My first reaction to this is, why do you even need a storage unit, just get rid of some stuff? But my second is.. I actually understand in terms of a two bedroom condo, with two kids, and a couple, it could be a pretty hectic life. I am all for city living, and mostly all against suburban living, but I'm not planning to have a huge family, and I believe that supplementing a public school education with in home expectations and work would be good enough for my child, but I understand her point. It makes me realize how much people have come to expect from the city, and the limitations of just saying "why not live in the city?" A lot of people want to live in the city, and just think that they can't. It would be a hard, and more expensive life... but it is possible, as this woman shows, even better in some ways. She has networked with other pregnant women in her building and has found a morning pregnancy exercise class and loves the new friends she makes while pregnant in the city. But the inevitability of moving to the suburbs is something many parents are facing today with poor schools, expensive life, and too much stuff. Maybe to stop the suburbs we should be focusing on bringing the elements of the suburbs that the people need or want into the cities, instead of just deciding that these people have a problem for wanting to live in the suburbs. Their priorities are just different than mine... and we need to figure out how to help the city meet these priorities. Thursday, July 21, 2011
Parenting
In class recently we had a lot of discussions about suburbia, and why people move out there. I am an urban planning student, so that is sorta expected, I mean, we at least have to cover suburbia! And a lot of students have some really strong points, BUT I read this article in the Chicago Tribune about a woman who loves the city, and loves everything that the city provides.... and is pregnant. She and her husband can afford a two bedroom condo, and can afford to store all of their stuff that they can't keep in their condo in a storage unit, for now, but are afraid they will have to move to the suburbs when they decide to have a second child. My first reaction to this is, why do you even need a storage unit, just get rid of some stuff? But my second is.. I actually understand in terms of a two bedroom condo, with two kids, and a couple, it could be a pretty hectic life. I am all for city living, and mostly all against suburban living, but I'm not planning to have a huge family, and I believe that supplementing a public school education with in home expectations and work would be good enough for my child, but I understand her point. It makes me realize how much people have come to expect from the city, and the limitations of just saying "why not live in the city?" A lot of people want to live in the city, and just think that they can't. It would be a hard, and more expensive life... but it is possible, as this woman shows, even better in some ways. She has networked with other pregnant women in her building and has found a morning pregnancy exercise class and loves the new friends she makes while pregnant in the city. But the inevitability of moving to the suburbs is something many parents are facing today with poor schools, expensive life, and too much stuff. Maybe to stop the suburbs we should be focusing on bringing the elements of the suburbs that the people need or want into the cities, instead of just deciding that these people have a problem for wanting to live in the suburbs. Their priorities are just different than mine... and we need to figure out how to help the city meet these priorities.
My first reaction to this is, why do you even need a storage unit, just get rid of some stuff? But my second is.. I actually understand in terms of a two bedroom condo, with two kids, and a couple, it could be a pretty hectic life. I am all for city living, and mostly all against suburban living, but I'm not planning to have a huge family, and I believe that supplementing a public school education with in home expectations and work would be good enough for my child, but I understand her point. It makes me realize how much people have come to expect from the city, and the limitations of just saying "why not live in the city?" A lot of people want to live in the city, and just think that they can't. It would be a hard, and more expensive life... but it is possible, as this woman shows, even better in some ways. She has networked with other pregnant women in her building and has found a morning pregnancy exercise class and loves the new friends she makes while pregnant in the city. But the inevitability of moving to the suburbs is something many parents are facing today with poor schools, expensive life, and too much stuff. Maybe to stop the suburbs we should be focusing on bringing the elements of the suburbs that the people need or want into the cities, instead of just deciding that these people have a problem for wanting to live in the suburbs. Their priorities are just different than mine... and we need to figure out how to help the city meet these priorities. 
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Funny, Mint.com blogged about similar theme on same day - http://www.mint.com/blog/saving/paying-rent-for-your-junk-how-to-quit-the-self-storage-habit/
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