The Country Mouse and the City Mouse- and Somewhere In-Between
As much as I wish it was different, I am from the suburbs. I try to act like I belong when I ride public transportation, but a month living in Paris having a 40-minute commute on the Metro does not a city girl make. I sing along to country songs, and wish that I too partied “Down on the Farm,” but I wouldn’t know how to milk a cow if you paid me.
But I can’t deny that I grew up in a neighborhood where the park was around the block, minivans were abundant and all houses looked the same. I moved down the same street three times growing up- and one time, we moved into a house with the exact same floorplan. My grandma lives in the old house, and it’s a trippy experience for new boyfriends the first time they go from my parents’ house to my grandma’s. It’s the same house…just a little farther down the street.
Now that I’ve relocated to Sunnyvale, I feel like I’m still firmly planted in the suburbs. The towns of the South Bay have been around longer than the Laguna/Elk Grove area (my entire neighborhood was built no more than 20 years ago), which means that commercial and residential zones are little more mixed. I can walk from my apartment to a Macy’s, Caltrain station, a small downtown with shops and restaurants. Oh yes, and I can walk to work. I could easily get around with a bike, where you absolutely need a car to do anything in Elk Grove.
But I’m still surrounded by parks, families, minivans and many houses that look very, very similar. Most of the time, I love this. I love walking to work by houses with freshly-mowed lawns, flower gardens and detached garages. I like that the entire neighborhood seems asleep by 11 p.m. and barely awake at 8 a.m. It’s easy for me to hop on the freeway- actually, it’s easy for me to hop onto about four different freeways.
Sometimes, though, I feel like I should be living my 20s in the city. San Francisco is a short drive away, but living 45 minutes away is completely different than living in the heart of the city by the bay. My girlfriends who live and work in San Fran say they would never want to live anywhere else- the nightlife, the culture, the restaurants. And I just saw that San Francisco was voted the top place to visit in the United States.
While I would love to be able to stop by the MOMA on a weekday evening or grab dinner in North Beach without thinking about it, I’ve never been able to seriously think about taking the plunge to live in San Francisco. I’ve always been frugal, but worrying about money is what keeps plenty of it in my bank account. The cost of living in San Francisco is its biggest turnoff.
My rent would go up dramatically, and I would be forced to live with a roommate. Parking would be a pay-by-quarters-or-by-credit-card nightmare. Public transportation, regardless of how much I support it, is not cheap, comfortable or always convenient. Even a Starbucks is more expensive in the city.
Yes, there’s always something to do in the city. But most of what I “do” outside of work involves me curling up with a book, snuggling with my boyfriend or squeezing in a workout. I don’t like clubs, and I feel like I did enough partying at Chico to last me a lifetime. I prefer to experiment with my own farmers market finds instead of eating out, and I always drink (free) water instead of trying out cocktails. 45 minutes isn’t too far to check out a professional sports game or a museum exhibit opening on the weekend if I really want to.
Maybe it’s lame that I’m 21 and don’t want to live in San Francisco. Maybe once I’m making a little bit more money and can actually afford cable, let alone a huge rent increase, I’ll consider it more seriously. Maybe my mind will change one day, and I’ll feel like the suburbs are just too stifling.
Until that day comes, I’ll keep saving my money, walking to work, eating in and planning a big vacation to the cities that I love all over the world. Maybe a long weekend in San Francisco will even be part of that plan.
