Urban to Suburban: My experience

[shinatoo]

This thread had me thinking last night about how much social interaction changed in my neighborhood in from the 70's to the 80's. The only thing I could think of was "cable TV".

[staubio]

This thread had me thinking last night about how much social interaction changed in my neighborhood in from the 70's to the 80's. The only thing I could think of was "cable TV".

Absolutely.  Cable did not arrive in my small town until the 90s.

[kard]

This thread had me thinking last night about how much social interaction changed in my neighborhood in from the 70's to the 80's. The only thing I could think of was "cable TV".

Yeah.  I was thinking 8-bit Nintendo.  Crusin' the burbs on the bike down to the comic book store on Tuesdays after school with friends stopped after that showed up.

[bahua]

We had an old nintendo, and yes, we played it *all* the time. That was after we moved to the suburbs, as well.

My little brother and I shared a paper route, from which we spent untold sums of money on renting a super nintendo, and final fantasy II. We would ride our bikes all the way up to Northpoint and back, a trip of about 9 miles, with our precious SNES in a paper bag, with no sidewalks, bike lanes, pads or helmets.

We were morons.

[ComandanteCero]

I think medium density inner suburbs with mixed housing provide a good halfway point on the urban/suburban continuity.  I grew up in various places from high density (higher than anything in KC so far), to medium density (where converted single family homes that had become duplexes were mixed with normal single family homes) from which my dad could hop onto a train to work, to auto-oriented medium density single family homes that were virtually touching each other, to medium/high consisting of rowhomes, to low density (OP). 

I think the medium density with a mix of high and low density buildings provided the benefits of people density, and abundant greenery (in the form of trees along sidewalks and parks) and backyards for the single family homes.  Several parts of mid-town come to mind (particularly along Gillham Rd) I wouldn't mind living in a high density environment during my childless years, move into a medium density neighborhood while having the kids, and either staying there for the long haul or going back to the higher density area..... or retiring to an island in the Mediterranean.

edit: i forgot to add that effective mass transit would be a must for any of those scenarios,  and by that i mean mass transit that does not mix with auto traffic (so if not LRT, atleast true BRT)

[voltopt]

Grew up at 90th and Wornall in the late 50's and in the 60's.

i spent the early 80s at 82nd and Kenwood, a block west of holmes.  there were no curbs or storm sewers (There still arn't) but the neighborhood seemed nice.  did all of our grocery shopping at the Foodland at 85th and Holmes, went to birthday parties of classmates at McDonalds on Holmes, would go to the Jewish Community Center at 82nd and Holmes for musicals and swimming in the summers.
we went to preschool and grade school at st. augstine's, 79th and paseo, until it closed and we then went to Christ the King.  In about 1987 (i was in third grade) we moved to 89th and Holly streets (right by the mall) 
there were a ton of kids in the neighborhood in the late 80s, we'd ride bikes all over the marion labs building and all the office building parking lots on wardparkway.  we would run around all over, including santa fe hills and the areas north of 85th street and south of 89th street (we always thought those areas were strange because there were no sidewalks and the houses were smaller and sporadic)  sunnyside park pool and tennis courts and the little park at the top of holly street near 90th were regular hangouts.
i'd walk to school at 85th and wornall and then i'd walk to high school at rockhurst, i also worked at the movie theatre at ward parkway in the mid to late 90s.... (high school and college) 

the thing is - my mom still lives there and the neighborhood seems relatively the same, except for all the changes at ward parkway every five years.  alot of people on our block have lived there for a long time, some since western hills was built in the 50s.  and there are also the young people buying houses and new young families... anyway since i go there all the time it doesn't feel idllyic, just normal. 

[Cyclops]

i'd walk to school at 85th and wornall and then i'd walk to high school at rockhurst, i also worked at the movie theatre at ward parkway in the mid to late 90s.... (high school and college) 

I have great memories of the Ward Parkway theatres. There were only two when I lived there. I remember going to see "Planet Of The Apes" and "Towering Inferno" for sure.

TV was cool but it was more of an event back then. It wasn't on all the time. Like AKP said, there were only 3 stations. Our family played a lot of board games on Staurday night.

I also had a bunch of friends that went to Christ The King School.

I discussed this with my mom at length last night and she pretty much confessed we were a part of the white flight crowd. We lived at 45th and Harrison before moving to Sante Fe Hills. My folks had lived in the older part of the city all there lives and three of my sisters were born while they lived "on Hospital Hill". She said it was more about moving out to the suburbs where everyone else was going than out of any fear. There was a new school (Center High) and some of my Aunt's and Uncles had already moved there. It was also about being closer to work for my father who worked in Grandview.

[voltopt]

its funny - my mom grew up in santa fe hills, from 1959 on, and went to the same school i went to.  but before 1959, they didn't live in kc at all.
my grandmother lived in the same house on hiawatha until about 6 years ago.

my dad grew up at 38th and terrace by roanoke park... and his mom didn't move out of that neighborhood until 1980 or so.
his dad was from atchison and his mom from connecticut (they met when he was stationed neart new hampshire as a navy person or whatever)
he went to westport high school when it was being integrated (not very well - even after it became a white/black school in the 1960s they would separate the classes by race, which of course led to fights and animosity.)
my dad was offered a transfer to southwest high school, then almost still 100% white (in 1970)
he dropped out instead...

the interesting thing is now i live in the same neighborhood my dad grew up in....

