Who Has It Better -- City People or Country People?

[THUNDER HANDS]

Poll question: Who Has It Better -- City People or Country People?

City people - Everything's within arm's reach of you. Life moves faster. A wide variety of different types of people. Art, culture, business.

Country people - Nature is everywhere. Life moves slower. You appreciate the little things in life more. Sleeping is considered an activity.

:)

[xJlM]

1. I've been both

I've lived in Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and lots of less-famous smaller cities, and while the convenience of having everything at arm's reach can be nice there's also another side to that. And nothing can beat the serenity of having birds wake you on a summer morning when you left your window open the night before.

[MaryBear]

2. "Sleeping is considered an activity" ?

Most country folk I know work pretty hard all day and sleep just like their city cousins.

[WWW]

3. Amen Grandma

I look forward to the depths of winter to just get some rest. It's tomato season right now. Next week, carrots and onions. The week after got to split and get the wood in. It takes us six hours to mow the lawns each week and we just got another spurt of growth. I am so busy now in the sticks of Maine that I am about ready to pull my hair out. Also it is high school soccer and football season and we just had homecoming last weekend. Went to a county fair one weekend ago and last weekend was a bluegrass festival. (Daughter plays in a band and had gigs a both) Is it worth it, you bet! Been a city girl, but I just love the country.
As an aside, I would pick country living if you have kids and animals, city living if you don't. But...I would give my right arm right now to go out to a nice restaurant and then see even an off, off, off broadway play.

[Nikia]

4. In a small city, somewhat isolated, near downtown

I know of a few blocks properties near the river of the city of my birth that fit this description. It was heavily wooded. If you did not know where you were, you might believe that you were in the middle of the woods. That area is just a few blocks from downtown. In our current small town, we looked at a house in city limits that was two acres and wooded around the edges that had that feel as well. I don't like living in the middle of nowhere, but I like a nature, less crowded feel.

[JanMichael]

5. I like both! Why not a third choice?

Actually I prefer the city but I dig the countrysides and mountains too.

[Ohio Dem]

6. Neither.

It would be perfect to live in a country environment with the convenience of the city somehow still there. A city without all the buildings and traffic. A small town with 5000 restaurants (but without the traffic).

I've lived in the country and in the city. Neither is perfect and neither is bad. I would love a "best of both worlds" scenario.

[Lars39]

7. I'd love to live in the country on about 60 acres, but have a condo/apt

in Chicago or some other large city. THAT would seem like the best of both worlds. :)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

8. Depends on how much you like driving

and then how much you like driving in really bad weather.
and then how much you like driving in really bad traffic.
As a NYC subway user and walker about Manhattan, I'd say it depends on what city you live in. New Yorkers have it the easiest in terms of transportation, however, opinions will vary depending on how quiet (or not) your neighborhood is.

[WWW]

11. I spend 20 minutes

a day in the car. Five to school, Five back, twice a day. groceries, banks on the way. Four wheel drive goes on Nov. 1. We have highspeed internet and both work out of the house. All on fifty acres in the middle of nowhere. Hospital 15 minutes away, international jetport, 40 minutes, 40 miles away. Are your jealous yet?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. Am I jealous yet? ....uh....no

a little presumptuous of you to think I should be. But I guess you're thinking I live in the big bad city not out of choice but by necessity. Well, the truth is I LOVE it here. And there are a few million others here who feel similarly. And I enjoy seeing them, in the flesh, every day too.

[WWW]

19. okay....

So what is the best thing about your life in the city right now? Why is your life better than mine?
btw I was kidding about being jealous, I meant no harm.

[kodi]

9. notice how when people retire they usually flee cities for the country?

i've been to the opera, been to the zoo, and walked the halls of great museums, but nothing beats the sound of morning birds, the smell of country fresh air and the view of misty curtained sunrises on the countryside.

people are social and need others (not me, i have 6 dogs) and the cities bring us together, but there is a rhythm stirred when one is engaged with nature that strikes to one's very heart.

Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.

[Wcross]

10. Country people have it better

Thats my opinion.
I can't hear nor see any neighbors, nearest one is 1/2 mile away. I have little fear of violence or outside influences disrupting my life. People don't mess with your life in the sticks, you can pretty much do what you want on your own property- hell I could stand next to my mailbox naked and not worry about it. When was the last time you city folks went out to get the mail naked?
By the way, sleeping? In between feeding the livestock, cutting and hauling hay, keeping the property seeded and ferted, mending fences, problem solving and working a regular 40-50hr a week job we do sleep. Just a little less than city folks. I know going to cultural events takes alot out of a guy but give us a break!

[WWW]

12. On Sundays

We have breakfast on the back deck in our pajamas, the kids just love it.....We then throw around the football and go for a walk. During the work week Hubby and I walk after lunch and never take the same trail twice in one week.

[Wcross]

13. Amen!

You have to love the open spaces! I think you and your Hubby are doing the right thing for the children. Nothing like fresh air and open spaces for your soul!

Have fun!

[WWW]

18. Thanks

I am really proud of my two kids, high honors, sports, volunteer work, really love nature and animals. And I know that is all due to our way of life. One of my proudest moments was today when I picked up my son after football, "Mom Bush is really in trouble right now!" Damn right son. Had watched Cspan at school, we don't have cable, by choice. He isn't a weatherman but he knows which way the wind blows. We can't say anything about how we feel about the adminstration being such a small town. But boy do i have two great democrats coming thru the ranks. My Honor students could beat the crap out of Bush's kids any day.

[Wcross]

20. You bet!

Keep up the good work!

[WWW]

21. Are you

Trying to get your post numbers up so people won't blow you off thinking you are a freeper? I know I am.

[Skittles]

14. I've lived both

it's an absolute tie although if I HAD to pick, I'd pick city.

[Wcross]

15. What about the Burbs?

I would never live in the burbs! Would you?

[HEyHEY]

17. the ones who have it best are...

The one that is happy were they are

[ZenLefty]

24. The ones who *really* have it best are...

The one who is happy no matter where they are. :D

[maxanne]

22. I live

in a small town (pop 935) in the White Mountains of NH. I only bother to lock my car in tourist season. I can leave my door unlocked, though I don't because I'm hated by some of our local conservatives.

It's about 3 hours to Boston, an hour and a half to either Portland, ME or Portsmouth, NH.

I spend a lot of time in the car. I work in Concord, NH one day a week, so that's 4 hours in the car. I drive through blizzards, and last May I hit a moose with my (now deceased) Toyota Corolla.

My town is part of a network of small towns. I love it. I love the gossip, and backbiting, the nasty politics - and I particularly love knowing that when the chips are really down - everyone is there for you. I know the people who live here - we truly are neighbors.

I wouldn't trade.

[NashVegas]

23. If Sleep is an Activity, I'd Like to be More Active

Else, I've lived in midsize cities (43-54th market size) in the country, and in the woods.

I love living in the city, but when I retire, I wanna go back to the woods.

The great thing about country living is being witness to the earth's cycle of (re)birth/growth/harvest/death, etc. Very grounding.

[Cheswick2.0]

34. I always say that country is better because

no matter how poor you are, you look out your door and beauty surrounds you.

[SmileyBoy]

25. I live in an urban area of about 165,000 people.

Does that count as "city"???

[Susang]

26. "New York is where I'd rather stay"

"I get allergic smelling hay. I just adore a penthouse view. Darling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue!"

[Kathy in Cambridge]

28. My nickname is Zsa Zsa, and I am a city girl

I know it was Eva in Green Acres, but my ex-boyfriend, who was an outdoorsy guy used to sing that song to me because my idea of camping was a hotel without room service.

