Living in the suburbs as a single person
I was just reading an article on Medium about the differences between living in the city and living in the suburbs. This was of course from someone living in the USA but it also applies to my country as well. Australia does have some similarities to the USA and the suburban lifestyle is one of them.
The Great Australian Dream was a concept that dates back to the 1950s and it is very similar to the American Dream. It is basically to own a house in the suburbs (preferably with a quarter acre block — that’s 1,000 square metres of land or 11,000 square feet), to have at least two children and a car (back then it was usually a family sedan). And to have a stable job where you work roughly 40 hours per week (in those days, married women didn’t need to work — and often weren’t allowed to — because you could support a family on one income). And yes, it probably meant having a white picket fence or something similar.
So Australia is very similar to the USA in that way. We very much bought into that concept. This has evolved over time. These days, it usually means having two working parents, two cars (one of which is probably an SUV or a ute, i.e, a pickup truck) and having a smaller block of land (remember that in 1950s Australia, space wasn’t really an issue because there were so few people living in this country at the time).
I have always lived in a suburbs because most people (in countries like Australia) grow up either in the suburbs or in a rural town. When I moved to Canberra 12 years ago, I continued to live in the suburbs because (a) I did not work in the city and never have, so being in close proximity to the city wasn’t essential, and (b) you get way more bang for your buck in the suburbs. And six years ago, I bought a townhouse in the suburbs.
In some ways, I don’t mind being in the suburbs and in other ways I hate it. Speaking from my personal perspective, here are some pros about suburban life:
- It is generally more peaceful than living in an apartment in the city.
- You tend to more space and you get more value for money (e.g. I have three bedrooms, one of which I have set up as a spare bedroom and one that I am using as a home office).
- I have a (smallish) yard and I can dry my clothes outdoors on a clothesline (unlike in the USA, we never stopped doing in Australia, because it makes perfect sense).
- I can barbecue outside of I want to. When you live in apartment, there are restrictions around this sort of thing.
- Where I live is very good for recreational walking and cycling.
- I have friends who live in nearby suburbs.
And (again, from my personal perspective) here are some cons about living in the suburbs:
- It can feel very isolated. I know several of my neighbours and I am one of the very few who lives alone. There are many young families, many of which have one or two young children (my street is all townhouses) and there are a few older people too. It’s a bit of mix but there aren’t many single childless people like myself.
- If you want to go out and drink, you will probably have to drive (or get a lift) to get to the bars, pubs and clubs. This isn’t like in England, where there is probably a local pub you can walk to. So if you want to go out and drink (and there isn’t anyone to give you a lift) then you will probably have to do some logistics. Some of the Meetup groups in my city like to do drinks events in the city (it’s about a 20 minute drive to the city) but if you take an Uber, it isn’t cheap. The bus will get you part of the way there but the last suburban bit is tricky.
- What I’m saying is that living in the suburbs can easily kill spontaneity and you can’t do anything without a car.
- It’s not just bars and pubs, there aren’t any decent cafes or restaurants that I can walk to. The only places within walking distance to get food are a small grocery store (an IGA) and a takeaway shop that sells burgers, pizza, chips and all kinds of deep fried foods (which is fine as an occasional treat). There was a Chinese place (and by that I mean Aussie Chinese food, not real Chinese food) but that seems to have closed.
- There is public transport where I live but it’s not that great. You don’t want to be fully dependent on it if you can help it.
- While I do have friends that live in nearby suburbs, in reality, what happens is that they get wrapped in their own lives and I can go months without seeing them. I actually saw more of them when we were in lockdown last year and they had relaxed the rules so that we were allowed to meet up outdoors (e.g. at the local park) in groups of five and go for a walk. Then that time passed.
- The suburbs are not the best place for meeting single woman who don’t have kids and don’t want kids (not that there is anything wrong with having children — it’s just not what I’m looking for).
I had my reasons for buying a place in the suburbs. Money was definitely a factor. I couldn’t have afforded to buy a nice place in the city (or in one of my city’s suburban “town centres” — it probably would have been quite small and built by some dodgy construction company). And I wanted to have at least one spare bedroom and at least some yard with an outdoor clothesline and a space to mingle outside and have a BBQ if I choose to do so.
But it was never my dream to live in suburbia. It would be nice to be able to walk to cafes and pubs and shops and other things. I suspect I may enjoy it more if I was married with children.
What I do know though is that I’m glad that I got on the property ladder when I did because house prices have soared since I bought and I almost certainly wouldn’t be afford my place now (if I was still in that stage of buying my first home).