[aknowledgeableperson]

To a certain extent I think the term "white flight" is overblown.  Sure, when blacks moved into a neighborhood whites moved out but for many that wasn't the only reason to move.  My first years were spent in KCK by 7th & Quindaro.  My father's sister lived in the old family home a block away and his brother lived a few blocks past that.  We moved first, from an old two bedroom duplex, to a far better home with three bedrooms.  My uncle moved his family to California because of a job.  My aunt moved with the family to a house next to a drive-in they bought on Leavenworth Road.  Yeah, we could have moved because of the blacks moving in but there were other reasons also.  Just like for your family, Cyclops, to be closer to a job.
One could say the reason for my wife's and mine last move was because of "white flight", but it wasn't.  We lived on a dead end street that had about 13 houses.  Before one was sold to a black family the owner went around to say what he was doing and we didn't care.  His was the most expensive house on the block and as long as it was kept up we would have no problem.  That black family had a boy a year older than my son and they were the best friends for many years.
Why move?????
We saw the handwriting on the wall (see the trend about Bannister Mall).  The economic conditions in the area were falling and felt is was time to get out.  And with the wife's job the move put her five minutes from work.

If one moves only because of the black/white issue or that is the primary reason than that is "white flight".  That is what happened with my brother-in law's parents.  Moved three times because of a black family on the block.  Then resigned themselves to the fact that "you can't get away from them".

[aknowledgeableperson]

In about 1987 (i was in third grade) we moved to 89th and Holly streets (right by the mall) 

Before the days of snow removal from the streets we use to go to Western Hills with our sleds and the streets made great hills.  Especially the one on the south end of the development that went west down to the end of 90th Terrace, I believe.  My street in Boone's Manor was OK for sledding but since many of the houses did not have driveways there were too many cars on the street - ran into a few.  Western Hills had few, if any, cars on the street.

[shinatoo]

In the 70's, on Saturday night, we would typically watch, in this order back to back, Lawrence Whelk, Donnie and Marie, some western and Saturday Night Live.

And people wonder why GenX is so fucked up.

[tat2kc]

Grew up in a town of 20,000. We had about 1/2 acre, which was somewhat larger than our neighbors. The front yard was large enough that all the neighborhood kids played there, including touch football.  We knew all the folks in the neighborhood. All our friends (my 3 siblilngs included) came and went into our home all the time, they didn't even need to knock.  We constantly had a house full of kids, and neighbors.  My mom continues to live the same house we grew up in. We had friends coming in the house all through college. When my brother became a city cop, my mom's house became the place for hungry cops to stop by and eat.

The second generation of kids is now growing up in the neighborhood, and my family knows them all. The high school and college age kids still come by my mom's house, checking on her, doing small things for her, mom insisting on feeding them. The neighbors all know each other, the kids all play together. When I go home to visit, there are always people walking, kids playing outside, from bike riding to tossing a football. When I was home for the holidays, if we left the house, mom did not lock the house up, she called the folks across the street and asked the college kid home for christmas to drop by when he had a minute and let her dogs out for a few minutes. 

Its a great neighborhood, in a nice small southern town. It was an awesome place to grow up.  The neighborhood remains, today, a mix of older people who live in the homes they built in the 60's, the children of the original home owners raising their own children, and new folks.  Its actually kind of similar to Steel Magnolias meets the Sweet Potato Queens.  It sure made for some interesting times growing up, for sure.

[schugg]

Grew up in a town of 20,000. We had about 1/2 acre, which was somewhat larger than our neighbors. The front yard was large enough that all the neighborhood kids played there, including touch football.  We knew all the folks in the neighborhood. All our friends (my 3 siblilngs included) came and went into our home all the time, they didn't even need to knock.  We constantly had a house full of kids, and neighbors.  My mom continues to live the same house we grew up in. We had friends coming in the house all through college. When my brother became a city cop, my mom's house became the place for hungry cops to stop by and eat.

The second generation of kids is now growing up in the neighborhood, and my family knows them all. The high school and college age kids still come by my mom's house, checking on her, doing small things for her, mom insisting on feeding them. The neighbors all know each other, the kids all play together. When I go home to visit, there are always people walking, kids playing outside, from bike riding to tossing a football. When I was home for the holidays, if we left the house, mom did not lock the house up, she called the folks across the street and asked the college kid home for christmas to drop by when he had a minute and let her dogs out for a few minutes. 

Its a great neighborhood, in a nice small southern town. It was an awesome place to grow up.  The neighborhood remains, today, a mix of older people who live in the homes they built in the 60's, the children of the original home owners raising their own children, and new folks.  Its actually kind of similar to Steel Magnolias meets the Sweet Potato Queens.  It sure made for some interesting times growing up, for sure.

what town?    what state?

[tat2kc]

Ruston, Louisiana