- Moving to the suburbs offers hidden benefits to students and families alike.
- Studies from the Census Bureau in 2017 revealed that lower-density suburbs have the fastest growth.
- Suburban life comes with its own obstacles, but understanding the main ones early on allows movers to be better prepared to live and settle in a new environment.
I moved to California 10 years ago this year, as a college student.
I didn't relocate to Hollywood, Laguna Beach, or any other place that you would recognize from a pop culture reference. Instead, I lived in a suburban city in Ventura County called Thousand Oaks.
Calling the move a major transition is definitely an understatement. Previously, I lived in Saint Louis, Missouri. My home in Saint Louis was in a busy area, across the street from a Dairy Queen and flanked by a tanning salon, a bank branch, and a Sprint store. Living in Thousand Oaks, or TO as the locals call it, was like being in a little bubble. It was quiet, family-friendly, and relatively free of crime.
During the two years I lived there, I was surprised by the number of obstacles I ran into in my daily life.
Here's are three things I wish somebody had told me before I made the move from the city to the suburbs.