Living In The City Versus Living In The Country

There are advantages and disadvantages to anything. That's why people who live in the city often long to live in the country and people who live in the country want to live in the city. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

City living is great if you can afford it. There's always something happening and there is a sense of excitement in the air. On weekends, you can choose between sporting events, movies, theater, clubs and many other forms of entertainment. For singles, especially, nothing beats city life.

Families with children often find a compromise in the suburbs. While they don't have everything they might want, at least they have a yard for the kids and it's not a long commute to the city. On weekends, the father can at least break out his homelite chainsaw and spend some time cleaning up the deadwood on the trees. In the suburbs, a family can feel like they are part of their local community and not just faces in the crowd.

Country dwellers have an unending landscape to look out on. They can breathe in the fresh air and only the distance sound of a husqvarna chainsaw occasionally competes with the chirping of the birds.

There are many drawbacks to country life, though. You will have very few neighbors to get together with and even then you may not share the same interests. Your job may be so far away from your property that you rarely get to enjoy your home. With only the TV set and a satellite internet connection for entertainment, you will miss live entertainment.

Country kids often leave home early to look for work in the city. Alienated from their family and in unfamiliar surroundings, they occasionally turn to anti-social behavior. While this doesn't happen all the time, it does happen. Of course, there's no guarantee that it won't happen with city kids, either. There is no substitute for teaching children values and ethics, wherever you happen to live.

So what are you to do? Many families have discovered that the perfect balance for them lies in small towns within driving distance of the big cities. Towns like these have enough entertainment and amenities to keep you satisfied most of the time while also giving you the open spaces just outside the town limits. You may have to go to the city to buy specialty items, like a zojirushi rice cooker, but it's not a long drive and gives you an excuse to spend a day in the city.

If you're dissatisfied with country or city living and are looking for an alternative, consider these semi-rural areas. They give you the best of both worlds.