Gender differences arise when looking for a home
The other day my husband came home and told me that he had found the home of his dreams. I immediatelly asked where and what it looked like. When he showed me the picture, which was a flat in an industrial area of SF, I paused and looked up with a fake smile. I responded by saying, in my puppy look, " I thought we wanted to stay in a small community to raise our son"? My husband is an industrial designer, and though I love all his ideas and taste in designs, I feel that the city is no place for a family. That night I couldn't sleep. I kept asking myself, is the city really not a place for children and families, or is it an old myth that I heard everyone around me constantly say? I know that there are plenty of families that live in SF or big cities that have good family upbringing. What is it about the city that is scary?
I work in the city, for a city agency, but don't live there. From friends with kids and families who live there I've deduced that SF has its own share of challenges for families. I didn't envy my friend when he and his wife were racing around trying to find a kindergarten for their daughter, settling on a private school when the local elementary schools were just too awful to consider. And this is a couple that includes a teacher and a former SFUSD employee. Personally, I find the amount of concrete and asphalt excessive, the homeless issue out of control, and the politics loony (and I consider myself pretty liberal).
On the flip side, there are plenty of parks, cultural institutions like museums and the symphony, and diversity, if that's something you value.
I guess being born and raised in Marin I'm biased. I need trees and open space, I guess.
thanks for your input. I never considered the city for raising a family. Some of your thoughts really help me remember the reasons why.
I think it's more of a personality thing than a gender thing. Kind of like the tale of the country mouse and the city mouse...whenever we read that, I tell my kids we have the best of both worlds being in suburbia. There are industrial areas in Marin...perhaps you could reach a compromise? Or just have him talk to Andrew, guy to guy ;)
But I don't think I'd really want to raise my kids in an area like that. There are good neighborhoods for families in SF, we just can't afford any of them... I think many of the suburbs of SF have a lot to offer, foremost of which is proximity to the city.