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Originally Posted by the urban politician
Probably one of the few authentic experiences of childhood in multi family housing posted here.
The rest is mostly over-romanticized notions from a bunch of adults who think cities are far richer places (For children) than they really are.
Truth is, nowadays the suburbs aren’t what they were in 1970. They are diverse (in both viewpoints and ethnicities, unlike center cities which are mostly politically uniform), they offer a vast diversity of experiences, they obviously are more spacious as well. I’m not sure what my kids are losing by not living in Lincoln Square, for example. This is more about making adults happy, I don’t think the kids really care about being able to walk to the local bank, for example.
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My in-laws and their 2 pre-teen kids recently moved to my neighborhood in North Buffalo into 1 floor of a double, after living in an older SFH in Dallas.
Unlike Dallas, here the kids have a level of "free-range" that they never had before, and which basically didn't exist where they lived in Dallas. Here they safely and unescorted ride their bikes around the area, including to shops on the main business drag. They have a bigger (shared) yard than they did in Dallas, and their bedrooms are of comparable size. In Dallas, they were basically home bound because it never felt "safe" and there were really no places to go nearby. On their first visit to one of the local candy stores, they said in amazement that they had heard of such places, but didn't know they really existed. Now they can just take their own money and go on their own.
They are currently enrolled in a local private Catholic school, primarily because they missed registration deadlines for their preferred magnet/charter schools in the district for this year, and weren't yet comfortable putting kids into the public elementary, mainly due to COVID and unfamiliarity.
Yes, it has made their parents happy because their kids are happier. They are also happy because basically everything they need (school, shopping, etc) is within walking distance or a 5 to 10 minute car ride.