Big city that is close to wilderness. Like, a 1 hour drive to leave the city and be in a forest.
I like having my big selection of restaurants, entertainment venues, large hospitals with lots of doctors and specialists, massage therapists/physiotherapists, high speed internet/phone, oddball clubs and sports, and Costco.
I also want to get away from it all easily for a day or two at a time.
I don’t want a huge lawn or massive house, that’s just extra chores. I’d rather just live in a condo, higher up with a nice view, but it has to be near a park. Let someone else mow the damn lawn. And I like being within walking distance of groceries, movie theaters, and restaurants.
Size doesn’t really matter to me. Density and accessibility matter to me most.
I would rather live in a community of ~10k that is walkable than a community of 1m+ where I have to drive everywhere. If I can access groceries, dining, and public transportation without ever needing to own a car, I am happy.
I could live in North Bend, Washington, but not Gary, Indiana.
I could live in NYC, but not L.A.
It’s all about girth!
UK answer: city 100% no question.
Being able to actually get places and do things and have people to do those things with, I don’t even know how a small town could ever compare. Grew up in one, currently living in another one, both crap.
I prefer living i a nice suburb with excellent public transport to get to work in the city.
Just like I have been doing for all my life (:
The city is a place you visit, and then come home to your nice suburb walk home from the bus stop along a small, quiet canal, sometimes there is an event in the park you pass through, else it is just quiet.
Need to get to work in the city center? Get on the bus that departs every 5-10 min during rush hour, 30 min later switch to the underground that departs every 5 min, switch lines, get off 15 and walk to the office, arrive 45 min after you left home having slept or watched videos on your commute.
It is really expensive to build public transportation in lower density suburbs.
Nope, not if you build it before selling land and building houses.
Here in Sweden, it usually works like this:
The municilapity decide to develop some land, this includes public transport, in lower density areas a few well placed bus stops is all that is needed, they connect with the suburb center, and might even have a few lines connecting further away, the suburb center usually has a train station and a small shopping center, the train then takes you further along to your destination.
If you don’t build public transport during or before construction of the neighbourhood then it will obviously be a higher cost. But build it before or during construction and it will be quite resonable
They are both too big for me. I like a small rural community, where everything is close enough that no car is needed (an island in my case). I grew up in a city, and I’m so glad I got out of there.
Well, if I lived in a small town I would need to either walk or give little kids asthma to get anywhere. And seeing as I have both a conscience and the pressures of 21st century fast paced living, it’s impossible for me to live in a small town.
Also small towns don’t got any gay bars
I’m definitely a city person. I love walking to things (for which I need sidewalks) and hate cars. I like being able to walk to a bar, personally I find more sense of community with close neighbors instead of being a mile from anybody. I have a rural friend who once asked if I got freaked out that my neighbors could see what I do in my yard and…no. Doesn’t bother me. Honestly I feel safer when I leave for vacation that my neighbors would text me if something was wrong at my house. I’m not scared of violent crime because it’s vanishingly small odds in most residential areas that aren’t poverty stricken.
Any outdoor activity I don’t do frequently enough that it’s worth having a huge plot of land for it and I don’t want to have to mow an acre or more. I wouldn’t be able to survive on satellite internet.
Small town. Less traffic, crime, pollution, expense. More sense of community.
Less walkable / car dependent, further away from medical attention or emergency services, the community is awful
Small towns are typically going to have hospitals within the same distance. The only difference is they will helicopter you to a large city if its a severe medical problem.
Agreed. Emergency services stations are all within minutes from my place in the outskirts of a small town, so is the hospital. The community is awesome.
I’m two minutes away from the best doctors in my country. A rural person is found 30 minutes too late by his neighbor who calls his brother in law before 911
Maybe in some places, but I think most small towns of 10k and larger have normal hospitals and EMS services. All the places I have lived have been within 10 minutes of the hospital.
Costco or bust.
Small town. Cities are high energy. I like visiting but get worn down by the hustle and bustle.
City.
I want to be able to surround myself with a variety of people and cultures, while also being able to surround myself with the community that makes me feel welcome.
Growing up gay in a rural town that was relatively progressive was still a nightmare, and the town’s best feature for me was the commuter train that took me to the closest big city.
I love having access to basically everything relatively easily and I love having a multitude of options for all the things I have access to. Small towns can’t provide that.
I also hate yards, though gardens are nice.
So yeah, for me while I have found some small towns I could make work, I would always be giving up things that I value to do so. Big cities are the best, and smaller cities can be good, too, but I’m a city boy through and through.
Big enough to get a Costco.
Countryside.
City.
Fewer bigots, fewer people in your business, there’s community spaces other than the church, the food is better, and most of all, there’s work to be had.
It is a matter of personal preference, but there is a reason most people are migrating into cities right now.
Isn’t that reason return to office policies though, and the majority of people would happily leave the city life behind if they were not forced to go back?
Appreciate you are answering a question and each one of us has their own preference but not sure you can say most people agree with yours.
So I looked it up, and this isn’t true anymore most places.
It used to be, young people flocked to cities both for work and for things to do. It looks to me based on where this is/isn’t happening now that the main factor is cost of living.
I’m confused now, are you saying that the current trend is to move out of cities or to the cities?
Most places, the current trend right now is moving out of cities. In my local area, people are still moving into cities for some reason.
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My house used to be next to the highway, the sound was so irritating
You don’t dislike the city, you dislike cars. Cars in cities are often people who live outside the city imposing the cost of their life style onto the city.
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This. Fuck cars
