Find a city to live in

"One thing I have realized is that I do not want to live a life in the suburbs like I grew up in and my parents now live. I want a big back yard and grass and birds. Or else I wish to live on a quiet street in the city, a close walk to stores and entertainment. I came to this conclusion this summer after being home unexpectantly to recover from an operation.

"I looked at the suburbs with a fresh vision and judged it. I saw that the suburbs are asleep. During the day the only people outside are the hired hands of the homeowners- lawn and tree service people, roofer, painters and asphalt blacktoppers. The streets and sidewalks are vacant: no mothers walking slowly with their children, no dogwalkers.

"It is lonely. I decided I did not want to live in such a place where life is so far away. Nothing feels immediate in the suburbs; money has distanced the suburbanite from everything."
- written fall 1986 when I was only a year out of the suburb