"Living Just Enough for the City..."

The Pew Research Center released a new study today, finding that 46% of those surveyed "would rather live in a different type of community from the one they're living in now." The study found that attitude most popular among those who live in cities.

Other interesting findings/conclusions include the following:

• "Even though the survey shows that many Americans have a bit of wanderlust, it also finds that most are satisfied with where they live now. More than eight-in-ten rate their current communities as excellent, very good or good."
• 23% of those surveyed "say the place in their heart they consider home isn't where they are living now."
• "...most city dwellers think the grass would be greener in a suburb, small town or rural area."
• "...most young urbanites consider cities the place to be, while most middle-aged urbanites would like to live elsewhere."

Also, only 23% of those polled see the city as their ideal community type (the most popular answer was found in the 30% who idealize the small town).

I find this all so fascinating because it relates directly to issues with which my wife and I have been wrestling. As I prepare to graduate from the Missouri School of Journalism in May, we've been tossing around options for the future. We eventually decided to stay here in Columbia because we're interested in working for the good of this city and investing heart and soul into it. We're tired of watching well-intentioned people flee to the suburbs in the name of "safety" and "space," abandoning urban, cultural centers and leaving them to atrophy.

I am definitely intrigued by the idea of "new urbanism" and the trend (which this research supports) that sees young, hip professionals moving back to the city in droves. I will unpack these ideas more in future posts; you can be sure this is a topic I'll return to faithfully. For now, let me just say that I have grown to love where I live (I took the Pew survey and found that 94% of people rated their communities lower than I did mine!). And while I appreciate the culture and enterprise here, it's more than a love of eateries, bars and concert venues. It's seeing people I recognize downtown and stopping to talk; It's getting to know the specific needs of my community and seeing how I can help; it's visualizing the potential my city has to become an even better place to live.

The Pew study found that by a 3-1 margin, most people prefer living somewhere with a slower pace and that a majority want to live somewhere "where neighbors know each other well." I'm saying that the two don't have to go together---we can know our neighbors, know our community in a more urban setting. At least, I believe we can---I wouldn't be staying here if I thought otherwise.