See, the thing is, not everyone wants to live in the city. Some find the quiet more refreshing than the noise. Some find open space better for raising kids than city streets. To a point that you posted in a follow-on, not everyone wants to participate in "the cultural life of the city" all that much.

Personally, I'm not sure that I'd want to be closer than 40 miles to downtown Chicago... but I might want to be close to a Metra line.