Why city dwellers are seeking out second homes in the suburbs

[Pedestrian]

By Sara Clemence
July 18

Kylie Pak, the 42-year-old owner of real estate investing company RedBrick Properties, loves living in Richmond. She and her husband eat out at restaurants most nights, and thrive on the youthful energy around Virginia Commonwealth University.

Every other week, they escape to their second home — not at the beach or deep in the countryside, but 30 minutes away, in the bedroom community of Midlothian.

It’s an arrangement that’s allowed the blended family to have the best of both types of living, Pak says. She and her husband reside in the suburbs on the weeks they have their kids.

“Our children attend wonderful schools in the suburbs and play basketball in the cul-de-sac,” she says, “without us having to completely give up the convenience and culture of the city.”

It used to seem like an either or choice: Live in the city or decamp to the suburbs. If you chose the urban experience, you might eventually — if you could afford it — escape from the noise and crowds by buying a house at the beach or in the countryside.

But a number of city dwellers are instead seeking out second homes in the suburbs. Though nobody appears to be keeping statistics of how many people are doing it, some industry insiders say it’s increasingly common — and not just in megacities such as New York and Los Angeles, but also Chicago, Seattle and even smaller centers.

“There’s a lot of people that really like to be close to work but then come out to the burbs just to get a little bit of relaxation,” says Dawn McKenna, founder of the Dawn McKenna Group, a Chicago-area real estate agency. “Where you can inhale and exhale — but you don’t want to spend too much time because you want to get back with the action.”

Families who are straddling city and suburbs say they reap plenty of benefits. Some want an easier way to escape; others like the dual lifestyles. In suburbia, they get many of the pleasures of being in rural or resort areas — including space and fresh air — along with the resources that come with being among full-time residents. Restaurants and stores are within easy reach; kids can join weekend sports teams . . . .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/reale...=.a1f4b40920c9

In many ways, this is what I'm doing except my "suburb" is 950 miles from my city and the back/forth is more of a seasonal than a weekly thing plus the "suburb" has a better climate the half year I choose to spend there while the city has the better climate the half I spend THERE.