Do you live in the city you were born/raised in?

[JManc]

Originally Posted by benp

Yes. I currently live in the same 2-family double in the city that I grew up in, and that my mother, uncle, and grandparents also lived in before she married my father.

After college I moved away for 30+ years, moved up the food chain in Houston, returned to escape the heat when I was able to, and have since updated the house accordingly. Everything I really need is within walking distance, I have a garage and small yard with vegetable garden, converted attic, full basement with a workshop, and right now we are sitting on the upstairs front porch enjoying coffee.

Although I lived in bigger and more expensive houses in Houston, city and suburbs (including 12 years in one of the "best" city neighborhoods), I felt that it was in Houston I made the compromises - job/salary versus climate/lifestyle. I would lose my mind if I was still in Houston and quarantined in the heat and humidity.

Actually, we've been pretty lucky this spring; weather has been pleasant. A few humid days here and there by most days remind me of the summers back up in NY. Wife and I done a lot of gardening over the past few weeks.

[benp]

Originally Posted by JManc

Actually, we've been pretty lucky this spring; weather has been pleasant. A few humid days here and there by most days remind me of the summers back up in NY. Wife and I done a lot of gardening over the past few weeks.

I broke a sweat yesterday breaking up sod, and it was 64 degrees. I don't know how I ever survived Houston.

Today it is again in the mid 60s, and people are out walking everywhere, most in masks and all maintaining their distance. Fruit trees are blossoming, tulips are blooming, buds on the maple trees have opened up and leaves are appearing. Although there are fewer people here in the city than when I lived here 30+ years ago, it has become a much cleaner and better place to be than in the past.

There is the expression "you can't go home again" but the place I grew up is now a better place, so in a sense it is now a "new" home.

We walked around the Outer Harbor early this morning and there were hundreds of people out on the paths, which was nothing but mainly abandoned or run-down industrial areas even 10 years ago. They have made the city parks car-free to prevent overcrowding, and there are families and couple walking through the neighborhoods and the parks. The city has always been an incredibly busy place in the summer, filled with walkers, and it will be interesting how this will all work out as summer approaches.

I think that there are many other cities that people moved away from that have gotten "better" in many ways since they left. Often, the people who have left have no idea of the changes that occurred, or in some cases don't believe or understand what has happened. Their minds and views may be frozen in time.

[10023]

Originally Posted by isaidso

^^ Were you raised in Wisconsin?

Mostly North Side of Chicago and Evanston. I went to college in Madison.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by benp

I think that there are many other cities that people moved away from that have gotten "better" in many ways since they left. Often, the people who have left have no idea of the changes that occurred, or in some cases don't believe or understand what has happened. Their minds and views may be frozen in time.

I'm from Utica which was on a long downhill slide when I left in the 90's but within the past 5 years, it has rebounded somewhat. I go back up at least once or twice a year and I do miss it but don't think I could do the snow and ice again. Or live in a smaller town. Wish I could buy some property further north near the ADK's.

[hauntedheadnc]

More or less. I currently live seven miles away from the hospital where I was born. The furthest I've ever lived away from that hospitals is fourteen miles.

[Bailey]

Yes,
Born in Houston
Went to school in Houston
Live in Houston (Inner Loop)
Work in Houston and have actually worked on some very high profile projects in other American cities....from Houston.

I've never had a single reason to permantely leave. Too much synergy happening here as it continues to move up the ladder of World Class Cities!

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Nope

Born in Knoxville, TN
Moved to, and raised in, Decatur, AL (N. Alabama)
Moved to Tuscaloosa, AL for school
Moved to Birmingham, AL where I currently live

Actually, no one in my immediate family lives in the same place they were born.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by 10023

Mostly North Side of Chicago and Evanston. I went to college in Madison.

I've long wanted to ask. I thought that might be a University of Wisconsin Badger but wasn't 100% sure.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Well, for starters, we don't live in some small downtown highrise condo, we live in a city neighborhood in a large 2-floor condo unit in a Chicago 3-flat on a quiet tree-lined residential side street. We certainly don't live in the epicenter of the action, but our neighborhood still gives us plenty of stuff to walk to, and we live one block away from a brown line stop that gives us easy access to downtown and its myriad amenities.

