Country Life vs. City Life: Which Do You Prefer?

[Pengwuino]

I like exactly where i live right now for some reason. To me its perfect. Lot of land for a home in a 500,000 city... nice and pretty quiet... lots of places to buy stuff nearby.. :D

 

[wolram]

Yes, the one thing that would drive me crazy about living in the country is the boring food. I once spent a long weekend in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful area, but the only place to eat was this one small diner, and you couldn't get anything except cheeseburgers, fried chicken, and fish sticks..

Boring food, we have lots of delicacies in the country, hedge hog baked in clay,
yummy, pheasant, partridge, rabbit, black bird pie, eel stew, wild mushrooms,
a host of berries etc, etc.

 

[Pengwuino]

Boring food, we have lots of delicacies in the country, hedge hog baked in clay,
yummy, pheasant, partridge, rabbit, black bird pie, eel stew, wild mushrooms,
a host of berries etc, etc.

uhh... give me good ol human food anyday

 

[pattylou]

I then wonder why we poison ourselves and the world which is our home. I wonder how many illnesses and premature deaths are caused by that pollution. For many, I suppose it's out of sight, out of mind.

I heard something inspirational the other day. You know, we live with the idea that we should reduce pollution, and we sort of assume that it will never really be "enough"...

Someone pointed out that you can actually set up your own living space such that the air (water, etc) leaving it - is more pure than the air coming into it. What a great idea! So I am putting in even more houseplants, and more trees in our garden, more drought tolerants in the landscape, and feeling invigorated for being proactive in my little space.

The smog is still distressing, but being a contributor to the solution goes a long way towards alleviating that.

I have also noticed tons more wildlife in the yard (garden) this year. More species of butterflies than ever before, more insects in general. I attirbute this to several straight years of organic practice and record rainfall in the spring.

New species in the yard this year: I saw a shield bug yesterday,

http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/insects/piez_litu.jpg

and annual cicadas for the first time ever this year

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/nature/animals/insects/images/annualcicada.jpg

and a western tiger swallowtail is visiting our yard (garden) daily!

I put out a larval food plant yesterday to encourage egg laying.

http://www.savepacifica.net/images/lorax.jpg

 

[pattylou]

OH, and I'd enjoy the country or the city, not the suburbs.

California is good because you really can driev "away from it all" to the mountains, to th beach, to go skiing or stargazing, or to top cultural events, to the international airport to the rest of the world...

I think liberal is what I want and I am surrounded by conservative christians. That's the hardest.

 

[wolram]

I heard something inspirational the other day. You know, we live with the idea that we should reduce pollution, and we sort of assume that it will never really be "enough"...

Someone pointed out that you can actually set up your own living space such that the air (water, etc) leaving it - is more pure than the air coming into it. What a great idea! So I am putting in even more houseplants, and more trees in our garden, more drought tolerants in the landscape, and feeling invigorated for being proactive in my little space.

The smog is still distressing, but being a contributor to the solution goes a long way towards alleviating that.

I have also noticed tons more wildlife in the yard (garden) this year. More species of butterflies than ever before, more insects in general. I attirbute this to several straight years of organic practice and record rainfall in the spring.

Nice ideas Pattylou, i think i read some where that people are building
roof top gardens in Hong Kong, to help the cities problems.

 

[brewnog]

I haven't decided between the countryside or the city left. I've lived in a city centre, in leafy suburbs, and in the proper countryside and all have their appeals. For general practical living (being able to park, shop, and sit on grass) the leafy suburbs win my vote, and you have the bonus of being able to walk home from the city centre after nights out. You can't beat living in the city centre for fun, cultural diversity, and lots of new faces, but the countryside is nice, quiet, and seems to have less crime (but more scallies).

i think all cities should be car free, bring back the trams.

Nooooooooo!

No more trams! Please!

 

[BobG]

I'd prefer an older neighborhood just outside of town. While I'm not that fond of living in the middle of the city, it's nice to be close to some conveniences (that's the attitude that causes urban sprawl, isn't it?)

I'd like the neighborhood to be old enough that there's established trees in your yard. I dislike dealing with city traffic everyday.

Right now, I have to compromise. There aren't very many trees out on the prairie and there's no good commute across the city to where I work, so it would be hard to live in the foothills or mountains (which would mean a significant commute up and down Ute pass before you even reach the city). I live towards the edge of the city, but in a neighborhood old enough that I have over 10 well-established trees in my yard. About three blocks further up the ridge, I'd probably get deer in my yard - about 6 or 8 blocks further and deer would be a common occurrence. Still get quite a few foxes around the neighborhood, which is about the only animal that gets our old dog's interest up.

I work just outside the city, out on the edge of an old lake bed on the prairie. It makes for a fairly easy commute just outside the city. Watching the wildlife around the building I work in is pretty nice, too. Lots of antelope, lots of rabbits (food for the snakes and hawks). There's a prairie dog that just stands by the side of the road watching folks drive by in the evenings - it doesn't ever seem to get bored.

The birds around the area are pretty interesting in the spring and early summer. There's a couple of killdeer that build their nest somewhere around our building. Killdeer plovers are those birds that fake injury to lure away from their nest. One of them kind of puts out a lackluster effort, but the other deserves an academy award. There's an ongoing debate about which is the male and which is the female. It's especially entertaining (but extremely rare) if you catch the good one walking with its babies. It goes into its routine and the babies kind of defeat the purpose by trying to imitate the parent.

