Posted: November 3rd, 2020
I Prefer to Live in Big Cities Than in Small Towns
I Prefer to Live in Big Cities than in Small-towns In English, there is a well-known fairy story about a poor country boy, Dick Whittington, who goes to London because he believes that the streets of that city are “paved with gold”. The story is a tale of “from rags to riches”. Dick eventually becomes the Lord Mayor of London. Like the hero of that story, I love to take adventure in the cities. I grew up in a small town and then moved to a big city, so I have experienced the good and bad sides of both. I never thought that I would like living in a big city, but I was wrong.
Cities contain a great assortment of people. Whenever I walk around a shopping precinct at midday on a weekend, I am fascinated by all the different types of people hurrying around the shops. Sometimes, I just sit on a public bench and simply watch the variegated streams of shoppers. Today, in the age of globe-trotting transport and communications, city life is more mixed than it has ever been. Capital cities are not cosmopolitan, and eager to attract foreign trade currency. There is a contemporary English joke which tells that “you can never find an Englishman in London”.
The United States is made up of people of different races, religions, abilities, and interests. However, you seldom find such a variety of people in a smaller town. I think that living in an area where everyone was just like me would quickly become boring. Whether rightly or wrongly, I love the excitement of big cities. Small towns have a slow pace. Large cities mean you have to adapt to a variety of situations, like finding a new route to work or trying a new restaurant. I enjoy that challenge very much. Another pan of the excitement of city living is the variety of cultural activities available.
There is a wide assortment of theatre, music and dance performances available in big cities. These things are rare in small ones. Governments and local authorities usually build public amenities in the big cities. Money is invested in transport, libraries, parks and museums. Often, countries will compete with each other for the best “show-case” building. Malaysia has built a skyscraper that is taller than is anything in New York. In large countries, region will compete against region: New York against Chicago, Shanghai against Hong Kong and Beijing. All of this is good for the citizen.
The magic of the Dick Whittington story is rekindled in me when I enter a library in a magnificent building. If a person is at university studying art or music, a large city usually offers galleries and public performances. Even when I was a teenager, I appreciated the worth of living in a city because two or three times a year there was a rock concert by one of my favorite bands. There is one thing I want to talk is small-towns and big cities both have some problems in terms of transportation. In a small town, you have to own a car to ensure a comfortable living.
You can’t get around without one because there isn’t any kind of public transportation. Big cities generally have heavy traffic and expensive parking, but there you have a choice of taking public transportation. It’s not free, but it’s often cheaper than driving when you consider gas and time. Especially if you don’t have a car, you’re better off in the city. And of course, security is a concern, and that’s one area where small towns are superior to big cities. Still, I would rather be a bit more cautious and live in a large city than to feel secure but bored.
