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Show Vt suburbs didnt automatically cure a husbands it drinking or his anxiety about losing his job often made him more insecure. living in the suburbs didnt come up to expectations because those expectations were too high and unreasonable to begin with. You have to conform Suburban living often puts a demoralizing strain on families who are moving upward from a poorer environment. But an even more familiar complaint about life in the suburban development is the strain of keeping down not up with the Joneses. The people most anxious to get back to the city are ones with comparatively high intellectual and artistic interests who feel that living in a secluded country suburb requires conforming to the tastes, prejudices and social standards of their close neighbors. or ranch-typ- e Out here in this split-levto to the belong group, a society, youve got suburban matron says. If you dont belong to the group, youre treated as if you have typhoid and their children wont play with your children. That means you have to like what they like and do as they do. Youre not even supposed to entertain friends they dont know, unless you invite them in to be introduced. Lord help you if they catch you reading a book by somebody they never heard of, like Dylan Thomas. That means youre a freak, or maybe a Communist. Its not like that in the city. Thats why I caiiTwait to el get back there. The more serious sociological critics of suburbia point out that this belonging to a closely associated group applies more to wives than to husbands. The wives in suburban neighborhoods, drawn together during the daytime absence of commuting husbands, share an intimate companionship that the men of the community do not know or understand. This gives the suburban husband a feeling of being left out of things, a sociologist says. He resents it. This resentment, plus the fact that his long daily absence from home puts the major burden of running the family npon his wife, throws the normal husband-wif-e family relationship out of balance. Thats where a lot of discontent in suburban families comes from. or Chicago knows the superintendent of schools? In the city, you hardly know the teachers. But during hours and vacations the suburban development is not at all the para- dise for parents hoped it would be. ; Most of the quickly built country-hom- e projects were filled with houses before any provisions were made for playgrounds.. The play area that is available has been largely taken over by such highly organized and games as the Little League, leaving little room for older youngsters to enjoy sports on their own. after-6cho- teen-age- ol rs adult-supervis- Trouble are mmgniSed in the The worst part of raising suburbs is that you hare to drive them everywhere they want to go, a mother on Long Island says. Theres no subway, of course, and the buses dont go anywhere near their friends homes. So you have to take them. It is true that some mothers dont mind the taxiing and there are even fathers who enjoy commuting. Its also true that suburbanites who did not expect too much have often made, a good adjustment to country living, especially those who felt that a good school and a house and garden of their own outweighed the inconveniences. Its a argument, but for many of the couples who set their sights too high, the drily hazards of suburban life the driving, the train schedules, the repair bills have all ended with a big moving van lumbering back to the nearest city. (thc dm teen-age- Crowded tchools The suburban schools, the main attraction that drew most original settlers to the suburbs, y are now relatively almost as crowded as schools and have become a tax burden on homeowning parents, the like of which no city apartment tenant has ever suffered. Despite the expense, however, the average suburban P.TJL member, no matter how much he hates commuting, would hardly seriously consider moving to the city until after his children finish high school. The great thing about our schools, one parent says, is the personal contact we have with the school-boar- d members, the superintendents and the principals. We know them socially and we can talk to them any time. What parent in New York big-cit- rs two-side- d t ft enough money for their growing years $ There s one way that guarantees it! Do you ever worry about your family having thc money theyll need in the years ahead if youre not here to earn it for them? Then its reassuring to know that you may already be guaranteeing your family more money than you could save in years through your life insurance. Thc entire amount of your policies is guaranteed right from the start. This is one of the unique advantages of life insurance. Another point to remember: your familys money needs are continually changing. To make the most of your policies, review them regularly with your life insurance agent. Hes trained to help you. Institute of Life Insurance Central Source of Information About Life Insurance 488 Madison Avenue, New York 22, N.Y. 'When someone's counting on you v .. ..you can taunt on life insurutwe IMS WEEK MqHNM IS |