Chicago has an absolute crapload of these types of family-friendly mid-range urban neighborhoods. Pop. density in the 20 - 35K ppsm range makes them pleasantly walkable, but because every block is bisected by an alley, car ownership is typically not egregiously onerous (but it's also not required). And best of all, because Chicago ain't coastal, you don't need a 7-figure net worth to purchase a family-sized home in a decent city neighborhood here.

The biggest compromise we had to make for choosing to stay in an urban city neighborhood was not having the "American Dream" detached SFH with the big back yard, but we were ultimately ok with that because our 2,300 SF 3 bed/3 bath condo is still very comfortable for our family of 4, we just have neighbors who live in the two units above us. And while our outdoor living space is certainly tighter than it would have been out in the burbs, we still have a decent sized deck off of the kitchen, a large shared patio in back of the building, and a small front yard with some actual grass that our kids make the best of. When we need actual large open space to kick a soccer ball around or fly a kite, the elementary school one block south of us has a large athletic field that is open to the public when it's not being used for PE classes. And within a ten minute walk we have access to 4 large city parks, and numerous city playgrounds and pocket parks.

All in all, I really couldn't be happier about where we ended up planting ourselves to raise our kids. I was born to be a city neighborhood person.

I had to Google 'Chicago 3-flat'. Looks very similar to the triplexes common in Montreal except there you usually just get 1 floor. I suppose I'm nostalgic for my youth to a degree. I even miss mowing the lawn, if you can believe it. Your family seem to have found a great mix of urban and suburban. The only thing comparable in Toronto are row housing. We have tons of it but they typically start at $600,000 and go up to $1,200,000 for a decent one.

Your 3-flat sounds far more family conducive than the neighbourhood directly to the north of me. It's 40 floor tower blocks one after the other, low income, and heavily immigrant. In Toronto they have no other choice. I often conclude that they'd be better off in city like Halifax or Lethbridge where within a few years a newcomer could afford a 'proper' house, space for the kids, and a higher quality of life.

[SIGSEGV]

Born in Bucharest, grew up in Iowa City, Ames, and Reno. Went to college in Palo Alto and grad school in Cambridge (MA). Now live in Chicago. So no.

[kool maudit]

Far from it.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I had to Google 'Chicago 3-flat'. Looks very similar to the triplexes common in Montreal except there you usually just get 1 floor.

You traditionally only get one floor in a Chicago 3-flat as well (typically anywhere from 1,000 - 1,800 SF, but with the lion's share around 1,200 - 1,400 SF). However, lots of the older vintage 2 and 3 flats around town have been gut-rehabbed where the 1st floor unit has been expanded downwards into a finished basement to make a much larger 2-story unit, known locally as a "duplex down".

That's what we have, the first floor and finished basement of this humble little century-old (literally, it was built in 1920) Chicago 3-flat. There are hundreds of thousands of variations on this basic theme all across chicago, and even into some of the inner ring burbs. It's an archetypal housing style in this town.





In my not so humble opinion, small-scale multi-family housing like this is a great way for actual families with young children to more affordably and comfortably live in an urbanish neighborhood. It's a creamy middle that works fantastically well for us. Chicago is quite fortunate that it has an absolute shit-ton of legacy housing of this typology.

[pj3000]

No... Born in Erie, PA and raised there (except for 3 years in Pittsburgh and 2 in Philadelphia) until I was 18.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

You traditionally only get one floor in a Chicago 3-flat as well (typically anywhere from 1,000 - 1,800 SF, but with the lion's share around 1,200 - 1,400 SF). However, lots of the older vintage 2 and 3 flats around town have been gut-rehabbed where the 1st floor unit has been expanded downwards into a finished basement to make a much larger 2-story unit, known locally as a "duplex down".

That's what we have, the first floor and finished basement of this humble little century-old (literally, it was built in 1920) Chicago 3-flat. There are hundreds of thousands of variations on this basic theme all across chicago, and even into some of the inner ring burbs. It's an archetypal housing style in this town.




