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Recently I went to Chicago on business and I personally couldn't stand it the majority of the time. The massive crowds everywhere you go, the clogged roads from the traffic, and the lack of respect to ones fellow man left a bad taste in my mouth for cities. Are most large cities like this and if so how do you stand it? The only time I enjoyed it was after midnight when the streets and sidewalks were mostly cleared. The best sights were lit up and there was a McDonalds open 24/7 that I was able to get something that tasted good without pointlessly high prices.

I prefer my smaller town area with plenty of open roads around where I can pick up speed and enjoy the feel of the road. I can go to a nice restraunt and not get charged an arm and a leg just to get a simple steak or burger. The people are nicer on average and rush hour is the only time the horrid drivers make their appearance. What are some other opinions on city live vs. small towns?

I personally hate cities period. I tend to avoid them as much as possible. I prefer smaller towns and country. Hence why i live in the country. I can do whatever the hell i want and not feel like i am going to be shot at just by going for a walk......except when shotgun season is going on. " Look somethings moving....SHOOT IT!"

Many people live in big cities and like them.
For anyone who has ever been to Seattle...it sucks.
Take all of the crappy parts of NYC, make it rain, make living really expensive, and have a bunch of pot-zombies walking around spreading the message of MJ and you get Seattle.
This is only because this is the only major city I have been in besides Vegas (which does not suck). This is probably why I hate city life.
Greetsz,
Mr. Self Destruct

Just avoid going outside while wearing antlers and your safe. Orange attire is also suggested.

I love Chicago, and urban life in general. I've lived in small towns, and moderately sized suburbs as well, but generally found them boring. The suburbs, in particular, lack any form of social life. Small towns are more social, but generally lacking in variety with respect to entertainment.

Additionally, I've never been to a small town that can compete with urban areas in terms of quality, and variety, with respect to food.

Let me just say, your chances of getting shot in the city are pretty small. What city
life does is increase your chances of being in an area where someone else
is shot.

At least, I think that's how I think the stats play out.

I live in a small town of about 10k people and I really enjoy it. It does help though that I live about 40 minutes across the river from St. Louis and I have friends that live there if I need to crash for the night. I like visiting Chicago though if only because I travel up there in my Cardinals gear.

I ive in a city of 50k,is that big?

Your odds of getting shot in the country are much, much higher than your odds of getting shot in the city. This is largely due to suicide, as more than half of gun fatalities are suicides and the suicide rate in rural area is much higher than in the city. Probably because living in the country is really boring.

On two occasions I’ve taken jobs in the country, and in each case I was just marking time until I could come back again. There’s almost no nightlife, no choice of restaurants (you can get an affordable steak that will generally be nice but that’s about it), no range of ingredients in the shops, no decent bookstores or videostores, there’s no art, no culture. There’s no gaming.

Worse than that, these towns are filled with people who have happily traded those things for less traffic on the roads. They’re welcome to their choice, but I’m clearly not the same kind of person as them. Give me the city.

You bring up a good point malfred as i probably have as much of a chance of being shot out in the country as i do in the city. There have been cases where even wearing safety orange hasnt saved someone from being shot. Although sometimes i forget when i am wearing my antler hat.
There are other things that do annoy me about cities though like traffic, noise, living on top of your neighbors(in some cases you do), and less privacy or it seems like less privacy to me anyways. Out of all those noise annoys me the most. I hate being awoken out of sleep as i am an extremely light sleeper and become very aggitated and have a hard time falling asleep again.

You bring up a good point malfred as i probably have as much of a chance of being shot out in the country as i do in the city.

You have a much higher chance of being shot in a city than anywhere else. There are simply more people around to shoot you.

It may not be higher per capita (probably lower), but it's certainly higher.

I could probably google up some statistics on this, but I'll just assume I'm right and click Submit.

In the US population density correlates positively with gun violence. However, that isn't true of all places.

The town I live in has plenty of food variety for me and not too many people. I guess how much you enjoy a city can relate to how much you tolerate your fellow man. If your like me and have a general disdain for humanity then city life may not be for you. :3

I live in a 350k people city, and i also tried living in the quietness and tranquility of the country. I ended up saying "Hmwell, i guess after all living in the country just isn't for me" and got back to the city. It sucks lots of times, but it's the times when it doesn't suck that make it fully worthwhile for me

rocklord2004 wrote:The town I live in has plenty of food variety for me and not too many people.

It depends on your definition of variety, of course. Having a steakhouse as well as Chinese and Mexican restaurants is probably a pretty good level of variety for some people. But do you have a place that specialises in Mexican donuts? Do you have an Indian place that specialises in Bengali cuisine (fish in banana leaf is about as good as fish will ever get).

I'm not trying to put your place down, just saying that what might enough variety for one person may not be for someone else.

I guess how much you enjoy a city can relate to how much you tolerate your fellow man. If your like me and have a general disdain for humanity then city life may not be for you. :3

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that people are that much more present in the city. There's lots of people, sure, but I don't them and they don't know me, and nor do we care all that much to get to know each other. In the country everyone knows everyone's business.

The ci is fun for a romp on a weekend but give me the small towns and open roads all the way. Maybe my location keeps with this attitude. In a town of 10k we have 9 taverns. If we choose to be people of the night there are also 2 nightclubs, not to mention the landing in St. Louis. So I guess I am of the opinion that people should live in a town next to a major city. You get the best of both worlds.

