As a person who has lived in suburbs most of her life (aside from 4 years of city life) I appreciate what a suburb is and means. I understand that the idea is repulsive to many, and I wouldn't even consider for a second getting a tract house with a nice little yard until I'm in my 30's. But there is a time and a place for suburban life- the time in particular being "family time" either as a child or as a parent. To me suburbs are a place where a family can grow. To repeat my example from last week's email, a couple with a young child can buy a house that they can't quite afford and work hard to save enough for that attic conversion or bathroom remodel. As the family grows and changes, so the house and the neighborhood do too.
This leads into my other association with the suburbs that doesn't seem to be supported by many others people. Waldie especially harps on the stagnance of the suburbs. Nothing ever really happens in Lakewood, and when something changes it is not for the better. Every identical street is lined with identical houses. This is not how I see it (although maybe Lakewood really is like that). Every house holds a story, every street has a personality. Every person is unique and the people of the neighborhood mesh and mingle to create a community. Someone living in the suburbs can consider their neighborhood, and in some cases their street in particular, part of who they are, part of their social structure. I feel like ever street has a unique story created by the people who have lived there and given it character, rather than the suburbs being a sea of bland homogeny. Although the houses and streets look similar on the outside, what they hold within is distinct.
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Your experience of the suburbs seems much more idyllic than mine...I feel that the suburb I grew up in lacked the strong sense of community that I value. For the most part, people didn't mingle in the streets, know their neighbors except for maybe their names and occupations and number of children, if applicable. I wonder what factors influenced these differences of experience? Perhaps we can brainstorm as a group?
Thinking of the neighborhoods back home, each one does have unique character. However, I think as an outsider looking in, one could see the homogeny and loose sight of the individual.
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