Urban vs Rural Living and Youth

[donk]

Not sure if this is the best spot, but it seems like it is.

All this week on the local CBC, there is a series about youth leaving rural areas to work and live in cities, I thought it may be of interest to people here.

http://nb.cbc.ca/features/anywherebuthere/index.html

 

[H]

Interesting and right on.

My wife’s home town was 3500 people in the middle of no where and when I would go home with her during college and talk to her younger brother and sister they would say the same things...”cant wait to get out of here” and of people there now my wife’s age (a few years just after college) the only people that stayed are consider “losers” by the majority that left. Most stayed in the state moving to the big city but many left altogether to go to places far away.

I grew up in a large city and never felt the need to leave. I did leave when I went away to college, but I never counted down the days etc. I actually went to undergrad in a small town and enjoyed it very much and thought I would stay in a small town (passing phase) so I guess the grass is always greener, especially when you are young and inexperienced.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Hell, I was glad to get out of the small town that I lived in for a couple of years. Its nice to drive back every once and a while to see how many losers are still there and how many cheerleaders got knocked up and are living in a trailer park (sorry offended, offended).

 

[ludes98]

I have never lived in a small town in my life. I have done work in many of them and can say that I am happy in the big city. I like wildlife and serenity, but not full time.

 

[BKM]

Eecept for a stint in Charlottesville and a few months in Chicago, I've always lived in a suburb. My current neighborhood "feels" like a small farm town, but it's in the middle of a suburban municipality of 90,000 people.

Its interesting in that what suburbia is supposed to represent or be is the traditional "small town." Look at the names. The old railroad suburbs actually felt like traditional towns somewhat, but the car democraticized suburbia and we have the world of sprawl today.

 

[Suburb Repairman]

I'm a big fan of the mid-size somewhat small towns of around 50,000. I lived in one They still have a small town charm but there's still enough to do that you don't feel the urge to run away as fast as humanly possible. I lived in a town like this through elementary and middle school.

I lived in a small town all through high school (same area I work in now) and was bored out of my mind during the fall, spring & winter. Summer was spent waterskiing Ever heard the phrase "idle hands are the devil's playground"? When there's nothing to do, teens find something--often illegal. I'm fairly certain that I toasted several brain cells during high school . At least in an urban area there are usually options for stuff to do, though a lot of teens would choose the illegal stuff anyway.

 

[Hceux]

What is a small town?

It seems like that everyone has their own definition as to what constitute a small town.

Some say that a city of about 50,000 people is "small town," others claim that a community of about 5000 people is a small town, and a few asserts that a hamlet of 3 people is a small town. Personally, I think that a city of about 50,000 people is a medium-sized town and a community less than 10,000 people is a small town, depending on what amenities are offered in these communities.

Because of the little or no amenities found in small towns, young people are "dying" to leave behind for cities where such desired amenities are found. I also think that this desire is a reflection of how young people are persuaded by popular culture; it is this kind of relationship: the larger the city, the more popular culture there is.

I think that people who grow up in small town have greater appreciate of amenities found in cities than those who live in the cities all their lives - it's a no wonder that few city-raised people move to rural community! Small towns are still nice and I believe that many young people do return to them after living in the city to fulfill their desires to get out of the town and after realizing that living in cities are not all that great after all.

What is your take?

 

[Bangorian]

I grew up in a town of about 10,000, and now I live in another town of about 10,000. I would count both a small towns (though, in Maine, a town of 10,000 puts you in the top 10 largest cities!!!)

Where I grew up, I was about 40 miles form anywhere. For many years, we didn't even have a movie theater. We had to drive 40 miles to get to one. I was ready to get the hell out of that place.

During school, I lived in a town of about 50,000, which was part of alarger metro area of about 250,000. I loved it there.

Now I live in another small town, but I'm about a half hour from Portland, Maine's largest city, which has a population of about 65,000. Its a really great town. Having easy access to Portland is what makes it bearable to live in such a small town. For me, at least, living in the same town further down the coast would get tired real quick...

So, I think that its a matter of location. We're lucky to be far enough away to not be in the suburbs and have a real small town atmosphere, but also close enough to have access to arts, entertainment, and stores in the big (!) city.

 

[Cardinal]

I have lived in a city, in the suburbs, in a mid-sized city of 200,000, in a city of 50,000, a city of 14,000 and in the rural countryside. As far as a setting is concerned, I prefer the rural areas. However, I think the real issue for any of these is economic and social opportunity. Like Donk, I have to admit that there are almost no women in the immediate area that I would consider dating material. Jobs are another issue. With a business degree, why return to the little town you grew up in to be a clerk in a liquor store, or with a nursing degree, to work in the local nursing home? You can make a lot more money and have a far greater opportunity to grow in jobs in larger communities.

Issues like these are having a tremendous impact on some rural communities, especially in the plains states. It raises a question: can, or should these communities survive. One of the more intriguing questions is whether "economic development" should focus on managed decline instead of trying to artificially support a dying structure.

 

[Queen B]

My hometown had 650 people. It was 30 miles from everything but school pride was tops. As far as it being a great place to live as a kid, yes I think it was but I wasn't originally "from there" so I didn't always fit in but still a nice safe place to be. My EX moved back there after we split and it was a great place to send my daughter when she was a rebelious teen. Couldn't go or do anything without the whole town knowing and reporting back!
I have lived most of my life in a town of about 35,000. I still had reasons to leave there and find shopping else where.

Now I live in a bit larger city that is pushing my size limits. I think it takes to long to get across town. Solution, I live in the middle. It is all about access and ability to get in and out. I hate to wait 30 minutes to be seated in a restuarant. I hate to stand in line. I have other thngs to do.
So I guess the answer is yes we move to larger cities but with work I would take small town living any day.

 

[martini]

I grew up in a town of roughly 35.000. Couldn't wait to get out, but since my ma worked at teh local university, school was free there. How could I turn that down? After school I moved to Mpls to try living there. LOVED it. As long as I didn't drive that is. If I commuted by bike, the quality of life up there was fantastic. After living there, I moved to a town of 4000. I HATE it. As much as I like small town, country life, this town I live in now is hard to be in. People are very difficult to get to know(been here 5 years). Overall its a very conservative area. The town managers have no interest in making the twon what it could be. Its just off a major highway, in between two major employer type cities(Mpls/St. Paul[40 min], Mankato/St. Peter[30/10 min]), making it a perfect bedroom type community. There's not much industry to speak of(former home of Green Giant foods), so the best bet for the town is residential living, yet they refuse to market the town as such, turing away the tax base.

I look forward to getting the hell outta this town as soon as I can. St. Peter is probably where we'll go if i get hired on where I'm working now. At 10k peoples, its kinda small, but it does offer everything my wife and I need for our lifestyle.

 

[jordanb]

I came from a town of 160,000. I suppose that's not really a "small town", maybe a "big town" or "small city," but it felt fairly small, and it feels tiny now when I go home.

It's a nice town, and I think it's a great place to be a kid (except for the living in sprawl bit, which isn't a requirement because it has many urban neighborhooods). It's small enough that you don't have the "anonymous masses" problem. The schools are all small and not overcrouded, unlike the massive holding tanks in the Chi suburbs, but there are enough people that it's not like everyone knows each other. For someone in their twenties, it's probably a tad too small, but for younger, it's just right.

 

[SkeLeton]

160,000 small town? heck! Valdivia has 130,000 and is an intermediate size city!
Here, (acording to our stadistics institute) a town has between 1,001 and 5,000 inhabitants. (Although I'd strech that to like 10,000)