste money on them? I have neighbors who never clear their snow because “no one uses the sidewalks) (despite all the footprints from people who do). There are too many places without sidewalks and no one cares.
Then of course, the effing cars. In the last few years of more frequent walking places
- I’ve almost gotten hit by someone cutting a corner across the sidewalk
- I’ve almost gotten hit many times bu cars ignoring the crossing signal
- I’ve almost gotten hit many times by cars pulling up fast to a red light and into the crosswalk
- I’ve almost gotten hit many times by cars taking “right on red” without stopping (legally require) or looking around the corner
- almost every time I walk somewhere is inconvenienced by someone parking on the sidewalk
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I believe walking is such an alien concept that they’re just not aware of issues like these
I’ve had it both ways, and I was never happier than when I was living in Brooklyn, with access to excellent public transit and lots of walking-distance community support.
And, believe it, or not, my cost of living was half the price to living in Orlando, with a car. Also, I made more when living in Brooklyn. also, Orlando sucks.
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I would guess that many people have never lived in a good, dense, location. My parents would vote for farther apart, but when they think of the city they think of The Warriors
It'd be interesting to poll only people who have lived in a variety of places.
I grew up in a car-focused suburb and never want to go back.
Yeah the very idea of a non-car based community is so far removed from most Americans’ brains that they think they’d have to walk 10 miles through snow or ride “dangerous, unpredictable public transit” just to get groceries. I happen to live somewhere with a nice little “downtown ish” area. There’s just one line of blocks that’s got most everything you’d need: grocery store, post office, library, some restaurants/bars. My only complain is that there’s only like 2 or 3 little apartment complexes within a 10 min walk. Everything else is houses
I'd say most people move out of the city into a big house because the land value and house is much more affordable than close to the city. However the lower price is then offset by the extra travel time to and from work, costs for car, petrol and maintenance.
In the end you don't really save any money, you just spend it on either car and time or land value.
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Rigged question: would you rather live in a big house or an apartment? Obviously people will choose a big house duuuh
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Well, it is a country famous for being stupid and selfish and celebrating both...
I prefer a 80m2 apartment in a walking/public transport based community tyvm.
Many places in the us, apartments are built in such a way where the come with all the negatives, but also without many of the upsides that apartments should have.
I know several people who live in apartments, but there still isn't anywhere to walk to anyways!
Sure you might be able to, but if it requires crossing 80m of asphalt just to cross a street no one is going to do it.
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Well 40 % of Americans are still supporting Trump as per latest polls.
Maybe decades of lead exposure in childhood are just not ideal for the development of a reasonable population in a country.
The poetry in this is that said lead exposure largely came from... cars.
I don't understand it. Good public transit, a townhouse of an appropriate size, and most of what I need in walking distance would be amazing. Yeah I may still want a car, but I'd have to seriously ask myself if it's worth the cost
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