Working in the suburbs vs. working in the city

I write this blog post from a bus shelter in a bucolic corporate office park in the wilds of Chester County, where I have to kill 50 minutes before the next bus back to the city arrives. It's also no place to be if you do not have a car, as I don't.

There is a very convenient bus connection to the city, but if you have time to kill and want to do something nearby, there's nothing nearby unless you have a car.

The one cafe in the buildings on this cul-de-sac has a decent menu but the ambiance of an employee lunchroom, and there's no Wi-Fi. There's a real restaurant in a hotel about a quarter mile away, but the landscaping and the lack of sidewalks certainly doesn't encourage walking there.

Want a cuppa and a place to hang out and surf the Web? For that you will have to visit a casual eatery in a strip mall about a mile and a half away, across a freeway and down a two-lane road (again, no sidewalks).

I guess this establishes me as a city kid once and for all. Which may be a problem for me, for the 'burbs are where the jobs are these days.

The city of Philadelphia may have finally ended its five-decade-long population drain, but its employment base continues to be somewhat anemic and job growth in the city sluggish at best. I can, however, be thankful for our region's extensive mass transit system, which makes it possible for me to get to a lot of those jobs, as well as the interview for which I had come out to Chesterbrook. But once there, there's a real dearth of options if what you are used to is the wide variety of places and activities the city offers within an easy walk of where you are.

It's that variety of options, and the opportunities they provide for chance encounters, that make cities especially appealing to people like me who work in creative professions such as advertising, publishing, the arts and the media. Even though jobs in those fields as well are found all across the region, they remain disproportionately concentrated in the city.

Of course, so many diversions so close by can also be distracting, which may be one reason why corporate campuses and office parks are so appealing to many employers. The fewer distractions, the easier it is for staff to focus on their work.

Still, there must be some sort of happy medium between the hyperstimulation the city promises and the monocultural tranquility of the suburban office park. This region has it in the many suburban downtowns that sprang up around railroad stations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An office park within walking distance of one of those might just be an ideal place to work, for it promises tranquility and focus when you want it and variety when you don't.

What are the qualities of your ideal work location? Do you prefer variety and stimulation, or peace and the opportunity to focus? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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By Sandy Smith Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for PhillyJobs.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Beyond.com. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on PhillyJobsBlog.com.