TheFreeQuaker on Nostr: I've never thought of suburbia as a utopia. Thinking more about it, while it all ...

I've never thought of suburbia as a utopia. Thinking more about it, while it all seemed to start as a kind of safety through conformity (or predictability), the suburbs I know feel a lot about control. People seek HOA enforcement to maintain property values, complaining about their neighbor planting an unapproved tree, etc. Some folks love having an authority to appeal to and are willing to enforce the rules at the expense of community.

I live in a small town with surrounding suburban developments. In-town residents have to resolve issues directly with neighbors because the Town's policies are hands-off compared to the HOAs. Folks in HOAs often complain to the board without speaking to their neighbor first. I've heard a lot of folks over the years complain about others complaining.

In-town folks generally welcome teenagers hanging out, while in the developments, some folks like to track teens' movements on the Facebook community page, with comments like, "they look like they're up to no good."

It's not that everyone in an HOA is awful, but there's a higher percentage of entitlement combined with the opportunity to enforce the entitlement.

I'll need to ask folks if they had an expectation of utopia when they moved there. I'm very curious.