Things such as "lives in the outskirts of"...

[Hoamuahe]

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #650 "Prepositional Phrases - In, On, Out and Under (23)", question 2

Larry recently moved out of his old apartment. He now lives ......... the outskirts of the city where housing is a bit cheaper.

(a) in
(b) on
(c) out
(d) under

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #650 "Prepositional Phrases - In, On, Out and Under (23)", answer 2

Larry recently moved out of his old apartment. He now lives on the outskirts of the city where housing is a bit cheaper.

Correct answer: (b) on
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i looked up in cambridge dictionary ,on / in the outskirts are both correct!

[Esl_Expert]

Hello Hoamuahe,

You (and the Cambridge Dictionary) are right. We also say things such as "lives in the outskirts of" sometimes. So, "in" is not incorrect. Both "in" and "on" are correct answers. Perhaps someone will repair this test.

However, you might be interested in knowing that we say "on the outskirts of" much more often.
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“On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points.” ~ Virginia Woolf