I think there’s a bit more nuance to it than that. I can look up a tax map for my state and see that for every dollar I pay in taxes that only 60 cents come back to where I live. It’s 98 cents back to the big city associated with my suburb.

The areas that get more in taxes than they pay in are the rural areas.

I’m not denying this happens in some places, but it’s not universal. I live in the suburbs and grow veggies during the summer. The state I live in has “right to garden” laws that prevent a lot of HOA restrictions. My city also has a rain barrel program to encourage their use and offers discounts on barrels.

I understand what you’re saying, and being able to drive is definitely a privilege I have. Public transit exists. I can walk to a bus stop within 10 minutes of my home. It’ll take me all over including to a vibrant downtown. It can also take me to a local train station where I can ride affordably into many neighboring communities along my route, ultimately taking me to a major city.

Suburbs don’t have to be these horrible places they’re made out to be.

Yeah, I had another reply in this post where I talk about it. My subdivision is next to a commercial area so I can walk within 10 minutes to a grocery store, pharmacy, restaurants, fast food, gym, dry cleaners, banks, and to a bus stop for public transit.

I’m assuming there are suburbs that have these problems, but I think that’s a city planning problem.

I live in a suburb and enjoy it a lot. It’s very walkable and people bike around the neighborhood all the time. We have a walking/biking path that connects to a larger trail that goes for a miles.

I don’t have access to everything within walking distance, but I have access to a lot within a 10 minute walk.

I live in the suburbs and really love it. My neighborhood is quiet and easy to walk around without much road noise. There’s a small park within our neighborhood that children play in and people take their dogs.

I have a front yard and back yard that’s mostly grass, but we do plant flowers and plants when the weathers nice. It gives me an excuse to be outside during the summer. And yeah, I do grow vegetables and garden in the backyard as do many others. The fenced in backyard makes it easy to have a pet with room to run.

Despite my neighborhood being quiet it’s adjacent to a commercial area, so I can walk within 10 minutes to a grocery store (a Walmart to be fair) and if I’d like, I can hop on public transit that has a bus stop right there. There’s restaurants, fast food, groceries and other small businesses like dry cleaners, hair stylists, banks, and gyms. All easily within 10 minutes of walking. The local public transit can get you to major shopping centers and downtown areas in a reasonable amount of time.

I mostly drive and what I love the most is that I can drive to heavily populated areas with activity within 5-10 minutes but my neighborhood itself is this quiet sleepy little suburb where kids play in cul-de-sacs without worrying about traffic and I know many of my neighbors by name.

I definitely get how suburbs can look bad, but it doesn’t mean they have to be.