Lets say pay was the same and magically commute was the same too. You would choose a literal pod over half an acre only 75 miles away?
Insane. Enjoy your pod. And all the crime too.
Insane. Enjoy your pod. And all the crime too.
Maybe it is not the lifestyle for you, but I don't find it "insane" to want to have plenty of stuff available at walking distance. And you can't have that without high population density and yeah "pods".
> You don't need half an acre to sleep.
Where do I put my vegetable garden and fruit trees?
How can I relax on my back porch listening to the birds and creek?
How do I get away from all the hustle and bustle of dense city living?
> plenty of stuff available at walking distance. And you can't have that without high population density and yeah "pods".
Exhaust, brake dust, sirens, litter, concrete jungle, noisy neighbors with thin walls, massive crowds/traffic... there are tradeoffs to living in a dense city.
I think the Pareto optimal living conditions in the US today are the suburbs bordering the rural outskirts. Especially now with WFH prevalence.
Some cities provide shared gardens, but it is a niche thing.
> How can I relax on my back porch listening to the birds and creek?
Most cities have parks.
> How do I get away from all the hustle and bustle of dense city living?
You go to the countryside.
But sure, if you like these things, maybe living in a city is not the best. The thing is that there are solutions. In the same way that if you live in the countryside, you can still go to cultural and sport events, fancy restaurants and bars, but it will take a trip, and you also have to consider that driving and drinking is not great. If you love these things, maybe you should live in a city instead.
I am not a fan of suburbs as there is essentially nothing you can do without driving. For me, it would be my last choice, as it tends to be expensive compared to the countryside, and not as calm. An intermediate choice that can make sense, but not a Pareto optimal.
Half an acre in the middle of nowhere, where you need to drive everywhere or a pod in walkable distance to everything you need, all services and entertainment?
The answer depends on your lifestyle.
I grew up in a rural area, with a decent-sized house and garden, surrounded by nature. It had its pros and cons. I’ve now spent a couple of decades living in large cities, and I love it. I personally don’t need all that private space, I enjoy having many people from all over the world around me and the endless options for culture, food and entertainment. When I get older still, my priorities may change again, or maybe they won’t.
I don’t think you’re insane for making other choices than I have, but you seem to lack both imagination and empathy if you can’t wrap your head around why not everyone feels the way you do.
HN is largely comprised of people who are disproportionate beneficiaries of modern society, so its not a surprise that people here develop a pathological ideology that goes as far as valuing the trappings of modern society. It is like in Huxley, the purpose of soma and orgy porgies are to keep people from noticing how fucked up their world is. It is fucked up to live inside pods stacked and crammed up to the clouds - so what is the soma?
All the "vibrant" amenities available in the city. But why would you want to work on a laptop in a cafe when you can work on a quad monitor in underwear looking out over your own literal fiefdom? The amenities are substitutes not the real thing. You shouldn't be fooled.
I will say that Canadian suburbia (at least Vancouver area) is subtly different from US suburbia in a way that makes it vastly more livable. My parents house is right next to a river trail with mostly ungroomed foliage, still somewhat walkable for groceries and restaurants, and has passable public transit.
Obviously that would be nice, but not even HNers are rich enough to build rural villas in city centres.
I have an acre and maintaining it's quite a nice alternative to computers and screen based entertainment. It's just another form of exercise basically.
I gladly pay a lot of money to be in the center of things
Living in the city is optimizing for time, not space.
Yes there are people who live in houses in or near the city. Most people live in pods. We're talking about the "influx of young ambitious people" remember?
At the very least, even if you can afford it, to own a home in the city for most people means putting off FIRE which I think is poor decision making.