Suburbia in the City? Pros and Cons to Bringing Suburban Life to Urban Areas.

suburbia in the city

I recently read a New York Times opinion article about the trend to have suburbia in the city. It caught my eye specifically because it highlighted changes in San Francisco, which is where I live. I live here because I love the city, with all of its pros and cons. I don’t enjoy spending time in the suburbs, so naturally, I’m a bit skeptical about this trend.

What Does It Mean to Have Suburbia in the City?

Before I read the article, my mind immediately drifted to the store Target. I moved to San Francisco about fourteen years ago. When I did, there was no Target in the city. We had a Best Buy and a few other similar large chain stores – mostly out of the way in areas that I didn’t typically walk around. But then Target came in.

I hated it at the time. I still don’t really shop there much, although I admit I’ve been in a time or two to pick things up because it’s convenient. But increasingly I see chain stores here and there. My own street of mostly local restaurants now has a few big names you’d recognize if you’d traveled here from somewhere else.

I don’t like it. If that’s what it means to have suburbia in the city, I’ll pass. After all, if I wanted that cookie-cutter life, I’d certainly prefer to pay far less than city rents to have it. One of the key points in the article is that those people who do decide they want suburbia in the city will pay a pretty penny for it. It’s not as cheap as actually moving to the suburbs.

Bringing in the Good Parts of the Suburbs

The article does mention those chain stores. It highlights the fact that people used to flee the cities for the suburbs in order to start families. Now they don’t. So perhaps they want some of those creature comforts – those familiar foods, those familiar stores. But that’s not the thrust of it. What it seems the article wants to highlight is that there is a way of life in the suburbs that people yearn for in the city.

It specifically mentions The Landing apartment building, in which residences are clustered around yards. Ah, yards. Yes, we don’t have too many of those in the cities. Having a dog myself, I can see why there are people who long for the yards of the suburbs. Personally, I’m okay with visiting the local parks every day. But a yard does sound appealing. You can grow vegetables in The Landing’s planter boxes and rest on their hammocks. I get the appeal in that.

What People Want is Connection

What I realized in reading the article is that it’s not really about suburbia in the city at all. It’s about connection.

Historically, people may have found a strong sense of connection and community in the suburbs. All of the kids would run from house to house to play with their friends. The cul-de-sac was a safe spot for football games. Neighbors joined one another for big backyard barbecues.

To be honest, I never experienced that living in suburbs or smaller cities. I have always found those places to be isolated. People seem to stay in their own yards, in their own cars. I, personally, have found so much more connection in the city, where I walk or ride the bus, visit the park, and talk to strangers.

But I can certainly see how the city can feel disconnected for people. If you’re walking with your headphones on then you’re not connecting with people. And so, I can see the appeal of The Landing, which is really all about creating community in your own little part of the city. You get to connect with your neighbors. If you can do that while lounging in a hammock, that sounds wonderful (although I question how many days per year the weather in San Francisco is really hammock weather.)

So, I think suburbia in the city could be good or bad – depending on what it means. When it creates connection and adds a little convenience, great. When it makes a city look like every other place in the world, I draw the line.

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Time Freedom: Embracing an Abundance Mindset for A Better Quality of Life

time freedom

One of my favorite things about my life is the time freedom that I have. I worked hard to be independently-employed. The money I earn is nice but it’s simply a means to an end. The structure of this kind of work affords me the opportunity to define how I spend my time. Recently, I’ve been reading a book about abundance that allows me to take this to the next level.

What is Time Freedom?

Time freedom is really a very simple concept. It’s the ability to define how, where, and with whom you would like to spend your time. It is the cornerstone of why I love working freelance instead of 9-5.

Time freedom doesn’t mean that I don’t work. It means that I do work that I enjoy. More importantly, I’m able to adapt my work to a schedule that allows me to maximize my time. I’m able to do all of the things that I want to do in a day including my work.

The Fear of Scarcity Reduces Time Freedom

One of the traps that I’ve fallen into over the years is that of reducing my own time because of scarcity fears. I worry that I’m not going to make enough money. Therefore I devote more hours to work than is healthy. If I’m passionate about a project and really involved in it, then that’s different. However, if I’m driving myself to the brink of exhaustion because I want to earn more money, then I’m eating away into my own time freedom.

