City life and country living both have their own advantages and disadvantages. City life can be cheaper than in rural areas, but it often comes with higher crime rates, pollution levels, and prices. Living in the country usually gives you a better sense of community, less pollution, and more privacy, but you may not have access to some services or amenities. Ultimately, the decision between city and country living depends on individual preferences and needs.
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Batman v. Superman opened this week, but that epic face-off is nothing compared with the eternal question of city vs. country.
Personally, I’m a city mouse. I like being within walking distance of bars, coffee shops, movie theaters, and random shops where I can spend money in an ill-advised and unnecessary fashion. (Why did I just buy four porcelain egg cups?) And I like the feeling of living in a place where everyone around me is busy and has somewhere to be.
It makes me feel like I should be hustling more, and it appeals to my introverted nature: There are lots of people, but they all have their own stuff going on, and none of them are particularly eager to delay their plans and mine by chatting.
Sure, trees are nice, and cities are short on trees. But, personally, I don’t need more than a few trees or to see a lot of grass for more than a half-hour every month or so. That can usually be accomplished in a park or garden for an afternoon.
As a fellow city mouse, Heather writes, “You can even find spots like the country in the city.”
The country has its benefits, too, though. Real estate is cheap, so you can live in a palace. Seriously, you can literally buy a 17th-century castle with an estate in rural France for the price of a two-bedroom apartment in Paris.
For the price of a studio in New York, you can live on a sprawling horse farm in Indiana, and that means you’ll be far away from neighbors and noise, you can see the stars any time you want, and you don’t ever have to see another human being if you don’t want to.
“Country mouse,” says StarNerd. “I like space and quiet and dislike neighbors.” Win-win.”
If you like peace and quiet and personal space, a country is probably the right option for you. You probably can’t get sushi delivery, but you probably have a pretty sweet kitchen. And as a city person, I have never seen anything like this:
I mean, I’m pretty convinced that nature wants to kill me or at least make me very itchy all the time. But nature’s pretty cute, too.