In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Boston Properties Inc. Executive VP Raymond Ritchey pointed out, “…The millennial generation [is] moving out of the cities, forming households, having children, looking for better schools and that’s going to drive rate demand in the suburbs.”

Want to know how to predict the future? Follow the hype and say the opposite will eventually happen.

For all the talk of Millennials forsaking the suburbs and embracing city life, there are practical reasons to raise your children in the suburbs:

  • A yard. City dwelling parents must physically take a child to do just about anything. Want to play outside? Mom or Dad has to take Junior to the park and watch the little lad the whole time. Have other things to do? Forget about it.
  • More stuff for kids to do. Sure, adults love the culture offered by the city but there is a lot more for kids to do in the suburbs, and that eventually becomes a priority for harried parents. There is pee wee soccer, dance recitals, play dates, day camps, ice cream trucks and catching fireflies, to name a few. Miss Karen and I are still grateful for the local McDonald’s Play Place. It saved our sanity on cold Sundays in February when the girls were little and full of energy.
  • Some extra room. Small apartments have small common spaces so there is no escaping children’s toys and games, especially not painful Lego foot.

So welcome home Millennials, we look forward to grilling with you.