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Small Town or Big City?

City or Town?

  • Big City

  • Small Town

  • Country Home

  • Other

Results are only viewable after voting.
mcurphy

mcurphy

Diamond Member
Which do you prefer and why?

I live in a town of ~2k with my wife and kids, and I absolutely love it! After only living here for 5 years, we know most people in town, and everyone is awesome. If I ever needed anything (firewood, auto repair, home improvement assistance), I could call upon any one of a dozen neighbors and they would be right over to help.

Downtown is only two blocks away, and I can walk down there for a haircut, to rent a movie, stop at the hardware store, or grab an ice-cream cone in the summer. I take my dog for a walk downtown, and I can stop in and visit with Ziggy at his liquor store. My kids walk or ride their bikes to school, which is only 2 blocks away. We haven't locked a single door on our home for the 5 years we have lived here, since crime is virtually non-existent. I can get a hair-cut for $8 from Ethel who has been in business for 70 years. Yeah, that's right...she has had her own business here in town for 70 years! I imagine my little town is like a dream for many people and I cherish every minute of it. Fresh-made-daily pies at the local cafe, apple orchards just minutes from home, and all the wildlife and fishing an outdoorsman could dream of.

I have no desire to live in a big city, though I can see where there are advantages. Public transportation, entertainment around every corner, job opportunities, and unlimited shopping choices are all benefits that come with the big city life. But there are also drawbacks.

So which do you prefer? Or perhaps you live in one environment, but wish to live in the other?
 
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Whoozyerdaddy said:
Small town. The big city is 45 min away if I want to see something.
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What big city? Honolulu? :biggrin: With all the airport hassles, doesn't it take a couple of hours minimum?

As for me, you couldn't pay me enough to live in a big city. No fucking thanks. I've lived in a few small towns, some TINY towns, (Clayton, Id. Pop. 41) and some small cities/big towns. I think I prefer towns of 25,000 to 50,000. Just big enough to have all the necessary conveniences, small enough to still be friendly and have that "small-town charm.
 
BoomerD said:
What big city? Honolulu? :biggrin: With all the airport hassles, doesn't it take a couple of hours minimum?

As for me, you couldn't pay me enough to live in a big city. No fucking thanks. I've lived in a few small towns, some TINY towns, (Clayton, Id. Pop. 41) and some small cities/big towns. I think I prefer towns of 25,000 to 50,000. Just big enough to have all the necessary conveniences, small enough to still be friendly and have that "small-town charm.
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Negative Ghostrider... I check in online... show up 15 min before boarding... 30 min flight.

But yeah... I guess you could snicker about HNL being a big city. My previous big city was Anchorage. So it's big to me. :biggrin:
 
BoomerD said:
As for me, you couldn't pay me enough to live in a big city. No fucking thanks. I've lived in a few small towns, some TINY towns, (Clayton, Id. Pop. 41) and some small cities/big towns. I think I prefer towns of 25,000 to 50,000. Just big enough to have all the necessary conveniences, small enough to still be friendly and have that "small-town charm.
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Yeah, 25-50k wouldn't be too bad, but it is a bit bigger than I would prefer. When I was growing up our town had ~13k, and still really maintained that small town atmosphere which was really nice.

Also, and just for a couple years when I was very young, we lived in a small town Ely, Nevada. I am thinking the pop. was only like 3000 or so if I remember right. It was a small little town, but I don't remember much about since we moved away when I was 9.

But I definitely like the smaller the better. A very small town with pop. of 41 though would be interesting. I bet you knew all 41 people by their first names!
 
Whoozyerdaddy said:
Negative Ghostrider... I check in online... show up 15 min before boarding... 30 min flight.

But yeah... I guess you could snicker about HNL being a big city. My previous big city was Anchorage. So it's big to me. :biggrin:
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Nah, Honolulu IS a pretty big city. Certainly not NYC or LA, but sizeable. IIRC, the city population is almost 400K and the island almost 1,000,000.
It's like a tropical San Francisco. Biggish city crowded into a smallish area...a bazillion Ornamentals everywhere. 😛
 
BoomerD said:
Nah, Honolulu IS a pretty big city. Certainly not NYC or LA, but sizeable. IIRC, the city population is almost 400K and the island almost 1,000,000.
It's like a tropical San Francisco. Biggish city crowded into a smallish area...a bazillion Ornamentals everywhere. 😛
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True that... Ala Moana mall is ornamental central... You could break your neck there.
 
mcurphy said:
Yeah, 25-50k wouldn't be too bad, but it is a bit bigger than I would prefer. When I was growing up our town had ~13k, and still really maintained that small town atmosphere which was really nice.

Also, and just for a couple years when I was very young, we lived in a small town Ely, Nevada. I am thinking the pop. was only like 3000 or so if I remember right. It was a small little town, but I don't remember much about since we moved away when I was 9.

But I definitely like the smaller the better. A very small town with pop. of 41 though would be interesting. I bet you knew all 41 people by their first names!
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I know Ely, NV very well. We lived in a small camp on a construction job 70 miles outside of town in 80/81 We'd go into town on Saturday night to do shopping, laundry, etc. Not a bad town...overall, pretty friendly, but a bit too Mormon for my liking.
 
