It is nearly impossible to find a good answer on the question, what is better: living in the city or living in the country. What is good for one person might not be good for another! Some people enjoy hyper-active life in cosmopolitan cities, where they can use all modern amenities and have practically unlimited opportunities for work and leisure. At the same time, other people feel the urge to be closer to Mother Nature. They take pleasure from living in calm and peaceful environment of the countryside and spend their free time fishing, hiking or picking berries in the forest.
Certainly, modern life in the city and the one in rural areas are connected with a great deal of differences. In my opinion, the nature of urban and rural life-styles and its effects on people is the most important difference between living in the city and living in the country. It is supposed that people who live in rural areas are calmer, more family-oriented, a little conservative and friendlier. They are used to moving at a slower pace. However, in modern big cities life is very fast and dynamic.
Therefore, the people who live in today’s metropolises are generally busier, more career-oriented, focused and concerned about their own problems, more direct and broadminded. Undoubtedly, there is a certain stereotype in this common notion, but in a critical mass this idea is absolutely true! Besides, such factor as the opportunities for education, career development and living advanced social life, which are available in big cities and small towns, must be considered another important difference.
It is a known fact that the majority of higher education establishments, culture, sports and entertainment facilities, financial and healthcare institutions, hotels and big shopping malls, etc. , are located in cosmopolitan areas. At the same time, people who live in small towns and the countryside have less access to modern amenities and services, as well as quite limited opportunities for career and personal development, entertainment and leisure activities, and so on.
Social standards and traditions of communication is one more significant point of difference between living in big cities and living in the county. Rural communities are considerably less crowded than urban ones, so people who live in small towns usually know and understand each other better, willingly cooperate and support each other, frequently visit each other’s houses and have good friendly relations with each other.
In contrast to this, in big cities people are regularly involved in excessive social interaction and a great deal of various activities, that is why many of them feel tired of communication and tend to be less open to the others, than the people who live in rural areas. Finally, it is impossible not to mention the differences in day to day cost of living in big cities and in small towns. Even taking into account better job and career opportunities in modern metropolises, living in big cities is usually more expensive, and it is not always easy to afford everything one may need.
Therefore, many people have to get a second job in order to have extra income and make the ends meet. In contrast to this, in small towns it is relatively easier to minimize the expenses for housing and food. In addition, many families living in the country have their gardens, so they can live off the land and have fruit, vegetables and green foodstuffs of their own. The differences between living in big cities and living in small towns are not limited with the factors above. Such aspects as natural environment or social safety can be mentioned also.
Certainly, there are cultural, ethnic, economic, or even geographical dimensions, which can blur the mentioned generalizations, and it is possible to find people who live in rural areas but have the attitudes and life-style of cosmopolitan cities. Besides, such factors as technological progress and new job opportunities in modern countryside, as well as introduction of traffic free and green zones in big cities contribute into making the differences between living in small and big cities smaller and smaller.