--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What, really, is wanted from a…" description: "\"What, really, is wanted from a neighborhood? Convenience, certainly, an absence of major aggravation, to be sure. But perhaps mostof all, ideally, what..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/joseph-epstein-10324_absence_what-really-is-wanted-from-a-neighborhoo_2479491.png" --- # What, really, is wanted from a neighborhood? Convenience… ![“What, really, is wanted from a neighborhood? Convenience, certainly, an absence of major aggravation, to be sure. But perhaps mostof all, ideally, what is wanted is a comfortable background, a breathing space of intermission between the intensities of private life and the calculations of public…” quote by Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/joseph-epstein-10324_absence_what-really-is-wanted-from-a-neighborhoo_2479491.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/joseph-epstein-10324_absence_what-really-is-wanted-from-a-neighborhoo_2479491.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/joseph-epstein-10324_absence_what-really-is-wanted-from-a-neighborhoo_2479491.png) > “What, really, is wanted from a neighborhood? Convenience, certainly, an absence of major aggravation, to be sure. But perhaps mostof all, ideally, what is wanted is a comfortable background, a breathing space of intermission between the intensities of private life and the calculations of public life.” [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People seek neighborhoods that provide convenience, peace, and a buffer between private intensity and public demands. **In simple terms:** We want easy, calm places that separate home life from public life. Key Takeaway Choose living spaces that offer comfort and respite. Themes community comfort balance Mood contemplative analytical Type sociological observational When to use this quote - home buying - urban design - work‑life balance - public policy Key Concepts urban planning social psychology Questions to Reflect On - What makes a neighborhood truly comfortable? - How can public life be balanced with private life? A Different Perspective Convenient locations may lack cultural vibrancy or affordability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Aggravation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggravation/) [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Breathing space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing-space/) [Calculations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculations/) [Comfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfortable/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Convenience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenience/) [Ideally Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideally-wanted-848876/) [Intensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensity/) [Intermission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intermission/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majors/) [Neighborhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighborhood/) [Neighborhood Convenience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighborhood-convenience-848875/) [Private life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-life/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Neighborhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-neighborhood-848874/) ## Related quotes > [“There should be a little gap between you and your friends, though you'll miss their companionship and you'll also miss their disrespect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/there-should-be-a-little-gap-between-you-and-your-friends-though-you/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Say only what is well-intended, true, beneficial, timely, expressed without harshness or malice, and—ideally—what is wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hanson/say-only-what-is-well-intended-true-beneficial-timely-expressed/) [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) > [I had never done a 90-minute play with no intermission, so it is a bit like you get onto the train and you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-rabe/i-had-never-done-a-90-minute-play-with-no-intermission-so-it-is-a-bit/) [Lily Rabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-rabe/) > [Pleasure is nothing else but the intermission of pain, the enjoying of something I am in great trouble for till I have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/pleasure-is-nothing-else-but-the-intermission-of-pain-the-enjoying-of/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [If a man has only correct doctrine to offer me, I am sure to slip out at the first intermission to seek the company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/if-a-man-has-only-correct-doctrine-to-offer-me-i-am-sure-to-slip-out/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The newer education put stress on culture ... Saturday mornings, the young were brushed and washed, forced into blue cheviot suits, and dragged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/the-newer-education-put-stress-on-culture-saturday-mornings-the-young/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [A movie that I've seen probably the most is 'Fanny & Alexander,' the Ingmar Bergman movie. I even dragged my friends to the super…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/a-movie-that-i-ve-seen-probably-the-most-is-fanny-alexander-the/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [“You could also call it waking,' Krishna continues. 'Or intermission, as one scene in a play ends and the next hasn't yet begun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/you-could-also-call-it-waking-krishna-continues-or-intermission-as/) [Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/) > [I just am committed wholeheartedly to theatre with no intermission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-just-am-committed-wholeheartedly-to-theatre-with-no-intermission/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [The advertisements during intermissions are the truest reflection of an intermission from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-debord/the-advertisements-during-intermissions-are-the-truest-reflection-of/) [Guy Debord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-debord/) > [If my life was a play, age 35 was my intermission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/if-my-life-was-a-play-age-35-was-my-intermission/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [In the first place you must study drawing for at least one year; then you must remain with a master at the workshop for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cennino-cennini/in-the-first-place-you-must-study-drawing-for-at-least-one-year-then/) [Cennino Cennini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cennino-cennini/) > [One of the most horrible, yet most important, discoveries of our age has been that, if you really wish to destroy a person and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-of-the-most-horrible-yet-most-important-discoveries-of-our-age/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [“It takes alot of energy to pretend you're fine when you're not. A bit like being in a play that never ends. I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-m-cameron/it-takes-alot-of-energy-to-pretend-you-re-fine-when-you-re-not-a-bit/) [Chelsea M. Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-m-cameron/) > [There are a few versions of the Alexander movie on video, only two that matter. One is from 2007, and then the one from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/there-are-a-few-versions-of-the-alexander-movie-on-video-only-two/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) ## More by Joseph Epstein > [I am basically a complainer and all the grounds for complaint have been swept out from under me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-am-basically-a-complainer-and-all-the-grounds-for-complaint-have/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I think the story is my form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-think-the-story-is-my-form/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I was recently asked what it takes to become a writer. Three things, I answered: first, one must cultivate incompetence at almost every other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-was-recently-asked-what-it-takes-to-become-a-writer-three-things-i/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [“To be in the middle of composing a book is almost always to feel oneself in a state of confusion, doubt and mental imprisonment…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/to-be-in-the-middle-of-composing-a-book-is-almost-always-to-feel/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I am the heterosexual Truman Capote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-am-the-heterosexual-truman-capote/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [Not to like ice cream is to show oneself uninterested in food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/not-to-like-ice-cream-is-to-show-oneself-uninterested-in-food/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [We who are quotatious are never truly alone, but always hear the cheerful flow of remarks made by dead writers so much more intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/we-who-are-quotatious-are-never-truly-alone-but-always-hear-the/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [Culture means, I think, that you have widened your experience enough through reading and through being a little bit thoughtful about these things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/culture-means-i-think-that-you-have-widened-your-experience-enough/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [Food has it over sex for variety. Hedonistically, gustatory possibilities are much broader than copulatory ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/food-has-it-over-sex-for-variety-hedonistically-gustatory/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [“Getting rid of most of my personal library comported nicely with my longheld fantasy of traveling light, existing with minimal encumbrances, living simply. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/getting-rid-of-most-of-my-personal-library-comported-nicely-with-my/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [Envy is never general, but always very particular - at least envy of the kind one feels strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/envy-is-never-general-but-always-very-particular-at-least-envy-of-the/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [Many moons ago dictionaries of quotations may have been less needed than they are today. In those good/bad old days, people walked around with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/many-moons-ago-dictionaries-of-quotations-may-have-been-less-needed/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/of-the-seven-deadly-sins-only-envy-is-no-fun-at-all/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I know how many days in which I have just answered e-mail, had three phone calls and a two hour lunch. Poof, gone. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-know-how-many-days-in-which-i-have-just-answered-e-mail-had-three/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I am married to someone I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-am-married-to-someone-i-love/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) [Explore all 66 Joseph Epstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What, really, is wanted from a neighborhood? Convenience, certainly, an absence of major aggravation, to be sure. 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