Embracing Abundance

Recently I’ve been reading The Abundance Project by Derek Rydall. The gist of his belief system is that we all have exactly what we need within us. In order to experience abundance, we merely need to recognize this fact.

Of course, he goes into a multi-step approach to practically realizing abundance. The main point, however, is that changing your perception from one of scarcity to one of abundance makes all of the difference in your life.

This makes perfect sense when it comes to time freedom. When I am in a scarcity mindset, afraid not to earn enough, I overwork. I don’t give myself the balance that I need. On the other hand, when I am in an abundance mindset, I balance everything better. I still give time to work. However, I use my time freedom to make sure to enjoy my other priorities as well.

Giving Time to What Really Matters

Abundance means so much more than just having more-than-enough money. In fact, to embrace an abundant lifestyle means digging deeper into core values. Money helps, and certainly aiming for an abundance of money is fine. However, when you look at what you really value, you realize that you need much more than money. Some of the things I personally value include:

  • Long walks with my dog
  • In-person chats with my friends
  • Attending performance art and other events in my city
  • Connecting regularly with my siblings
  • Spending time each day reading and writing
  • Creating art of various kinds

These are just a few of the things I want to focus on. Earning money isn’t on the list, though it’s necessary. In order to have these things, what I really need is time freedom. When I recognize how important it is to give my time to those things, I loosen up on a work focus. As a result, I more thoroughly enjoy each day of my life.

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Best Places to Retire Depending On Who You Are

best places to retire

I’ve been looking at some recent lists of the best places to retire. They aren’t bad options. However, I think retirement locations really depend on the individual. No matter how cost-friendly it is, a place isn’t the right place if you don’t love it. After all, you’ve worked your whole life to reach retirement; you should definitely love where you live in those later years! Luckily, the lists do tend to reflect a variety of options for people with different lifestyles.

Retiring on the West Coast Requires Money

Forbes recently came out with their 2019 annual list of the 25 best places to retire. They specifically note that you’re not going to find many options in the Northeast or anywhere on the West Coast. That’s because affordability is one of the main factors that they take into consideration when ranking this list. Yes, the West Coast can be very expensive. If you want to retire in a place like the San Francisco Bay Area then you need to have a decent amount of money in the bank.

That said, I love San Francisco. I love living here. In fact, I really don’t want to live anywhere else. Will I be able to retire in San Francisco? I don’t know. I’m working towards it. But even if I can’t, chances are that I’ll want to stay somewhere on the West Coast. It’s the way of life that I prefer, even if I have to sacrifice financially in other ways to make it happens. Therefore, these lists of the best places to retire often exclude the very places I want to live.

Variety in Options of Best Places to Retire

Although the list excludes much of the West Coast, it does offer a lot of variety in other ways. The 25 cities they claim are the best places to retire range in population from 8000 (Brevard, North Carolina) to 1.5 million (San Antonio, Texas). While that excludes the largest cities in the US, it does offer a decent range for people to choose from. There’s also a range in median home price from $135,000 (Savannah, Georgia) to $297,000 (Wenatchee, Washington). That’s not a huge range but it reflects the opportunity to choose from different living styles. Whereas most cities listed are in warm locations, there are a few cities for those who think the best places to retire have many months of snow.

US News offers even more variety in their report. They include 100 best places to retire. These are generally larger cities than those on the Forbes list. Population ranges from 500,000 in Santa Rosa, CA (a West Coast option!) to the many millions of New York City (which actually ranks #16 on this list of best places to retire.) The difference between these two lists really highlights that people seek many different things when it comes to retirement and therefore it’s not easy to rank cities this way at all.

You Don’t Have to Retire in the US

Of course, these lists all offer options in the United States. However, you don’t have to retire in the US at all. If you’re adventurous, have family elsewhere, or just want to spend your later years somewhere new, then you might consider retiring abroad. US News has listed the ten best places to retire in Latin America, and many of the cities on that list hold broad appeal. So, if you’re looking towards retirement, don’t just rely on lists or what others have to say. Really think about who you are, what you want, and what’s realistic for you in your later years.

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