I don't think the same criticisms of suburbia apply to rural areas. The main issue I personally have with suburbia can be summed up in one word; boredom. Nothing interesting to see, not much that's interesting to do. Rural life on the other hand is far better, the act of living rurally is engaging, and the sights and sounds of nature are far more interesting than the sights of identikit housing and the muffled sounds of suburbia.
I suspect you may dislike dense urban if you're associating it with places that are run down and without good city planning. Good city planning definitely includes parks and other open spaces, so it's not some monotonous concrete jungle.
Let me put it to you like this, if you lived in Venice, what do you think you would dislike about it?
My main memories of visiting Venice (20 years ago...) were also: general lack of greenery, not many open spaces, and a pervasive delapidated shabbiness. Also, it's built on marshland. So I'm not sure the good city planning bit applies either ;)
Also, constant churn of tourists... not sure how I'd feel about that as a parent. But if I had one of those grand Venetian apartments I might be OK about living there as an adult. The lack of greenery might end up a bit trying however.
I suspect you may dislike dense urban if you're associating it with places that are run down and without good city planning. Good city planning definitely includes parks and other open spaces, so it's not some monotonous concrete jungle.
Let me put it to you like this, if you lived in Venice, what do you think you would dislike about it?