Which is "better" - Living in the city or living in a rural area?

[GURUving]

I've been in both, and definitely vote for the rural life.

Why do you think one is better than the other?

[Bronco69]

1. I was raised in a rural area

but I much prefer the city. It's much more convenient, and there are a lot more things to do.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. a rural spot where all my city friends own second homes...great summer

fun...and we have great cutural fun visiting them in the city
i have lived in NYC and i must say i love the mountians in upstate much better..been here 18 years now :7

[Kathy in Cambridge]

3. Living the City, Vacationing in the Country

Access to good food, the arts, films, and other activities is important to me. But peace and quiet is nice once in a while! :-)

[ithacan]

5. I'm with you Rose

city life is real life...

[Maine Mary]

27. Me too

If feasable, I would've, at the very least, spent my young adult years in a city, but I had a child at a young age so that was out; due to the need of family members close by.

Now, unemcumbered (my daughter is a freshman @ Syracuse U) I suppose I could do as I wish, but am afraid of change. In some ways I feel stuck here in "the hinterlands", not by circumstances, but by fear. Even Maine's rural I-95 scares me for God's Sake! In fact, it freaks me out to traverse the streets of Portland, a city of 70k... Maine's largest. I'm a wreck driving in anything but a two lane highway. :crazy:

I've traveled a bit because of my job (and LOVE it) but have never had to actually deal w/the day to day realities of city life. Catching cabs, or riding buses and subways, would probably take some real getting used to.

Long boring story short... I would love to live in a city but am afraid too... Also I think I would NEED to visit Maine (or some other rural refuge) at least once a year.

[beawr]

4. Living in the Country, Visiting the City

n/t

[Blue-Jay]

6. There are advantages to each.

I've lived in rural and metro locations and liked them both for different reasons. I now prefer to live in a small-ish city that's within easy driving distance to metro areas. I still get the benefits of both.

[Cannikin]

7. In Arkansas, the difference between the two is a five minute drive...

:shrug:

We've had the Clintons...and then on down the road..we've had 'The Simple Life'

Christ, I've got to get out of this state.

[Blue-Jay]

9. You should move to Mississippi

At least you'd be within driving distance of....um....slightly warmer weather.

"I keed!" - Triumph

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. If the city is only a 5 minute drive away

you ain't in the country yet. IMHO.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. In Arkansas, "the city" has 170,000 population

250,000 if you count North Little Rock.

[ktranz]

8. city

i'm young and full of sugar!!

[sendero]

10. I've lived in Dallas...

... since 1973. And as soon as my kids "grow up" I'm moving to a place in the country that I've already obtained and spend weekends molding to my plans :)

I *cannot wait* to move out there. We go there on weekends and we really don't want to come back to "big D" at all :)

[Skittles]

17. Whitesboro SUCKS

they have a McDonalds now and are fixing to get a light at 380. How far behind can the strip malls be???

[Feanorcurufinwe]

11. Too different to compare as better or worse.

The good things about living in the country are the polar opposites of the good things about living in the city. Now that I've been in the country for awhile though, I can't imagine going back to the city...

[Elidor]

13. Small towns

Nashville is 90 minutes away, and the country is just 5 minutes from my door. I hope to move waaaaaaay, way out in the country sometime in the next few years. Even a small town is too big for me now. "Keep Manhattan just gimme that countryside..."

[Wcross]

31. Hey neighbor!

I am living near Wartrace about 50 miles south of Nashville. I am out in the sticks- nearest neighbor is about a mile away. I have lived in suburbs,cities and now rural. I am working on a self sustaining lifestyle, chickens,cows and a huge garden. Rural is the way to go in my opinion.

[tishaLA]

14. Living in the city, vacationing in the city

and dating rural boys who aren't as narcissistic as city boys.

[Skittles]

15. I've lived in both and I'll take city living any day

too much rightwing phoniness in rural areas.

[greendog]

16. both are apealing....

....but given the choice between being surrounded by noise, advertising, and consumerism run amok....and being surrounded by wilderness....I'd choose the wilderness.

:)

[maxanne]

18. my preference is rural

I've been living in small town NH for 20 years. My town has a population of 835 at the last census.

[PhishWithLemon99]

19. Live in the city, vacation in other cities....

The rural area is just a place to travel through on your way to another city. I spent my early childhood in the rural mountains of central Pennsylvania, now I live in suburban Harrisburg, and I lived in Philadelphia for a few months and I go there weekly...I love the place. Hate the country.

[Logansquare]

20. Done both

and I'm very torn. I'd love to have a country home to hide in on the weekends, but the idea of going back to rural Ohio for good just chills me to the bone.

[mlawson]

21. A small(er), cosmopolitan city, very close to country!!

Like here in Asheville. I can stroll the streets, browse the bookstores and galleries, enjoy cafes, brewpubs and museums, and be on the Blue Ridge Parkway in 10 minutes. There are areas in this county so remote you need a Jeep to get to them.

[Art_from_Ark]

23. It depends. What city, and what rural area are we talking about?

Are we talking about the rural area in Deliverance or Mississippi Burning? The city in The Warriors?

Or are we talking about the difference between Mayberry and city life in That Girl?

[GURUving]

24. I guess the response would reference your experience

I sure hope the Deliverance experience isn't familiar!

[Cleita]

25. Rural, definitely when you mature.

The city is fine when you are young and need to sow some wild oats, but once you settle in, country life is definitely superior for life quality.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. I guess I haven't matured yet at 53

because I was never happier than when I could leave the small town in Oregon, where I had lived ages 36 to 43, and move to Portland. Now I'm in Minneapolis, which is even bigger.

I like the diversity and the underlying tension.

[Cleita]

28. I guess it depends on the small town.

Mine is okay because it's in a tourist area near the beach so you get the ammenities like decent restaurants and stores.

[Southsideirish]

29. A city like Asheville, NC, - not big and not small - just right.

Its got it all - like the north side of Chicago dropped down into a beautiful mountain setting.

[BiggJawn]

30. Rural setting, for sure!

I live in a small town and I love it.

If i'm gonna feel alone and isolated, I'd rather it be for a vaild reason, than living in a concrete jungle full of sucky mean people.

My biggest fear is having a spill on my bike out of cell-phone range.

[HEyHEY]

32. City boy checking in!

But that may be because I come from Vancouver, where the rural life is always easy to get to.

SO i always had the best of both worlds. But I love all the hidden away things and places that are in the city if you bother to look for them.