Is it a good idea to live in a big city?

theinfectedmaster

Argument Topic: I would say not

Big cities often have things like bad air pollution, noise problems, and violence. Too much noise can cause brain damage and heart attacks. Violence can cause businesses not to thrive and wreck the economy.

just_sayin

theinfectedmaster said:

Big cities often have things like bad air pollution, noise problems, and violence. Too much noise can cause brain damage and heart attacks. Violence can cause businesses not to thrive and wreck the economy.

Big cities can indeed have all the things that you mentioned.  However, some people prefer to be in an urban environment.  The like the proximity of things and shorter commutes to work.  They enjoy the activities and night life that cities provide.  They also enjoy the sense of community that they can find in their building or neighborhood. 

Being in the country is often more affordable and allows for more natural surroundings.  With Amazon delivering just about anywhere, access to things is less of an issue for most. 

Ampersand

There are a lot of advantages (most notably access to all the services, job opportunities and infrastructure) but there can be disadvantages as well, with big capital cities like London having a higher cost of living than the rest of the country.

People have different priorities for what they consider important. There’s no definitive answer.

jack

theinfectedmaster said:

Is it a good idea to live in a big city?

Hello the:

Yeah, if you like good pizza.  But, if you're willing to do without, the country is nice. 

excon

MayCaesar

One important dimension in human personality is something that I would call "energy level". People with a low energy level naturally gravitate towards slow-paced life, with days that do not differ much from each other, very slowly moving through life and reluctant of updating their routines and habit. People with a high energy level, on the other hand, seek excitement, want their days to be packed with bright events, and different days to have completely different events.

I belong to the latter category. Put me in the rural environment - I will die of boredom after a few days. Looking at the same patch of grass every day, seeing the same few people, going to the same local pub - *yawn*. I need the vibe, the energy, the diversity - and only megacities provide that in sufficient quantity. Places like New York City, Chicago, London, Paris, Sydney - that is my jam. Places where you can go to a central park, strike up conversations with 20 strangers and hear 20 completely new stories. Places where you have supercars new to hoopties, billionaires next to the homeless, skyscrapers next to ghettos. Places where you see everything and feel like you are at the center of the world.

I do absolutely love hiking and travelling in the wilderness - but even then I have to constantly move forward. If it is a 3-week long park-focused road trip, I have to visit 2-3 different parks per day, and preferably not spend more than 2-3 days in a single state. Sitting in one place is simply unbearable. I absolutely cannot relate to people who go to the beach in the morning and sit there in place for 8 hours staring at the waves: I would be up after 5 minutes, doing something funky or running away towards more exciting places.