Honestly, the idea of knowing everyone fills me with dread. Whatever will I do with my free time if I know everyone?

Knowing everyone can be a boon if you are from a good family. I get copious amounts of beer for free!

Blokus wrote:The ci is fun for a romp on a weekend but give me the small towns and open roads all the way. Maybe my location keeps with this attitude. In a town of 10k we have 9 taverns. If we choose to be people of the night there are also 2 nightclubs, not to mention the landing in St. Louis. So I guess I am of the opinion that people should live in a town next to a major city. You get the best of both worlds.

Fair point. You can get acre blocks in the foothills surrounding Perth, you can't see your neighbour, but from at night you can see the lights of the city centre. That looks like a pretty decent compromise.

Well, a decent compromise starting about a million dollars a piece.

There's too much anxiety in city life and the rat race that goes with it. Funnily enough, my cousins who live on a farm think that small town life is too placid and slow. Grass is always greener on the other side...

dogma wrote:Honestly, the idea of knowing everyone fills me with dread. Whatever will I do with my free time if I know everyone?

Talk about every minute detail of their lives.

Mr. Self Destruct wrote:Many people live in big cities and like them.
For anyone who has ever been to Seattle...it sucks.
Take all of the crappy parts of NYC, make it rain, make living really expensive, and have a bunch of pot-zombies walking around spreading the message of MJ and you get Seattle.
This is only because this is the only major city I have been in besides Vegas (which does not suck). This is probably why I hate city life.
Greetsz,
Mr. Self Destruct

I grew up and live in downtown Seattle. You really have no idea what you are talking about...whatsoever. Sounds like you took a bunch of stereotypes and piled them together on your crappy trip to Seattle.

NYC is NOTHING like Seattle. And downtown Seattle is a very small part of the the city. Ballard, Fremont, Magnolia, Wallingford, the U district, Georgetown, West Seattle all have beautiful, quiet, wonderful neighborhoods. It rains a lot, yeah, but it is never like they show in the movies or shows...its light rain that fades in and out. But it is also beautiful a lot of the time. I find the overcast skies wonderful.

You have only been to Seattle and Vegas...so you really have no basis for a informative or educated opinion.

I have been to LA, NY, Chicago, Vancouver, Portland, etc multiples times at different times of the year. They all have their charms. I live smack in the middle of downtown Seattle at the moment. I love it and I hate it. For my photography, variety, action, life, vibrancy, I love it. For the smells of urine, bums, hipsters, trendy f tards, etc..I hate it. I love the sounds of the city at night. I love the lights. I like to visit the country, but the silence creeps me out, to be honest....My feeling of small towns and the country go as follows.."nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there". I plan to buy a house in Port Townsend, WA, soon. About and hour and a half from Seattle, a little seaside town. I love it. Artsy, high tech, yet old, with a lot of distinct culture, etc.

Seattle has SO much to offer. Food being one of them. If you actually spend some time in Seattle there are plenty of places to live, eat, and have fun for next to no money.

Don't listen to Mr. Self Destruct, he is talking out of his rear. He is also 14 and lives in Kent...that place is a butthole.

@Sebster. My disdain for people doesn't require them to interact directly with me. I don't like the way people interact with each other in general. Too many people have an undeserved sense of entitlement and the concept of "the customer is always right" has gone too far. With less people I don't have to see that as much.

rocklord2004 wrote:@Sebster. My disdain for people doesn't require them to interact directly with me. I don't like the way people interact with each other in general. Too many people have an undeserved sense of entitlement and the concept of "the customer is always right" has gone too far. With less people I don't have to see that as much.

Fair enough. Personally I like to go about my own life, meet the kind of people I like, and know nothing of the people I don't. I find that easier in the city than I did in a small country town.

But experiences and preferences vary, which is probably why we have some people living in cities and some people living in the country.

rocklord2004 wrote:@Sebster. My disdain for people doesn't require them to interact directly with me. I don't like the way people interact with each other in general. Too many people have an undeserved sense of entitlement and the concept of "the customer is always right" has gone too far. With less people I don't have to see that as much.

True, and one of the reasons I would love to live in a more humane atmosphere in the country. City life is too pressurised; it requires that people let off steam somehow, and unfortunately that often translates into aggression.

Sebster, It is a shame it costs that much to have land where you live. I have ten acres where I live and and it only cost me about 10k an acre. Is land that prime where you live?

sebster wrote:
Talk about every minute detail of their lives.

So, drink?

I prefer small towns too.

Lived in Phoenix for a while, and only really enjoyed it late at night. You'd think a city in the desert would be more nocturnal, but its not.

Oh well, life in the boonies is fine for me. When I get back into playing its only an hour drive to the best game store in the area. Which is better than fighting traffic everyday if I lived in the city

Blokus wrote:Sebster, It is a shame it costs that much to have land where you live. I have ten acres where I live and and it only cost me about 10k an acre. Is land that prime where you live?

Yeah, that was land with clear views of the city. Prime land in the city it costs even more, but if you're willing to live in the country then land is about as cheap as the price you give.

The nicer country towns are drifting up in price every year, though, as formerly commercial farms are broken into smaller hobby farms and sold at a mark up.

London and other major World Cities are where it's at!