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[hunter]

25. My great grandparent's house in San Francisco has a large back yard garden.

Alas, my great grandma sold the house long ago when it became apparent her adult daughters were in Hollywood California to stay. My grandma and her sister always thought of San Francisco as a hard-edged working class city, which it was. My great aunt was born before the Great Earthquake, my grandma after.

If I had three or four million dollars I'd buy the house back into our family. The house is within easy walking distance of schools, parks, a supermarket, and restaurants offering cuisines from all over the world.

High density urban living doesn't necessarily mean "no garden." Even people living in small apartments can enjoy community gardens.

My wife's sister lived a few years in a nice, sunny apartment in the same area. The only downside to visiting her then was finding a place to park . When we'd visit I'd drop off my wife and kids at her front door and go looking for a spot. The longest it ever took was forty minutes...

When our children were old enough to visit family on their own, or just the city itself for fun, they quickly learned to use public transportation. That's probably one of the reasons they have chosen to live in densely populated cities themselves. So have some of their cousins. Urban living was not unfamiliar to them.