Monday 12 December 2011

Sea Changes - City Verses Country

Where do you live? The city or the country? Do you ever visit the other side and think what it would be like to live there?

I was thinking about this the other day when a rally for marriage equality was taking place in Sydney. Although I'm not of that persuasion I would've liked to have joined to show my support on the issue (plus did you see the awesome rainbow umbrellas they had?). Unfortunately for me, Sydney is two hours away. This is always the case for anything that happens in the city. Coming from a regional area means that going to those sorts of things needs planning and possibly overnight accommodation.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to be so close to everything. Major sporting events and concerts, everything open 24/7 . . . Starbucks . . . (god I miss those frappuccinos). There are pros and cons for both.

The City
PROS
- Short distance to major events including sport, concerts, theatre, exhibitions, rallies and festivals
- High density of services and public transport
- Extended opening hours for stores
- Starbucks

CONS
- Concrete to tree ratio is too high
- Extreme traffic problems
- Too many people in one place
- Pollution

The Country
Photo - http://www.australiaadventures.com/pictures.htm
PROS
- Wide open spaces, fresh air, beautiful landscapes and wildlife
- Awesome local pubs
- Being able to see the stars and constellations at night
- Everybody knows everybody

CONS
- Long distances to services and entertainment
- Mosquitoes and snakes
- The onset of extreme boredom
- Everybody knows everybody

Luckily for me, where I live is a nice combination of city and country. Half an hour one way is vineyard country and half an hour the other way is a regional city. And right out of my doorstep is this:
Lake Macquarie

Not bad. I guess a two hour drive to get to the city isn't that far after all.

Can anyone else shed some light on the comparison of city and country?

3 comments:

  1. Your first point for the "Pros" of city livin' is what wins me over!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I grew up on a farm out in the middle of the country and have lived in a regional city for most of my adult life. I have never lived, and don't know if I could handle living in a large city. My personal preference is for living in/near a smaller city (i.e., population 10,000-50,000). Growing up in the country was great. It really cultivated our imaginations, since we needed imagination since there was nothing else to do. Also, growing up in the country taught me how to drive well in bad weather since the roads are rarely plowed. There is also something about growing your own garden, raising your own meat, walking out your own back door to go sledding, and parents being able to send their children out to play without worrying that they will be kidnapped. On the downside it was 25+ minutes from the nearest grocery store and hospital. Part of me enjoys going home to visit because it really is a slower pace, but at the same time it also kind of gives me a nervous twitch. My parents do not have a high speed internet connection (and probably never will since they live in a very sparsely populated area).

    I echo your pros and cons about the city. They are beautiful in their own right, but I don't think I could ever live in one.

    I think small cities are the way to go. I have shopping, hospitals, etc., within a ten minute drive, but I also can see the stars at night and have several acres for my dog to run footsteps from my front door. And I can be to the city in an hour if I want all of the wonderful things that a city has to offer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I grew up in the city and thought I'd never be anything but a city girl. But then came my hubby who introduced me to the country life. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually prefer the country life. As long as there's a high speed internet connection! Right now we live in a fairly large metropolitan area. It's nice because we have access to everything we need. But I miss our house in the country where I could send the kids out the back door on an adventure and my dogs had room to roam and were never on a leash. On the flip side, here in the city, my kids have sidewalks to ride their bikes and they're experiencing a new kind of freedom with that. One day when we get to settle down and pick where we live (instead of my husband's job picking it for us), we'll probably live in the country but no more than half an hour away from a small city.

    ReplyDelete