Up until this blog post, I’ve really focused on general ideas about the suburbs. This time, I am going to go through a list of some small upsides to living in the middle of nowhere. If you have lived in a city your whole life, then these may seem absolutely insignificant, but to me, they’re the source of a smile on a boring day. 🙂
1.There’s room to stretch your legs. Never is there any elevator with too many people, or a bus that is too crowded. Take a seat, take a load off- you deserve it!
2. You often get the Target too yourself. Nothing’s better than an empty Target! You can squeeze as many dorm decorations in that cart as you can because there’s no one to judge you. Except maybe some workers, but that’s what self-checkout is for.
is this heaven?
3. When you’re too lazy to drive to the park, your backyard can be one! Grass for miles…
4. There’s always somewhere to park! And also– no meters for the most part. Hold onto your quarters!
5. The stars! Yes you can actually see them with your own eyes, not look at a picture on your tiny phone screen.
6. High School football. Yeah every high school has a football team, 
no matter the location. But high school football games in the suburbs are a town event. There’s nothing better than seeing friends and neighbors under the lights of a chilly fall night, cheering on friends and children. Student sections get pretty wild, too.
7. Pets get to have fun. I will debate this until the day I die- dogs need fresh air, and they need space to run. They’re so much happier, and the small park at the corner of a busy city block doesn’t count. Try to watch this and not smile.
8.Bonfires! This was addressed in my previous blog post, but Philadelphia restricts bonfires, which sucks for those city dwellers because bonfires are the epitome of summer and fall in my opinion. To those of you in the city, maybe this can keep you warm.
9. Driving! This is one of my favorites. I love to drive, and being able to take advantage of an open road is a great way to relieve stress or waste time with friends. If you haven’t put together the ultimate car ride playlist to jam out to with your friends, then you haven’t lived. Or… you’ve only ever driven in gridlock and have too much road rage to enjoy a classic song.
10. Walking outside mid morning on a Saturday and being pleasantly greeted by your friendly neighbors. You know, the same ones who have lived there since the dawn of the century.
wow, what a happy group of neighbors
Growing up in the suburbs outside of Philly as well, this blog is very relatable. I love having open space room to do fun things like having bonfires. Empty Targets, High School football, and going on long drives and jamming out to a great playlist bring back some great memories. These small victories definitely make living here worth it.
Well first, I loved the name of your blog. As someone from State College, I am always hearing “outside Philly” or “outside Pittsburgh” or “New Jersey” when meeting people here. Second, a lot of those points are things I’ve grown to take for granted. We’ve got empty Targets and (mostly) empty Walmarts, an actual sense of community between residents, and of course, some nice natural scenery every once in awhile. The thing I hear complaints about most (for State College) would have to be having a weak mall game though.
I grew up in the suburbs as well so this post made me slightly nostalgic. I never truly appreciated where I lived, but I see its charm more now. There really is a community, like you mentioned with the football games, that you don’t get anywhere else. Go suburbs! 🙂
I found this post interesting. I grew up in Austin, TX, so I feel like I got a mix of city and the suburbs. I related to high school football and pets having air to breathe. I still feel like there is nowhere to park ever, which is really annoying.