Mainly though I can do without the stress of city living. The city we visit the most is philadelphia. Its great to visit, but I do not want to live there.

I don’t think a condo in downtown Portland is a good idea if you want a family – the Hawthorne district is much better. You can live in a home (albeit on a small lot) and you can still walk to restaurants and grocery stores. TriMet buses everywhere too.

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I was thinking about my past, though, too. I spent five years living outside of L.A. when I was in grad school. I had moved there on my own from Idaho straight out of college, and I probably racked up close to $15,000 in debt just trying to keep up with the joneses (new clothes, getting my hair colored, martinis, travel, etc.). I’d try to wipe out my credit cards with my student loan money, but I never addressed the overspending. Moving to Colorado facilitated a healthier relationship with money, I think, because things are not quite so superficial here.

In the meanwhile, we’ve almost wiped out that debt, ten years later. Lesson learned.

They can cook simply and save even more without a car. Shopping everyday for meat for school and stuff like that will save a ton. Plus eating out is often fattening.

I agree it’s about choices, but it’ll be very difficult to argue that eating out even $5/meal is more expensive than spending 20 minutes cooking something simple like chicken and pasta, etc.

Also, studies here in the DC area have shown that most people low ball their commute when asked about it, so the people claiming a one hour commute (in the DC area) are more likely commuting 75+ minutes each way.

My commute today is about 30 feet from the bedroom to my home office

Now, with both adults working and the kids teens, living in a more urban area works. We have a smaller space and less stuff to keep track of, but more options and resources in the community around us. It isn’t as safe and it nets out a little more expensive, but it works for us at this stage. My kids visit their friends in the old neighborhood in the summer, but start getting bored and stir crazy after a couple of weeks. (Here http://www.easternvillage.org .)

In both places though, I think the social capital is definitely what makes the days worth waking up for, and the housing money worth spending.

-Jessie

It’s all about what works best for you.

So, I hesitantly bought an inexpensive, 1000 sq. ft. condo in a fancy suburb 12 miles to the north. As it turns out, this move was good for my finances and life perspective. True, I have a 20-25 minute trek to work (I usually take a commuter bus), and I’m much more isolated from people and places than before, but my condo is quiet and is surrounded by a wildlife-friendly lawn and forest. Because I don’t have immediate foot access to shops and restaurants, I have dramatically pared down my spending. The move has also given me a space away from work, so I don’t always “take my work home” with me. If I had remained a renter in the city, or if I had bought a 400 sq. ft. studio condo near work, I probably would still be spending most of my earnings–a $5 sandwich here and a $2 cup of coffee there really add up after a while. I do spend a little more in gas now, but not much more. And my insurance rates plummeted after my move!

One of these days I’ll probably want to return to city living, but I’ll bring my financial lessons with me. However, there are many joys in surburban living, and in my next move I may even consider going to a suburb that has a walkable and interesting downtown. Perhaps that would provide the best of both worlds?

(Public transit is a remarkably democratic too. Here in NYC it’s not uncommon to be squashed on a subway car next to a homeless guy and a professional in several hundred dollar shoes; keeps ya grounded).

Now that we’re living in Chicago, we know our neighbors in the building we’re in. They look after our cats if we’re out of town for a while. We recognize people in our neighborhood, the proprietors, the kids, the artists. We participate in neighborhood meetings with these same people.

I would rather be financially okay and live in the city than live in a place of isolation and be super rich.

I’ll be moving soon (don’t know where yet) and my vision is a smallish quaint cottage. (Right now I have a huge house with many rooms I don’t use, but other rooms I do use quite often (finished basement gym, etc)). My other house vision is to be walking distance from a town, friendly neighbors, good taverns and restaurants, etc.

Thanks for the reminder about house vs. home!

I’m in the middle of buying my first home and one of my few requirements was that it should be within walking distance of work. I never want to go back to taking the bus every day and can’t imagine having so much money that it’ll be worth getting a car.