City or Country?

[TetRefine]

Which do you prefer? Do you like the city with all its diversity, culture, things to do, largeness, etc.? Or maybe the country with its vast open spaces, less people?

 

Personally I grew up in a semi-rural suburb full of close-minded, stupid rednecks that grow up, and never leave to bigger and better things. I was lucky and had the support of my parents to leave that place and I went to college right outside Philadelphia. After getting a taste of everything that the city has to offer, I'm never going back to anything like where I grew up. Maybe to visit once in a while, but never, ever back to live there.

 

So thoughts?

[Mark Arbour]

My first choice is the suburbs, where most of us WASPs live.

 

My second choice would be the city. Those could be reversed, depending on the suburb and the city.

[Arpeggio]

I grew up in Boston and New York, I came here when I was 9-10 to Tennessee and live outside a pretty small city. It's nice and mellow, but it is a big change from New York for sure. I don't think I like it too much considering I can't find a job and it's full of a bunch of narrow minded people, but it's okay.

[DragonFire]

I grew up in a main city and lived there for 25 years, but moved into a little village just out outside of Winchester. I grew sick and tired of the grind, so when a friend offered me his place at a good rate (he works abroad a lot) I grabbed it. The silence took a LOT of getting used to trust me, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

[Bumblebee]

I grew up in the suburbs and I still live in the same suburb... different house though

 

But I love going to our holiday house which is in the country sorta, and when I finally get my own place I would have to move into the country and own a massive property

[Cia]

I grew up in the country, like 600 people in my town country. I live in a suburb but even the cities here in the Pac NW aren't too 'city'. I still miss the small town life at times. We'd raise our kids in Josh's home town, (about 4,000 folks) if it were economically feasible. As it is, we're stuck visiting. That's the plan for this weekend, yay!

[Dark]

Wish I could have voted for more than one! I lived in each (city, suburb, and country) for several years growing up. I live in the city now and I hate hate hate it! I prefer the country hands down and it's one of the main reasons I'm moving back home this summer. To be able to walk outside my door and not get run over by a million other people ...! I can't wait. 2 more months to go.

[Cyhort]

Suburbs, easily. I hate the country. Way too boring and open. I hate cities, way too many people, too much crime and it's way too expensive and/or depressed. I like that suburbs are private but not desolate or isolated and I love the easy access to chain stores. I couldn't live anywhere that didn't have a GameStop or an Applebee's within easy driving distance, lol.

[Ramon]

Right now, I'd want to live in the city mostly for the ease of travel. I go to the city quite a bit and I really hate having to ride the bus and the skytrain for an hour and a half just to get there.

[Rakuten06]

Before, I live in the suburbs of a small town in Vermont, but now I'm in a city called DC for the university.

 

For the rest of my life after graduation, I don't mind living in the country because it's nice and quiet for me, which is perfect for my personality

 

 

[Tipdin]

I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My family moved to the country when I was 16 - exactly the wrong time for me! I now live in the suburbs. Minneapolis has gone the way of many cities, it's dirty, rundown, and dangerous. If it was still nice, I'd love to live there agin, I miss the monster Victorian mansion that sucked up all my time and money... but then I think about the five acres I own up in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and take a deep cleansing breath. Babbling brooks, waterfalls, bears, coyotes, and eagles, almost no people at all. At this point in my life, the seclusion of the mountain top is j..u..s..t right.

 

 

[George Richard]

Being able to choose more than one answer would have been good for me too. I grew up on a farm near a small town (less than 500 people at the time--the 50's and 60's). But there was a university less than 15 minutes away, and a larger city within easy commuting distance, so the lifestyle was as much suburban as rural even then. The area had been settled by Scandinavians, and I think the societal cohesion that makes Scandinavian countries so sucessful was evident in my hometown too. There was not much red-neckedness to be found. Still, just about everybody moved away for school and careers; the ones who didn't are either successful farmers, or commute to good jobs in the city. I moved away--to the Chicago area for school and then work. Now I've spent the last several decades in the older, close-in suburbs, which have as much in common with city neighborhoods as they do with the newer, farther out towns. I've always taken the train to work so I've spent many years of my life in the city.

[Former Member]

Born and raised in the suburbs, now living in the country. I prefer the country to the suburb where I was. It's quiet. Hardly any crime and awesome views,(living in a small fishing village on the coast of Scotland). Great for walks with the dogs. Can't see myself going back to living in the suburbs and no way to living the city life.

To what someone's preference is I guess depends on the person, their lifestyle and circumstances. I've never had to deal with living in a small community somewhere with small minded people but I could understand the thought of never living somewhere like that again if I had.

[rustle]

I've been really lucky. I grew up in a suburb of a major metropolitan area, so I had the art and culture of the city. As a young adult, I lived in the inner city, and took full advantage of it, partying all the town.When I settled down, I bought a house in a suburb, where I could enjoy a nice back yard with plenty of wildlife, and good roads for a bicycle. In '02, I moved outside a small town, and live on 3 acres of pine forest - no yard to mow, and a big fenced yard for the dogs. A state park with the best trails system in the state is right around the corner, and I can get to a liberal city in 45 minutes if I want.

[dimi_joey]

I prefer the suburbs .

I've seen people criticizing the suburbs for strip malls, clone houses, uninteresting people. It seems to me that North Americans live in their suburbans big houses for far too long, and once you get used to something like that, it's no longer desirable. We're seeing to trend of reinventing downtown in many Canadian and American cities, and while that is a great thing, if one is truly interesting, she/he would be able to stand out anywhere, so no need to criticize suburban environment making people "dull"

What I think is interesting is Asian immigrants who stayed long enough in "urban" environment back in their home countries, when they move into Canada or US, they tend to go into these big houses in the suburbs, it's the people who grew up here that are truly interested in downtown living, it just shows that you want what you never had I guess.

