Living in the City

Recently, the topic of the fatigue of living in the city, as opposed to more rural, even country setting, was brought up to me.

I must say, that perhaps my opinions may seem a little biased, having never really lived in a city, any major city, so far in my life. There are undeniable advantages to doing so, such as easy and quick public transportation (hopefully), great nightlife and plenty of things to do in general, access to rich cultural, historical, and scientific institutions like museums, universities and colleges, attractive events like concerts and sports, and the excitement and energy that a city usually brings in general. Plus, there is a better chance of being able to walk somewhere in the middle of some sleepless night and finding someplace that is open, if you are so inclined to buy something, or to sit down to a cup of coffee and kill some time. 

To be sure, however, there are distinct disadvantages, as well. Cities tend to be breeding grounds for rudeness, for decadence, for the accumulation of weird, and not necessarily good or wholesome things. The larger the city, and often times, the more expensive living there is. New York City, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, all are on the list of the most expensive places in the world, on average, to live. I recently heard that Seattle is rapidly moving up on that list, as well. You will surely notice that they are all major American cities, and they join other huge and famous cities around the world, such as Beijing and Hong Kong. The most expensive European city might surprise you: it is Moscow. Imagine how rapidly things changed there, where two decades and change ago, it was still the capital of a Communist country. They went the complete opposite direction, and Moscow is now the most expensive city in all of Europe - and that's saying something!

I personally do not believe that human beings were made to live together in such numbers and in such proximity. Often, cities suffer from overcrowded conditions, and this tends to be exacerbated the larger the city is. I have already mentioned the cost of living as generally being higher, but 

In the end, your personal living standard, and your health, really depend on the lifestyle you choose for yourself. You are not guaranteed a better quality of life necessarily simply because you choose either to live in an urban area, or you choose not to. The city tends to force people to walk more, which keeps levels of obesity down. That said, the number of high risk of pollution days tends to be significantly higher than outside of the city. There are always exceptions, but generally speaking, these are some of the advantages and disadvantages to living in cities, or living outside of them.

But you can enjoy healthy living and much walking outside of the city as well, including the suburbs. If you are committed to a certain lifestyle, most likely, being in the city, or in a quieter place, is not going to prevent you from living that style of life. 

Suburbs are supposed to bring the best of both worlds together. Theoretically, they mix the convenience and convenient access to cities, while allowing residents to enjoy the relative quietness of a more rural setting - although the noise pollution and overcrowding factors are growing quite rapidly there, too. Also, there is a reason that suburbs tend to be seen as places with broad lawns and narrow minds. There is some measure of truth to that, of course. 

Yes, personally, I have spent most of my life living in suburbs, and think that these reputation, like almost all stereotypes, can often be overblown. Ultimately, things, and people, can best be judged on a case by case basis. You can be the person you want to be, and live the relative lifestyle that you want to live, or at least pursue, wherever you live. Most of us are not so disciplined that we actually succeed in this, but that really is up to us.

The city offers excitement, but almost everyone that I have met that has lived a long time in cities also needs a break from it, every once in a while. Often times, they cannot wait to move out of the city, and leave the noise and congestion far behind them. That is telling to me, and why personally, it would see that the major city might be a very nice place to visit and to do and see things, but I don't think I'd want to live there.