The Grass is Always Greener

While this topic hits home for a lot of us in class I did not grow up in suburbia but rather an area much more rural. Weirdly enough, when I was younger I actually longed to live in an area where my friends and neighbors were in a much closer proximity. In my mind the suburbs exhibited this kind of community that I had always really wanted. He never vocalized it but I guess my brother wanted the same because he now lives in a house made out of ticky-tacky in a town just outside of Charleston and loves it. Perhaps the same fate might have befallen me if I had chosen another profession instead of architecture where the history and theory classes have given me a distain for such development and the lifestyle it creates.

Suburbs aren’t the monsters that every architecture professor makes them out to be. My brother and his wife seem to love their living situation and there is nothing special or unique about it compared to any other suburb. Living in a particular place cannot solve someone’s pursuit of happiness. That is to say, people will be people wherever they live and the grass will always be greener somewhere else.

I will say that Suburbia and urban sprawl is in no way a sustainable way of living but lets not trounce the idea with accusations that living in these areas makes people unhappy or is any less noble than living in a city. Moderation is key, in suburbia, as it is with everything in life and personally I think the best answer to my personal preference lies somewhere in the middle of the city and suburbia.

Area where I grew up

Area where my brother lives

Area where I am soon to be living