My boss has lots of bird feeders outside his office window, so quite a few birds tend to nest around the building, so you get the yearly drama of baby birds first learning to fly.

And of course, you have the bull snakes (lots of them, which is good) and the occasional rattlesnake.

 

[Lisa!]

Which do you prefer?

To me cities and towns are places to avoid, and only visit out of necessity,
I don't like the crowds, traffic, aroma, hustle and bustle.
Some cities, towns are 24/7 so i guess there is all ways some thing to do
but it's not for me.

How bad!I'd want to invite you and your daughter to my home once!

 

[BobG]

I guess city dwellers get used to the aroma of pollutants, but to me different
cities have different aromas, some are ok but others not.

The smell of burning rubber still brings back memories for me. Not that pleasant of a smell, but one I tend to identify with my old hometown.

Of course, when I go back to visit now, the town smells pretty clean. The tire companies all moved their factories somewhere else. The population has dropped by over a 100,000 and there's still not much future there, but it smells better, anyway.

 

[wolram]

The smell of burning rubber still brings back memories for me. Not that pleasant of a smell, but one I tend to identify with my old hometown.

Of course, when I go back to visit now, the town smells pretty clean. The tire companies all moved their factories somewhere else. The population has dropped by over a 100,000 and there's still not much future there, but it smells better, anyway.

!00,000, that a lot of empty houses, where did they all go?

 

[BobG]

They voted with their feet. They moved to cities that had jobs.

Back in the late 70's and the 80's, they lost a pretty big chunk of people every year as the old factories were replaced with more modern ones in states with lower tax rates, but, for the most part, it's just a place where most of the young people leave, causing a slow, but consistent decline in population.

 

[hypatia]

I am the first generation in my family to be raised in the city. And it keeps me on edge, always. I live behind locked doors and sealed windows. Its not the gangs I worry about here, because they protect there own neighborhoods. Its the drug users, meth and crack will make you do just about anything.

Its only when I go back to Granny's farm, or up to the cabin, that I can sleep the whole night, and really relax.

 

[wolram]

I am the first generation in my family to be raised in the city. And it keeps me on edge, always. I live behind locked doors and sealed windows. Its not the gangs I worry about here, because they protect there own neighborhoods. Its the drug users, meth and crack will make you do just about anything.

Its only when I go back to Granny's farm, or up to the cabin, that I can sleep the whole night, and really relax.

Oh poor you, such badness in our lands should'nt be tolerated, be cleaver and
move to granny's for ever.

 

[wolram]

They voted with their feet. They moved to cities that had jobs.

Back in the late 70's and the 80's, they lost a pretty big chunk of people every year as the old factories were replaced with more modern ones in states with lower tax rates, but, for the most part, it's just a place where most of the young people leave, causing a slow, but consistent decline in population.

What can i say, tax v jobs

 

[fuzzyfelt]

I had always thought the gentler pace of life in quieter places suited me. Even though I had visited this happening little place before, I couldn't imagine living here, but we did for J's job. We came here with some dread, and with the aim we would be here for just maybe two years.
Now that we are here, I do find it wonderful, and even wonder sometimes if the quieter life might just be too quiet for me now.
Yes, there are a great many cons, but the galleries, museums, and having little kids with favorite exhibits in most of these, the parks, gardens, architecture, restaurants, pubs, inspiring good friends and fascinating people from so many amazing backgrounds, the shopping, the concerts, shows, opera, the markets, learning the odd ways the English run a big city, the different feels and histories of all the different areas that constitute it... it will be hard to leave.

 

[brewnog]

Where did you move from fi?

I can't imagine ever living in London, but they say you have to do it once in your life...

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Congratulations on graduating, Brewnog, a bit belatedly, sorry! I'm basically Australian, but we've moved around a bit.

 

[hypatia]

Oh poor you, such badness in our lands should'nt be tolerated, be cleaver and
move to granny's for ever.

Wish I could. There is no way for me to support myself. Not much left of the town {Old Shawnee town} The last bank closed in the 1950's, note the water marks on the pillers? In the old days they counted on the floods to enrich the soil, but todays weather is so much different. And with the flood control in major cities, the small ones get hit with major floods which should of spread out for miles. The Ohio river delta can be flooded with up to 15 feet of water. Grannys place is safe till around 12 feet.
http://www.state.il.us/hpa/hs/images/Sites/Shawneetown_04.jpg

 

[brewnog]

Why thank you fi!

 

[wolram]

By Hypatia, Wish I could. There is no way for me to support myself. Not much left of the town {Old Shawnee town} The last bank closed in the 1950's, note the water marks on the pillers? In the old days they counted on the floods to enrich the soil, but todays weather is so much different. And with the flood control in major cities, the small ones get hit with major floods which should of spread out for miles. The Ohio river delta can be flooded with up to 15 feet of water. Grannys place is safe till around 12 feet. by Hypatia

I have read about floods in the US and how some living in certain areas are
upping sticks and moving on, and saw a clip on tv about the fight to keep
the rivers back, but i did'nt know whole towns were being deserted,