City Life vs. Small Town Life

Search function. One of the past threads might as well be locked at the top of the page it has been discussed so much.

I think an ideal place is a small town near a big city. Suburbia is all right, but it has to be the right type of place. Small towns are great because they actually have a sense of community and almost always have better schools because they don't have a large school system to spread all the money to all schools, instead you keep the tax money in your few schools. But it is up to you, where your job is, what your goals are and what you like to do. I am sure everyone will have wildly diverse opinions on this.

I've lived in both, but I grew up in the Subs of A-Town Colorado, (Aurora, cheesey nick name eh'?)but I have lived in small urban towns for fire jobs, one of the perks to wildland fire fighting. I can def say that both have their advantages.

Small rural towns:

Everyone knows eachother and everyone looks out for everyone else that lives there.

Peace and quiet & beautiful landscapes

Your dollar spent is circulated through the town (no Wal-Mart effect)

Food is almost always better (low in variety, but consistantly good).

Larger Urban towns:

Easier to be independent

Easier to access resources (food, businesses, people, etc..)

Larger job pool (more options for careers)

Larger Gene pool (more members of the oposite sex to choose from) -back fires when STDs come into play-

Variety (smaller towns usually tend to have the same thing, over and over, and over again).

What you grow up in you will most likely favor however, its natural to feel a need to rest in your roots.

I can do small towns, and I can do cities, but suburban life just isn't my thing. A lot of people seem to enjoy the suburbs, but I like being in an area where the things that I need are close. The idea of getting in a car and driving for 20 minutes to get a sandwich when I'm hungry and theirs nothing in the fridge just seems asinine to me when I could just as easily live someplace where I could walk out the door and find anything from Taco Bell to fine dining on my own block.

Harry Kooter wrote:

The idea of getting in a car and driving for 20 minutes to get a sandwich when I'm hungry and theirs nothing in the fridge just seems asinine to me

And yes, before anyone feels the need to correct me, I know that it should be "there's", not "theirs."

Were I to live in the modern suburban subdivision, I would kill myself within a year. Yes, I know many readers cheer for this. Too bad for you!

I can exist in my modern suburb only because I live in the part that was once a small farming town. I miss many things about the small college town I once lived in. The narrow-mindedness of many of its inhabitants are the thing I miss least, and the ignorance of working-class struggle by faculty members are what I miss second-least. The city limits being two miles in any direction are what I miss the most, because it forces everyone to work together in one way or another. A community is what modern developers should strive for, but most don't have the balls to try it. This Old House hasn't been on PBS for 30 years by accident.

If I couldn't walk to the local grocery store, the local swimming pool, the local library, and the local restaurants, I wouldn't consider it a community. This is the way I grew up (in the ghetto) and this is the way I live now (in the 'burbs). Both were great places to live.

im in my 20s and could never consider moving to a small town or the burbs. I went to high school in a small town, and every time i go back to visit my parents i'm counting down the hours until i get to leave. I couldn't stand living in such a homogenous community - a wide variety of people, food, dress, viewpoints, neighborhoods and a vibrant crowd out in the streets - that's what life's all about to me. College towns do have some of these things, so I gues I could stand to move back to one if i had to.

That said, I can see why some people like small towns - the outdoors, close community, etc (even though it's not for me). The burbs are the worst of all worlds and i honestly don't understand why you would want to move there apart from the good schools. OP, if you're going to leave a small town, do it properly and move to an urban area. Don't move to the suburbs!!

I grew up in, and now live in, a community that is a 30 minute drive to a metropolitian area. It is not a suburb as it has been its own community for over 125 years and it is surrounded by open country and farms.

I have lived in metro areas and I found it stiffeling for running. To many intersections and traffic. From downtwon where I live now I can be on open country roads in just over a mile. Low traffic and better vistas. The country asphalt roads are much softer than the urban concrete sidewalks and they get plowed sooner and much more reliably after a snowfall.

My wife and I enjoy the social offerings and entertainment options that the metropolitan area provides with just a short half hour drive. I am the designated driver by choice.

I coached XC and Track at a DIII college in the metro area and we always were taking van rides to get to areas more conductive to XC training that the big city lacked.

Just remember, everybody dies famous in a small town.

I'm curious as to how people are defining "small town." Are we talking about a town with a population of 50,000 to 100,000, or are we talking about 30 houses, a store, and a church in the middle of a bunch of farm fields? When I posted that I like small towns, I was thinking about my hometown of about 100,000 people. It seems like a lot of people are talking about the kind of place where you know everyone by name.

100,000 (or even 50,000) is not a "small town". I would consider that a "big town" or "large town" though not a "city".

Mr. Kooter, welcome to reality: a city of 100,000 IS NOT A SMALL TOWN. It's what you call a MEDIUM-SIZED CITY.

I live on the outskirts of a town of about 300 people, five minutes from a town of 8,000 and 30 minutes from a city of 150,000. I consider this to be ideal living arrangements. Don't understand how anyone can voluntarily live in a big city, but to each his own. Cities are great to visit but I'd get claustrophobic in a big hurry living in one! Too damn many people in too small an amount of space, little privacy, no peace and quiet, lots of pollution and crime, etc., etc.......

City: Do you have a building over 5-6 stories? Do you have a downtown economic district?

Small town: No tall buildings. A rundown old "downtown" but it has "character".

City's have "metropolitan areas". Small towns are part of those "metropolitan areas".

Alan

the "small town" I refer to has a population of approximately 5,000-10,000. tallest building is three stories. i like it here, but wonder what i'm missing out on

Ever watch the Beverley Hillbillies?

Another boo for suburban towns dominated by driving everywhere, minimal pedestrian traffic, children under the clutches of protective parents, and infrequent neighbor interaction.

I like cities where diversity is tolerated, celebrated. My block has a Japanese, Pizza, Italian, Sandwich, Mexican, and French restaurant. It also has some nutty Pentecostal church. Don't know my neighbors well but do know many people in the city who share similar interests to mine.

Also like small towns where everyone knows me, you'll never feel so much a part of a community as when a family member passes away, and the whole town comes to support you in your time of need.

Yowza wrote: Don't know my neighbors well but do know many people in the city who share similar interests to mine.

...you don't really need to be in a megalopolis to find a few fans of online porn!

Well that depends on the specific type of online porn that he's into.

I grew up in a town of 1,200 and currently live in a large metro area (2 million+). While my city (20,000) is technically an inner-ring suburb, you can walk everywhere, and the downtown has lots of unique restaurants (only one chain) and shops.

If I HAVE to live in a large city, where I am right now is perfect for me. However, nothing beats small town life. The only thing keeping me from moving back to my hometown is that the running is limited and my wife would have trouble adjusting since she is a city girl.