People in the suburbs: they're just like us (mostly)

By Virginia K. Smith | September 17, 2015 - 3:59PM

While you may feel worlds away from your siblings or old high school classmates who've decamped to the suburbs, never forget that there's one time-honored thing we all share: what annoy us.

Mortgage service HSH.com recently surveyed 1,001 Americans about "what irks Americans about their homes, neighborhoods and neighbors," and for the most part, it's all pretty universal, no matter where you live. To wit: common household complains include "lack of storage," "too small," "too old/note updated," "the neighbors," "no central air conditioning," and "water pressure." Sounds familiar, no? (Mercifully less familiar: 51 percent of respondents complained about "insects/wildlife," and 31 percent about "unusable space.")

People also had a lot of complaints about noisy or unfriendly neighbors (and their kids), "speeders" and traffic on the streets, lack of nightlife and retail, "commute too far," and—wait for it—"too many teenagers," a complaint for 40 percent of respondents. You can check out the full reports here for homes, neighbors, and neighborhoods, but the takeaway is clear: when in doubt about dinner party conversation, everyone likes complaining about teens.

Six reasons to be (sort of) jealous of your friends in the suburbs

Feeling priced out of the city? Here's what to expect in the 'burbs

Reel Estate: "Unfaithful" is a case study in why you should never move to the suburbs

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.