slums or suburbs?

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i read an article in adbusters a while back that depicted the difference between the "slums" and the suburbs of modern life. heres my question, would you rather live in a lively but crowded "slum", and when i say slum i mean more low income neighborhood, where people work their 9 to 5s and the streets are always lively and full of people or a suburb, which is cleaner and you have more space, but really no interaction or neighborhood feel at all amongst your neighbors? i would take the "slum" any day. i spent a lot of time in the so called "bad" neighborhoods of new york city when i was living there recently, and while it was a LOT dirtier and possibly more dangerous, i liked that everywhere you turned you saw old friends on the street corners or neighborhood barber shops. i've spent time in suburbs here in WA state, and part of me really dislikes the manicured lawns and SUVs in every driveway. what about you guys? slums or burbs?