Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias
Living in the very core might actually become more popular if businesses don't decamp to the suburbs. After all, living downtown in Chicago means you can walk to work and avoid public transit. But we'll see, I don't know what to expect in the midterm. People who hate being cooped up aren't likely to enjoy living in the suburbs. In the long term, the research into universal vaccines may bear fruit in 10-20 years. At that point, if society hasn't collapsed, What will the impact be for cities?
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To the contrary, I think the suburbs are highly desirable right now.
While in normal times I will always prefer dense and walkable urban environments, right now I am better off in sprawl. Easy to isolate. When traveling by car you are never exposed to anybody.
But more pertinent—everything that I love about city living has vaporized with stay at home orders and social distancing. Other than going for strolls, there’s no destination! No bars, no restaurants, so many neat shops are closed. Festivals are all canceled, you can’t enjoy the lakefront, you can’t visit the river walk, riding trains has begun to spook people, etc.
I mean, why pay the higher rents for city living if you can’t enjoy it? Might was well live in the burns and drive around on relatively low traffic roads with low gas prices. We go on bike rides, walk around our neighborhood, and have been grilling on our deck almost every week. I’ve become somewhat of a connoisseur of grilling steaks at home.