zlacker

I read a blog post a while back that had the idea that the reason so many American's remember their college years so fondly is because for many of them it was the only time in their lives where they lived somewhere walkable.

>>dopame+(OP)
This was my experience. There's this narrative that you move away from your parents and you have the freedom and independence they were previously denying you, and I'm sure that's very much the case for many people but it's not as though my parents were ever trying to keep me from going places and seeing people, the built environment where I grew up (suburb of Los Angeles) did that.

>>dopame+(OP)
I'm pretty sure almost everywhere in the world people remember their college years fondly.

>>dopame+(OP)
Not only walkable, but with a lot of third spaces and those get actually used because your peer group cannot afford lots of private space. You likely even live in a dorm or with roommates.

Anecdotally I spent 2 years of my undergraduate living by myself a 10 minute drive away from University in a little village outside of town. I then moved in with roommates to live walking distance between University and downtown. It's obvious from what time most of my fondest memories are.

>>ajmurm+V5
And on top of that, your social peers are very nearby. Whereas even in walkable cities like NYC or SF, the cities are big enough that your peers may also be in a walkable area but far enough away to require public transit/careful planning.

I have read that one consequence of the Japanese practice of tearing down buildings and buying new is that you tend to get colocated with many people of the same socioeconomic class and age. We have similar forces going on in the Western world (families may prefer suburbs which also tend to sort by SES, yuppies prefer nice urban areas, etc) but I think in Japan it is a bit more deliberate.

>>dopame+(OP)
It also a time living in an unnatural community not subject all the issues that exist in the outside world. Campuses are not functionally independent entities. They are artificial environments funded from the outside to fulfill a specific purpose. Spend time on a military base. They are also great places in which to live. Easy commutes, local services, great security, very low unemployment and most are very walkable. They are largely designed to accommodate the needs of young people, much like college campuses. But nobody forgets the artificiality. They are not standalone and their systems cannot accommodate the realities of the wider population.

>>sandwo+o9
Have you never been to a city?

>>sandwo+o9
I think you are being unfairly downvoted. Campuses have the ability to do things like expel their residents and physically remove trespassers, which is only possible in the most draconian gated communities in the “real world.” They filter for things like SES and at least a nominal desire to learn. They can shunt the really hard problems, and problematic people, to the rest of society.

>>redox9+e5
Not to the same degree. The relative freedom and stress of high school vs collage vs young adult varies quite a bit. Extreme collage debt does quite a bit to dampen the joy of many young working Americans.

>>sandwo+o9
Not entirely true. I moved a block away from the local college with three daughters in elementary school specifically to take advantage of the businesses and enrichment activities around the school.

In 1.5 years living here, we've had the cops called on us once when we let our 7 year old walk 2 blocks to her friend's house unescorted. We also have to deal with the muscle cars and loud motorcycles which whizz by our house at 3 am each Saturday evening. We also know our neighbors who are of all ages and walks of life and there is never a moment we are fearful for our children's safety.

Please try embracing the opposite view. College campuses in the US are not an aberration, but rather an example of what community could look like.

>>brenda+2D
Those revving engines are the reason why I moved far away from everybody. I shouldn't have to deal with it, but apparently the cops here don't enforce the muffler laws.

>>opport+3e
there is also a filtering process just to get there, both with the military and college. even more so when you filter by military officer or grad student housing.