A bit of both. The history of suburban sprawl is pretty well documented elsewhere, but at this point, it&#x27;s hard to undo. People have committed to a car-based, suburban lifestyle.<p>Heck, I don&#x27;t much care of the suburbs, but being a software developer outside DC means the best job prospects are along the Dulles corridor (Tyson&#x27;s Corner through Dulles Airport) or other suburban areas.  So, like many others, I bought a house in the &#x27;burbs, where the public schools are good, jobs are bountiful, and traffic makes me feel like kicking puppies.<p>Now that I&#x27;m here, I&#x27;m pretty ambivalent about it. I&#x27;d move downtown, but I&#x27;m not convinced the pay would be high enough to offset the increased cost of real-estate ($400k for a 3-bed row houe in the outer &#x27;burbs, $700k+ for the same downtown).