We live in a very small city. It is more like a small town than a city but it is a city. He keeps leaning towards moving us to the suburbs but I keep telling him if we live there we will have a newer house but no money for fun or extras. We could move 10 minutes away and a newer house the same size would be $50,000 to $100,000 more.

I keep telling him the city has great perks

- neighborhood school less than 1 block away
- Some of the best schools in the area with lots of class offerings in the HS
- shopping near by
- a nice downtown
- no need to feel like we have to compete with neighbors.
- More room to be ourselves
- We forget to mow the lawn one week no big deal...a few dandelions no biggy either
- Extra money so he can buy a few games when he wants
- Enough money to go on a vacation every few years
- lower mortgage
- Tons of activities and stuff for kids to do (City Rec stuff, YMCA, Ice Arena, Malls, theatres, etc)
- no need to commute 20-30 minutes just to shop or enroll our daughter in activities (what we would have to do in the areas he wants to live)
- diversity
- etc

I think he might finally be getting it. We don't live in the best neighborhood on earth but it is safe. We have had neighbors who make $20,000 a year and rent and people like us that make more in the same neighborhood. Keep telling my hubby that it is good for our daughter to see reality and not the perfect burbs...where every one is wearing the latest Abercrombie and Gap clothes and see a low income person or a person of color and assume the worst...etc. My daughter can look at a person with different colored skin, tattoes, piercings, crazy fashion, funky hair etc and see that they are just like her a person and not think oh my what are they doing around here (By the way the reaction my MIL had when she saw 2 African American teens just taking a walk to the school to play basketball. God forbid they were playing ball and keeping out of trouble)

Also we have the perks of having a mortgage that costs less than a 2-3 bedroom apartment in the University Town he works in. We could also have the $$$ to send our daughter to college and extra for the 401K.

Let's hope he keeps this mind set

Jen

We live in a small city, about the size of the suburb of a larger city I grew up in. This is a small college town with $$$$ college and university. I really like living downtown for the reasons you just stated. My kids are exposed to a variety of people and they don't even think of making fun of anyone for the way they look. The schools are good (similar to good suburbs in larger cities) and my kids (in HS, MS and Kindergarten) are quite attached to their schools at this point. I really enjoy living within walking distance of just about anything I might NEED to get to such as the bank, post office, library, city hall, and shopping.

I think you will enjoy living in a small city. :- I do.


Barb C