FYI, this blurb was in the "Informed Reader" section of today's Wall Street Journal. Can anyone scrounge up the Money Magazine article that is referenced? Your thoughts on the summary below?
-Pavers
Affordable Suburbs Still Outdraw Hip Cities
• MONEY -- AUGUST issue
Despite an influential theory that cities can reverse sinking fortunes by becoming hip magnets for the educated class, the stolid and uncool appeal of the suburbs still rules in the U.S., writes Joel Kotkin.
The belief that cities have to create a cultural hub to attract educated workers has gained favor in recent years, embodied by Richard Florida's 2002 book, "The Rise of the Creative Class." As a result, many cities now boast of their jazz clubs, art museums and new cultural centers, where once they talked up their middle-class neighborhoods, high-rise office buildings and churches.
But Mr. Kotkin, who has written widely on economic-development issues, says research carried out by the consulting firm where he works has shown that educated professionals who are drawn to the urban areas of San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles and New York in their 20s still seek more affordable markets typified by the suburbs of Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta by the time they reach their 30s and have children. That's why job growth in the urban cores of New York and San Francisco has been weaker than in the Sun Belt, which has drawn corporations and families with its relatively low property prices.
Surveys also show that, contrary to the "American Beauty" stereotype of suburban isolation, people feel suburbia provides a strong community life. A study by Temple University found that suburbanites around Philadelphia were more likely to consider their neighborhoods "home" than city dwellers.
While the urban core of Portland, Ore., has been viewed as a strong draw for educated workers, more than 95% of greater Portland's population growth has taken place outside city limits since 2000, says Mr. Kotkin. Talented professionals, he says, follow "cohesive neighborhoods, home ownership, good schools, recreation and proximity to jobs."
I would prefer to live in an urban enviroment than in the suburbs. But than again, I am in my 20's. Check back in 3 years.
There's nothing new here that hasn't been already happening for decades. I'm now in my 30s (30 to be exact) and my opinion has always been that it has more to do with "affordability" and "cost of living" than anything else. Its one thing to be a single professional taking care of only yourself in the city, and another to be the provider of a family of four. In most cases, people are going to attempt to live within their budget and home prices play a huge role in that decision.