Paul posted: "Suburbia. But for a few years of living in San Francisco, I've lived in its suburbs for most of my life. That's where I still live and will probably remain until I'm planted. The city? People love it or hate it. The country? It's either Shangri-la or b" The Life in My Years
Suburbia. But for a few years of living in San Francisco, I've lived in its suburbs for most of my life. That's where I still live and will probably remain until I'm planted.
The city? People love it or hate it. The country? It's either Shangri-la or backwards, antiquated, and too conservative. Suburbia? What exactly is it? I guess, that in theory, it's the place you go to that takes you away from the crime, congestion and filth of the city while maintaining proximity to metropolitan pleasures.
When I lived in The City, I always thought that suburbia was, between the city, the country and the suburbs, the least desirable of places. As a city dweller I was one of the geographical narcissists who thought that San Francisco was the center of everything.
At the same time I looked at the country as having a sort of bucolic, hard working, honesty about it. The country was where you found true Americana.
Suburbia? I considered it to be the plastic land of phosphorescent, loud malls where vapid people dined on fast food, and on weekends, invaded my city.
Cordelia. The tacky side
As a suburbanite, I'm not the geographical narcissist anymore, at least I don't think I am. True, I would move back to San Francisco in a heartbeat, if I could afford it. I've recovered from my one time desire to move to the country. But the suburbs? I'm still not sure that it's not the least desirable of the three.
Suburbia has its critics. "Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them." ~ Bill Vaughan "Suburbia is too close to the country to have anything real to do and too close to the city to admit you have nothing real to do." ~ Sloane Crosley
And its fans. "I have always found the suburbs very beautiful – the light, the change of seasons and so on. I am not so interested in the political dimensions of these things. I didn't have any witticisms to land on suburbia. I was really just interested in how beautiful it was. I felt it was like a dreamscape and once I understood that was how I needed to approach it the dream started to expand in unusual ways." ~ Bill Henson
I can't quite put suburbia into words but over the past few months I've tried to put both views of suburbia into images.
Little Boxes In 1962, folk singer Malvina Reynolds wrote an unflattering anthem about suburbia in the song Little Boxes which poked fun at Daly City, CA. "Little boxes on the hillside Little boxes made of ticky tacky Little boxes on the hillside Little boxes all the same"
Daly City, CA
"And they all play on the golf course And drink their martinis dry And they all have pretty children And the children go to school"
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