As someone who migrated from China to Canada I have seen both sides, and I now prefer those suburbs that are clean and safe and quiet and not too far from convenient shopping locations and other public amenities.

[Collan]

To what someone's preference is I guess depends on the person, their lifestyle and circumstances.

I totally agree, and every place you go to can have its upsides and its downsides. I personally grew up in the suburbs and still live in the suburbs, albeit different ones. It's where I feel most comfortable, since it's where I've spent the bulk of my life. For me the upside is that I'm close enough to the big city cultural centers to access them if and when I need to, but the pace is slower and there's more of a sense of privacy.

 

As opposed to the suburbs, big cities and rural areas I think have more of their own distinct characters. London, New York, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Antwerp, Salzburg - they each have their own unique feel. Similarly, living in rural Pennsylvania, rural Arkansas, or rural New Mexico are very different experiences.

 

No matter where you live though, so many other factors influence how you feel about a certain place - your family, your friends, your job, your past experiences both good and bad can all have an impact.

[Eddy]

I grew up in the Eastern suburbs of Cleveland Ohio but always wished I was living on a farm in the country. My wife died in 1995 and later that year went to Grand Lake Colorado for my stepsons wedding. Grand Lake is right at 8500 feet, up in the Rocky Mountains. Grand Lake at that time had an old west feeling: the main street was dirt with board walks lining the street. Six months later I was living in a, newly built home, in Grand Lake. A 35 minute drive into the Rocky Mountain Park puts me at 13,000 feet -- that time frame is from my house. Life is wonderful!

 

Denver is a 2 1/2 hour drive with nothing more that sparse mountain living in between. My last trip to Denver was 3 years ago -- the cooler temperature at the higher altitudes dissuades any desire to have a day trip into the hellish heat of Denver during the summer, and the wild snow during the winter, is enough to abort a trip too.

 

I have one comforter on my bed year round, even when we have an outside temperature of -40 degrees and a blizzard thrown in just for the fun of it. Over night temperatures generally range betwween 45 to 55 degrees during the summer. The next day can have a deep blue sky, the trees leaden with snow and sun giving enough heat to sweat while snow blowing the drive

 

They did pave the main street through town a few years ago - but the board walks remain.

 

You couldn't drag me back into the nightmarish city living.

[Sir Galahad]

I grew up in a main city and lived there for 25 years, but moved into a little village just out outside of Winchester. I grew sick and tired of the grind, so when a friend offered me his place at a good rate (he works abroad a lot) I grabbed it. The silence took a LOT of getting used to trust me, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

 

That house is great isn't it? I told you that you'd love it; by the way, could you take the hoover round!

Edited May 6, 2011 by Sir Galahad

[DragonFire]

That house is great isn't it? I told you that you'd love it; by the way, could you take the hoover round!

 

C***

[Mark92]

I was born and raised here in the remote countryside of Yorkshire,England,, I dont know what its like to live any other way.

As a child I vaguely remember going through cities and towns, i dont really recall what they were like. I am aware how very close to nature I am, and I work with it not against it.

[Tipdin]

I was born and raised here in the remote countryside of Yorkshire,England,, I dont know what its like to live any other way.

As a child I vaguely remember going through cities and towns, i dont really recall what they were like. I am aware how very close to nature I am, and I work with it not against it.

 

I'd like to live close to nature too. Perhaps you need a farmhand...?

[Former Member]

I was born and raised here in the remote countryside of Yorkshire,England,, I dont know what its like to live any other way.

As a child I vaguely remember going through cities and towns, i dont really recall what they were like. I am aware how very close to nature I am, and I work with it not against it.

 

It's a small world. I was also born and raised in Yorkshire. (near leeds) but in the suburbs. We moved to Inverness in Scotland about a month ago. I'll always think of Yorkshire as my home though.

Edited May 7, 2011 by Former Member

[Raijen]

I grew up in the rural areas of Arkansas and Mississippi, and currently live in the city of Fort Smith while attending college. Personally, I prefer being in the country because it is so quiet and tranquil, and the weather is much nicer (tends to be cooler outside of cities).

 

The downside to being in the country for a long time is that, as a writer, it's easy to lose track of the human world and become immersed in the world of stories. That may be due to my personal quirks though, so I'm sure others can stay in tune with people. I have to stay in the city if I want to keep up with the rest of society lol

[colinian]

I was born and raised in the suburbs east of Berkeley. I moved to Berkeley with my partner Doug and my brother Chris and his boyfriend Steve to live in the dorms on the UC campus for two years. Then we moved to a house in Berkeley our folks bought as an investment. The house is much better than the dorms, and much less expensive too. Berkeley is a suburb of San Francisco/Oakland, though it's more like a section of a large city.

 

When we get our Master's degrees Doug and I want to move back to the same suburban area east of Berkeley where we were raised. We like the access to state and regional parks in that area where we can go hiking whenever we want.

 

Colin

[pabz]

I was born in a suburb of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England but then at 5yrs old we moved to a country village of Bamford in Derbyshire, since then I have lived in small market towns, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Chesterfield, Buxton, Derbyshire and afterwards a small seaside resort in the north part of Mallorca, a Mediterranean Island belonging to Spain and now on the outskirts of a large coastal town, 5 km from the center and almost in the country...on the Costa Blanca of Spain..

 

Rather makes it sound as though I have been "on the run"

 

I dislike the "hubbub" of the city and prefer a large village or small town. Where I live now is just a little too void of shops and bars and altho not far, I do have to use the car. Saying that, my arthritic joints don't allow me to walk very far...

 

Guess that now at 76yrs old I have finished flitting from pillar to post but who knows??

 

There are fotos in my gallery of where I live now..