I am a city chick. I live in Cambridge, MA, which is culturally stimulating, cosmopolitan, and a lot of fun. Within walking distance of my condo are Tibetan, Mexican, Moroccan, Tunisian, Spanish, Indian, Portuguese, Caribbean, Ethiopian, Japanese, Italian, Brazilian, Lebanese, and Irish restaurants. I live a ten minute walk from a cinema that shows independent films, and can walk to the Harvard museums. I live a ten minute walk from a subway that can get me to Downtown Boston in seven minutes. I can drive 40 minutes and be on a beautiful beach in a quaint New England fishing town north of Boston. Or I can drive to the outer Cape in an hour and a half and relax on some of the most beautiful, isolated beaches in the country. I can drive an hour and go skiing.

I don't like the suburban sprawl that I see in most of the country. I live in a densely populated, busy city that has awful traffic, but also beautiful 17th-century architecture, gorgeous, historical homes, and charming, leafy streets. I love the country too, just not the bugs and the fact that you have to drive everywhere.

[DemExpat]

27. The back of my city house faces an oasis of trees and birds,

while whenever we go out to the country for a get-away, I'm always surprised at the annoyance of barking farm dogs, smoke from fires (burning leaves?) in autumn, sounds of farm machines, and the putrid smell of fertilizer hanging in the air day and night in the spring.....mind you, this is in Holland....so it's pretty intensive farming areas...

I've learned to really appreciate my oasis in the city!
My house is also 5 minutes from the North Sea.....:bounce:

:kick:

DemEx

[Kathy in Cambridge]

29. I love the Netherlands

you lucky dog, you!

Such a beautiful, liveable country. And so easy to hop on a train and get around Europe.

I miss Europe...

[DemExpat]

33. Hi, Rose,

I feel blessed here, but I sure do miss the wide open spaces of Texas!

:kick:

DemEx

[DoNotRefill]

30. Country....

Yesterday evening, I had a wandering marmot in my yard. That doesn't happen in the city. He was old, big and very, very fat. He'd have no life expectancy if he lived even in a suburban area, but here there's plenty of woods for him to live in and forage without getting squashed crossing a freeway.

We like tha MOON!!!!

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

31. Depends on the city

Some cities are miserable places to live and some aren't. The same can be said of small towns. I've lived in both.

[Padraig18]

32. HARD question!

I was born and lived on a farm in rural Ireland for 11 years, then lived in Chicago 7 years, and now I live in a very small town in a very rural area. All have their advantages, but THIS morning, I'm inclined to say 'country people', because I just saw whitetail doe and her fawn having a drink at the pond behind my apt. You just don't get that on the NW side of Chi-caw-go! :)

[Romulus]

35. live in "country" - work in city

There's a cow farm on my one-lane road, but I commute about an hour and 15 minutes into DC. :beer:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. City by far

I've lived in large cities, suburbs, and a small town of 15,000, although I've never lived on a farm or in the woods.

My order of preference is large city, small town, followed way, way back by typical sprawling suburb. I absolutely loathe that kind of environment and don't understand its appeal, since it seems to combine the crowding of the city with the inconvenience of the country.

In moving from Portland to Minneapolis, I moved from one "urban village" to another. In both places, I can walk to all the necessities, including grocery stores, coffee shops, drugstores, and banks. In Portland I could go everywhere by transit, while in Minneapolis that's not quite as easy, but still feasible in many cases. I like walking around urban neighborhoods and observing the architecture and people, attending cultural events, and feeling the underlying current of just enough tension. Ten years of taking the bus to all places at all hours have reduced my fear of crime to almost nothing, and while I don't rule out the possibility of becoming a crime victim, it's not something I worry about a lot.

The small town was walkable (although it was the kind of place where people drive two blocks, so walkers were in the minority) and had lovely natural surroundings, but it was a horrible place to be single, because all the community activities were predicated on the notion that everyone either had a spouse and children or was over 65. Even so, I'd rather live in such a place than in a sprawling suburb like Eden Prairie outside of Minneapolis or Tualatin outside of Portland.