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Comment by happyslobro | Hacker News Reader

I think that the real problem is that so many people are trying to concentrate into the densest areas. That creates huge pressures, which are reflected in the price of space.

Take a look at the cities with populations below 100K. You will find lots of people who live great lives, despite not being rich. For those of us who grew up in these little island towns, living in a place like Vancouver is downright depressing, regardless of the price.

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I used to think you had to live in an "it" city to make it. Then I realized that I could make my life whatever I wanted to be more easily in a less expensive place. The chains were in my head.

Can I ask what you do for a living?

I write software.

Yes, until you have a family. Then suddenly you need a good school nearby (and good luck bringing children to school in car if they have serious case of motion sickness).

> good luck bringing children to school in car if they have serious case of motion sickness

That's maybe the worst excuse I've ever heard.

At least it's the worst for the last... 3 years probably.

I walked to school back when I was in elementary school. In grade 2, my mother confirmed that I remembered the stranger rules, and stopped walking with me. It was about a 2km walk.

Why is it ok for this to not be the norm? Why do people just accept that their kids are growing up in a city where they can't be allowed to explore their environment?

I've lived on both sides of the fence. I cover much more ground living in the city then I ever did living in the country or suburbs. I drive 1-2 times a month now compared to 2-3 time a day living outside the city. In my experience the city inspires a lot more exploration. My daughter is all over Toronto on a daily basis.

"Stranger rules" are a net negative, in my opinion. The threat from strangers is overblown--if you want to minimize danger to your kids at the all costs, don't let them see relatives, ever.

Canadian small towns of 100-300k have good schools. Most of Canada lacks much of any kind of ghetto area. The few ghetto areas that exist are pretty easy to avoid. The good school worries that exist in the USA are pretty much nonexistent in Canada.

Especially if you have a family, too big cities are a cr*ppy selfish choice of parents. kids will have plenty of time to go super urban in their adulthood if that is what they want. As a kid I always felt sorry for kids from big/capital cities, out of touch from nature, far more exposed to stressful fast-paced life. The gap when meeting some was stunning (but this is obviously my super-anecdotal experience).

And yet the other day there was an article on here about Canada's issue hiring high tech workers.

The thread was filled with a ton of programmers that left Toronto / Canada to go to Silicon Valley because the wages are so much higher.

Yeah I'm going to make probably less than half of what someone in Silicon Valley can make but living in a medium sized Canadian city means my cost of living is obviously much lower.

Those sorts of cities don't generally have large apartment blocks so you don't get the benefits of density.

So more space for less money? Lack of large apartment blocks or density isn't what I'd call a downside.

I like having everything I need inside a 10 minute walk. If it weren't for work I'd very rarely go outside of this 1Km radius. To do that you need large apartment blocks.

What you need, is a bicycle.

But aside from that, small towns often have a more thorough mixing of zone types; you can often live within walking distance of work or school and a small grocery store.

> bicycle

> Canada

That's great, except for the 7 or so months out of the year when it's not.

If flukus prefers dense areas that's his deal... arguing about preferences is dumb.

What's wrong with riding in the winter? You have to make sure you have the right clothing and equipment, but that's about it.

We tend to get quite a bit of snow in Canada, and it is pretty cold. I'm not sure if riding in the winter is common elsewhere but where I live in Canada I don't ever see cyclists in the winter.

I live in Boston, and while it isn't Canada, it can get quite cold in the winter. Plenty of people here, I included, bike in the winter. As long as you wear the right clothes have low-temperature lubricants and winter tires on your bike, winter biking isn't that big of an issue. If anything it's better than summer biking because I don't get as hot or sweat as much. Mud season is far worse for biking, but it last only a month or so if that.

Where I live it is unsafe for multiple reasons. Almost no one does it.

and for those of us used to living in cities, living in the middle of nowhere sounds horrendous.

Everyone has their tradeoffs and priorities. Decades ago, it was common for new finance grads to get a tiny, poorly lit, crappy apartment in Manhattan because they couldn't imagine living in Queens much less New Jersey--or even somewhere other than the New York area entirely.

Today that's probably still true but add the walkable core areas of a variety of other US mostly coastal cities. The Bay area is something of an exception but housing prices go down a lot as you get an hour away from most of those cities (which isn't exactly the middle of nowhere).

Just wait until you see the Milky Way stretching across the night sky. Or get a call from friends to take the Jeeps up the mountain. Or jump into a cool river on a hot day, and float a few kilometres downstream without encountering anyone who cares about the cooler of beers floating along with you.

I can drive out of the city, you know...

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