In my not so humble opinion, small-scale multi-family housing like this is a great way for actual families with young children to more affordably and comfortably live in an urbanish neighborhood. It's a creamy middle that works fantastically well for us. Chicago is quite fortunate that it has an absolute shit-ton of legacy housing of this typology.

Agreed, 100%. I like that there is variety in the design of these houses, as you say. I am glad you got a basement and ground floor, it's a great value for your family, and simpler to get around. Another thing on the plus side for Chicago is that the density is combined with leafy side streets. Love that twenties architecture.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by benp

Although there are fewer people here in the city than when I lived here 30+ years ago, it has become a much cleaner and better place to be than in the past.

There is the expression "you can't go home again" but the place I grew up is now a better place, so in a sense it is now a "new" home.

I think that there are many other cities that people moved away from that have gotten "better" in many ways since they left. Often, the people who have left have no idea of the changes that occurred, or in some cases don't believe or understand what has happened. Their minds and views may be frozen in time.

This rings true for me, growing up in western PA... which is obviously similar to western NY... postindustrial decline/measured rebirth. Pittsburgh is a MUCH improved place in which to live than it was even 10 years ago, to say nothing of 30 years ago. The situation in Erie has improved as well... though being a smaller city, it's just slower to really get traction.

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

You traditionally only get one floor in a Chicago 3-flat as well (typically anywhere from 1,000 - 1,800 SF, but with the lion's share around 1,200 - 1,400 SF). However, lots of the older vintage 2 and 3 flats around town have been gut-rehabbed where the 1st floor unit has been expanded downwards into a finished basement to make a much larger 2-story unit, known locally as a "duplex down".

That's what we have, the first floor and finished basement of this humble little century-old (literally, it was built in 1920) Chicago 3-flat. There are hundreds of thousands of variations on this basic theme all across chicago, and even into some of the inner ring burbs. It's an archetypal housing style in this town.




In my not so humble opinion, small-scale multi-family housing like this is a great way for actual families with young children to more affordably and comfortably live in an urbanish neighborhood. It's a creamy middle that works fantastically well for us. Chicago is quite fortunate that it has an absolute shit-ton of legacy housing of this typology.

That's nice. This is the type of "city living" I prefer. Decent space in a smaller, high-quality, detached building in a walkable neighborhood that's easily accessible to city amenities, but separated by enough distance to have some measure of peace and quiet. I'm sure having the finished basement is a major plus.

[bossabreezes]

Originally Posted by pj3000

No... Born in Erie, PA and raised there (except for 3 years in Pittsburgh and 2 in Philadelphia) until I was 18. Then Miami, then Dallas, then New Orleans, then New York, then Pittsburgh, then Erie, then Pittsburgh, then Rio de Janeiro, then Juiz de Fora, then Pittsburgh, then Washington DC, and now Pittsburgh (April-October) and Miami (November-March).

What were you doing in Juiz de Fora? I was there once, the most fluminense city in Minas. Packed densely in those little valleys, ect.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

What were you doing in Juiz de Fora? I was there once, the most fluminense city in Minas. Packed densely in those little valleys, ect.

Biomedical/environmental health research. Enjoyed my time there!

[suburbanite]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

That's what we have, the first floor and finished basement of this humble little century-old (literally, it was built in 1920) Chicago 3-flat. There are hundreds of thousands of variations on this basic theme all across chicago, and even into some of the inner ring burbs. It's an archetypal housing style in this town.

Not sure if you care, but might be careful with posting the front of your place. Can find it on Google Maps in 5 minutes if you know what you're looking for.

[lrt's friend]

Yes, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I consider myself very fortunate to live in a city with a great quality of life. Very stable economy, big enough to have lots to do, but not overwhelming hustle and bustle, close to nature. You get all four seasons here. Hot in summer, but the winters can be long and cold. Life is completely different for me during the warm weather than in winter, which is fine for me. If you like the big city, I am not far from Montreal or Toronto so there are opportunities for weekend visits (during non-COVID times).

Because of my personality, I thrive on being close to family and long-standing friends. I have leveraged my knowledge of the area into meeting lots of interesting people and gaining local history that I happily share with others.

[BG918]

No, born in Fort Worth grew up in Tulsa went to Norman for college then spent a few years in Oklahoma City and have lived in Denver for the past decade.