What's your living preference - Urban, Suburban or Rural?

[USAFA2008]

I'm in the Ellicott City/Columbia area now. The traffic out here is less dense than in DC, but I think the drivers are a little more aggressive, too. There just isn't enough room in downtown DC to be aggressive.

This afternoon, I walked to the mailbox to drop off a couple Christmas cards and noticed that people here (at least in the cold) were walking for exactly two reasons: to work out, and to walk their dogs. In DC, you can walk to work out, walk the dog, take packages to the main post office, get groceries, have dinner, see a movie, go to the baseball game, attend meetups, go to school, watch the fireworks, stage protests, buy furniture, get married, get divorced... you name it, you can probably do it without using your car.

I know that area! I have family living in the DC Area from Annapolis all the way down to Fredericksburg. I don't mind the area but I prefer something more rural since I can't stand the traffic. As I said previously I grew up living in urban and suburban areas and I did enjoy the public transportation in the urban areas. I am stationed in England and if I could get by without my truck and my wife's car they would be gone. However we work at separate bases and have unpredictable schedules so that rules out relying on public transportation.

Yup, pretty much.

If I were still single, I'd still be in my efficiency condo on the Hill.

But, out here, the wife is happier. Closer to the Korean grocery stores, closer to other shopping in general (Columbia Mall and Arundel Mills don't require a half-day trip anymore), driving is simpler, hardly any late-night sirens nearby, no alcohol-fueled couple breakups at 1 AM from the bars down the block, and we can afford a two-bed, two-bath condo nearly four times the size of the old efficiency.

Yeah, she's happier, and that's what counts.

They say a happy wife is a happy life! How is Maryland Live Casino?

 

[jeyf]

American urban areas are becoming land locked. Only way for them to grow is UP. Unless you want to sprawl out to the suburbs.

We bought city property in 2010. I dont think we could afford today's prices that much.