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.
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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 might go for a city if not for the environmental challenges, people not feeling like people, and the violence. Cities seem built on quantity, villages are built on quality.
Live in the US, and I live in a village, like thereβs not even enough people here to be a town. There are cities within reasonable driving distances (5 mins - 1 hour depending on what you want to do/see.)
But, for the most part I like staying here in my area. Not too much noice and plenty of woods to see and go through. But still good food around, and fairly decent places to go and see.
Small town, need woods
Having lived in both, big city no question. People stay out of your shit there.
Big city so long as I don't have upstairs neighbors.
I don't know if I could ever deal with (American) upstairs neighbors again in my life. The percentage of inconsiderate people meeting the percentage of multi-family housing with basically no soundproofing is a recipe for sleeplessness and rage.
The percentage of inconsiderate people meeting the percentage of multi-family housing with basically no soundproofing is a recipe for sleeplessness and rage
This problem is exactly why I will never live in a city again. I'm sure it's possible for multi-family housing to have reasonable sound proofing. I'm also sure it will never actually happen in anything except the most high-end units.. And even that soundproofing does nothing when you try to have the windows open during nice weather and discover that your neighbor's wife screams like an actress in a bad porno at 3am. Ya, no, fuck that noise. Gimme a small home in the forest with trees between me and the next asshole.
That all said, I quite like my current setup. I'm in a rural area with ~25k people in the county, last time I looked into it. The community I live in is more suburban in layout. We don't hear our neighbors unless they are really, really loud. But, we also have BBQ's on the regular with our neighbors and our kids are out and about together constantly. It's pretty darn idyllic.
Costco or bust.
Big city. I feel claustrophobic in small towns.
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.
There was a city I lived in that had a small town feel on Vancouver Island. It was nice being able to go do things like eat at restaurants, hike, go buy hobby stuff, but also the freedom of driving a few minutes to the woods to be alone. The neighborhood I lived in and the surrounding area was quiet and close to nature. So, I'd say I'd like to live in a small town, since I grew up in one, but be close enough to a city where I can do stuff.
Rural village please and thank you
Low cost of living city near big city is great
I wish Buffalo was closer in size to Cleveland or Pittsburg, but being within driving distance of Toronto and to a lesser extent NYC (on top of the aforementioned Cleveland and Pittsburg) is pretty friggin great.
I've lived in both, and prefer big cities as long as I'm living in a walkable neighborhood.
Given those choices, a big city. But ideal is a medium sized city.