Missed this the first time, but - remote work is not playing hooky. Remote work allows you the precious time to engage in your own community and with your own family and friends. It is an absolute lifesaver, particularly for women. It helps communities and community engagement, rather than detracting from it.
People today are so overbooked - adding a little bit more time required to do daily things (or a lot, in the case of in office work) is a huge burden, not a small thing.
A lot of your discussion about playing hooky assumes that you understand what is good for other people, without understanding their needs and values. It feels really top down and coercive.
Eh, not at all. The point is that the suburban lifestyle is normative that a lot of who people who would choose against it don't really have that option. I don't at all care if some people value it and its conveniences. I just think a lot of people don't, or so passively, and would choose differently with a different set of live options.
Personally, I feel like there is more peer pressure to embrace an urban lifestyle and density, reject a suburban lifestyle, and demonize rural residents, ignoring the demographic and cultural diversity of rural spaces.
I think there are many good things about cities, and I think people should live where they are happiest - but there is a very significant political effort to push people into dense living, whether they want it or not.
When reading Addison's stuff, I think it is important to remember that he writes off the top of his head, not trying to figure out all the implications of what he says. This permits him to write a lot. In contrast, I try to think of all the implications of what I say, and in consequence I write very little.
Having a private green space is not playing hooky. For many people, it’s not negotiable.
Shared public green spaces are absolutely NOT a substitute for private green space. They are not private. They are not restful. They do not permit solitude and renewal.
Out of curiosity, are you pretty extroverted? It seems like you are dismissing the need many people have for alone time.
For introverts, driving home alone is decompress time. A private yard, to garden or read or just sit, is decompress time. Public transit or crowded shared spaces are stressors that result in the need to decompress.
Without discounting what you're saying, I have a counter-example. I'm an introvert and need time alone to decompress - but I live in a house full of people. So the only way I get it is to go out on a drive or a walk by myself. I can rarely do it in our (very small) yard, unless I am OK with being interrupted every 5 minutes.
An uncrowded public space doesn’t really allow for things like a garden, or a fenced yard to put the dog out safely, or a safe place to look at the aurora or meteor showers at 2 am in your PJs. Private spaces have advantages that cannot be met by public spaces.
That doesn’t negate the value of public spaces or parks.
Missed this the first time, but - remote work is not playing hooky. Remote work allows you the precious time to engage in your own community and with your own family and friends. It is an absolute lifesaver, particularly for women. It helps communities and community engagement, rather than detracting from it.
People today are so overbooked - adding a little bit more time required to do daily things (or a lot, in the case of in office work) is a huge burden, not a small thing.
A lot of your discussion about playing hooky assumes that you understand what is good for other people, without understanding their needs and values. It feels really top down and coercive.
Eh, not at all. The point is that the suburban lifestyle is normative that a lot of who people who would choose against it don't really have that option. I don't at all care if some people value it and its conveniences. I just think a lot of people don't, or so passively, and would choose differently with a different set of live options.
Personally, I feel like there is more peer pressure to embrace an urban lifestyle and density, reject a suburban lifestyle, and demonize rural residents, ignoring the demographic and cultural diversity of rural spaces.
I think there are many good things about cities, and I think people should live where they are happiest - but there is a very significant political effort to push people into dense living, whether they want it or not.
See my note on your writing style above.
When reading Addison's stuff, I think it is important to remember that he writes off the top of his head, not trying to figure out all the implications of what he says. This permits him to write a lot. In contrast, I try to think of all the implications of what I say, and in consequence I write very little.
Having a private green space is not playing hooky. For many people, it’s not negotiable.
Shared public green spaces are absolutely NOT a substitute for private green space. They are not private. They are not restful. They do not permit solitude and renewal.
Out of curiosity, are you pretty extroverted? It seems like you are dismissing the need many people have for alone time.
For introverts, driving home alone is decompress time. A private yard, to garden or read or just sit, is decompress time. Public transit or crowded shared spaces are stressors that result in the need to decompress.
What about an uncrowded shared space?
Without discounting what you're saying, I have a counter-example. I'm an introvert and need time alone to decompress - but I live in a house full of people. So the only way I get it is to go out on a drive or a walk by myself. I can rarely do it in our (very small) yard, unless I am OK with being interrupted every 5 minutes.
An uncrowded public space doesn’t really allow for things like a garden, or a fenced yard to put the dog out safely, or a safe place to look at the aurora or meteor showers at 2 am in your PJs. Private spaces have advantages that cannot be met by public spaces.
That doesn’t negate the value of public spaces or parks.