BoomerD said:
I know Ely, NV very well. We lived in a small camp on a construction job 70 miles outside of town in 80/81 We'd go into town on Saturday night to do shopping, laundry, etc. Not a bad town...overall, pretty friendly, but a bit too Mormon for my liking.
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Yeah I really enjoyed my short stay there as a kid. I was there from about 4 years old to 9 years old.

There was a lot of mormons, and indians as well. We lived in a new housing development in town, and it was right next to the Indian reservation. I had a lot of fun with those kids.

Funny story: My parents sent me to the Catholic school in town, and I remember we had one Mormon kid in our class. He had bleach white hair and looked albino. Well we all picked on him, not only for his looks, but also because he was a different religion. Anyhow, the nuns found out we were picking on him and we got our assers paddled. Spanked hard...like really fucking hard! lol

The nuns drilled holes all over their wooden paddles so there was less air resistance when they swung it. And we all had to line up at the piano, and one by one each of us walked up, bent over, and took a beating. Needless to say that was the last time I ever picked on a Mormon.

But anyhow, back to the town, from what I remember it was a really nice little town. They have a great train museum there and a couple cool hotels and casinos. My old man worked for the silver mine just outside of town, and my mom was a bartender at the hotel casino. I have some great memories of the desert and catching lizards and horny toads in the canyon behind our house.
 
Small town near a big city.

My family lives in a town of about 7,000 people. Nice neighborhoods, great schools, crime is almost non-existent. If we want to travel to the Twin Cities, the outer suburbs are 20 minutes away and downtown is 45 minutes away when traffic isn't bad.
 
I've lived in both setups. Phoenix and Omaha being on the upper end of size. And some very small if not outright country settings (like my current place) and both have their advantages.

When it comes to kids I highly prefer the small town settings. If I were single or newly married and without kids then a bigger city is more enjoyable.
 
ive lived in a big city (boston), where i live now (small town) and where i grew up (middle of nowhere)

if i had all the money i wanted i would move back to the boonies - cant see your neighbors because everyone has 5+ acre lots - land is cheap - 20 min drive to a gas station - paradise

in reality a small town is better as you are closer to stuff and depending on where in the small town you live you can get away from people. one i live in now is about 6k - its a 50 min drive to the closest city with an airport and mall

citys are fun when you are in your early 20s, but they just get too annoying - too many people - too expensive - no place to fucking park - traffic - crime
 
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Honestly, I like something between the two based on my experiences. I don't like small towns because often you can't find something you need if you don't have time to order it over the internet. They often have crappy theatres and a lot of busy-bodies who really don't have much to do except gossip and look down on people who are outsiders (YMMV of course).

I love some aspects of big cities, but I don't like the cost of the lifestyle and having to take public transportation or deal with terrible traffic and expensive parking every single day.

Give me a city with ~100,000 to 200,000, preferably with a university in it so there's some cheap entertainment around.
 
Suburbs of a big city. I grew up in a DC suburb, had almost everything I could possibly want within a 10 minute drive of my house and DC 30 minutes away for even more. Basically the big city with trees. Shenandoah valley is only about 3 hours west if you really want to see some nature.

I also like the sheer variety available. I have no need or desire to know everything and everyone, much prefer a multitude of options. People in general are friendly, I know my neighbors, and If I'm going out to eat and decide I want something new, there's at least 70 restaurants within a 30 minute drive that I haven't tried yet.
 
Voted country home, but small town is nice too. My first place I moved to when I left the house was a small town. I could walk everywhere, and there was no essential I lacked, but it was still pretty quiet.

My least favorite is suburbia. You have to noise of the city, the isolation of country, and all the character of the color beige. It's got absolutely nothing going for it.
 
I used to think that living in the city would be e terrible. Been in chicago for almost a year now and its pretty fantastic. Don't own a car and there is so much shit to do.

There are certainly some downfalls but it has been a good first year.
 
I grew up in small city of about 100K and have spent a lot of time in towns anywhere from 500 to 50K for work. I've had my taste of rural/suburban life and I can find pretty much no reason to ever return IMO. The only part I miss is belonging to a rifle club 5 minutes from my old house.

If I ever end up leaving Chicago it would be for another urban area. I am not willing to sacrifice the quality of my food, sex, or entertainment.
 
TallBill said:
I used to think that living in the city would be e terrible. Been in chicago for almost a year now and its pretty fantastic. Don't own a car and there is so much shit to do.

There are certainly some downfalls but it has been a good first year.
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I was in Chicago for a couple of weeks this Spring and I freakin' loved it. I had the luxury of being put up in a hotel right downtown, though. I probably couldn't afford to live downtown if I moved there, though, so I'm not sure if I would like it as much.
 
Balt said:
I was in Chicago for a couple of weeks this Spring and I freakin' loved it. I had the luxury of being put up in a hotel right downtown, though. I probably couldn't afford to live downtown if I moved there, though, so I'm not sure if I would like it as much.
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Public transportation is so easy though. The girl im dating lives downtown and her place is a 15 minute subway ride away. I can take a bus or subway ride almost anywhere and there are so many places to go.
 
Balt said:
I was in Chicago for a couple of weeks this Spring and I freakin' loved it. I had the luxury of being put up in a hotel right downtown, though. I probably couldn't afford to live downtown if I moved there, though, so I'm not sure if I would like it as much.
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Generally living in one of the L accessible neighborhoods on the north or northwest sides is preferable to living right downtown for the most part and less expensive then renting or buying in a tower downtown.
 
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