? City Girl/Country Boy ?

[Lilith]

Something fzzy said in a thread got me wondering... do you consider yourself to be from a rural, more country community or are you an urban dweller?

Have you lived in both? Do you have a preference of one over the other?

[Sharni]

I am a country girl through and through

Am in the city now...and hate it

[OzKristin]

i have lived in both kinds of areas, country and city...and while i like to be around people, and be able to walk down the sidewalks right down my street to buy anything I need, I would rather be in a less crowded environment (coming from a northeastern jersey girl)..but then again, i'm not into the farms and manure smell of the last area I used to live in...so I would just really strive for a happy medium......something not too out in the boonies, and something not crazily populated and miserable like here next to nyc

[jseal]

Lilith,

City Boy here.

Done both - several times - on several continents.

The amount, availability, and quality of culture and the human interaction found in the city makes it, in my opinion, the hands down winner.

[dreamgurl]

country girl here, just nothing else around to prove otherwise not alot to do around here.

[LixyChick]

I'm a country girl through and through. The only draw back to being so far out in the country and up in the mountains is....

*hold your ears PF*

You have to drive miles (literally) just to buy a pair of panties! There is not one single place within 10-15 miles of me...to purchase a pair of underwear! The running joke around here goes something like this...

We keep getting more and more housing, and are getting more and more drug stores and grocery stores...not to mention schools (tax me out the wazzoo, why doncha)...but, we'll all be going commando if they don't put in a fuckin Super WalMart!

The plan was to build a Super WalMart very close to me, but the elders around this place HATE change and don't want big stores to build on their land (undeveloped and not being farmed in years...kinda land...some call it green space, but it can't get any more green around here if we tried!)...and they keep going to the public meetings and shooting down the locations for new growth! It doesn't matter what EVERYONE else wants...they won't sell their land to the big chains...but they'll sell off bits and pieces to the small developers so they can build new housing. Does that make a damn bit of sense to anyone? For crying out loud, we will NEED at least one store around here or, soon, everyone will be pantiless!

Oh shit! *looks down and sees that the soap box has slipped under my feet again*

Sorry bout that....lol!

Anyway...I watch the news in the morning and see the commute into the city (Philadelphia) and watch the traffic jams and accidents, and think to myself, "It wouldn't matter how much they paid me to work in the city, I couldn't take the mad rush"!

[Nice Guy]

Country Boy, 17,000 people in the town. Our biggest event in town is a Rodeo. It lasts an entire week and draws in 40,000 people. One of the largest Rodeos in the country.

[Cheyanne]

I am a left/right person, not a turn south at the 'ol tree stump that use-ta be that big oak in front of Smitty's barn that burnt down in ..... say, I think 76!.. Boy & tarnation! That thar was a fire! Nearly melted the... oh, I am gettin' off topic.... yeah, poor Matty, lost those prize chickens... :D...

I was born near a large city and lived in a mid-sized city growing up. There are advantages to living in the city but now I wouldn't trade it for the world. We live out in the country, on an acreage - I "git" to play in the dirt :D - about 5 miles from the nearest town of 2,500 population.

We do have to drive about an hour to the nearest "city" to shop and buy groceries (small town charges way to much and it is cheaper for us to pay for the fuel to drive and save money to shop in the city). But I would take living in the country over living in the city any day!!!

[flutelady]

I've spent most of my life in the "outer suburbs"... close enough to be able to access whatever I need, but far enough out to avoid all the urban bullshit. It works well for me. I lived in a large city for awhile and hated it.... I'm looking forward to (hopefully) being in a more rural area in the future.

[rabbit]

City kid with a country boy mentality....which is why I moved from the city and live in horse country now.

rabbit

[fzzy]

HMMMM ... man I finally made it, said something that inspired a thread ..... LOL!!! Funny, grew up in VERY small town (as I said before) - less than 1200 people grand total and we were the big town in every direction for over 100 miles .... lived in both big city and "small town" ... prefer something inbetween ... the place I live now ... and I LOVE it here ... is about 125,000 people, but is a old fashioned beachy resort type community ... so not a lot of commercial business here .... Still a very friendly atmosphere, but less than 20 minute drive to places for concerts, amusements, museums, etc. --- think I have the best of both worlds now.

[thedog]

Grew up on a farm in Lancaster PA, tossing hay bales and milking cows. Moved off the farm to Raleigh, then to Chicago, San Francisco, then Brussels, Paris, and Swindon, England.

Then lived on a boat for ten years in Key Largo.

Never missed the farm -- too much work. And yeah, Lixie, I was one of the people getting on the train to Philadelphia.

Now I'm in the frozen northest -- there are two seasons here: winter, and the Fourth of July.

I agree with jseal -- I miss the big cities, the cultural diversity, the fantastic restaurants, good mass transit (Chicago, San Francisco, and Europe), and a plethora of diverse activities.

I miss living on the boat. Didn't have to mow the grass and had a great water view.

But then, when the warmer weather comes here, packing a canoe and going to this desolate place I know, sleeping under the stars, smelling the woodsy dampness, listening to the whipoorwills and the halleujah chorus of night sounds, and watching a foraging moose wander across my field of view, I can only think back to my days waiting in traffic at the Bay Bridge toll plaza and somehow, my little Pond in the wilderness has a way of equalizing all of the other things that have gone by.

I like the in between viewpoint -- I'm only an hour from Boston, so when I want big city, it's there. When I want my quiet Pond, it's only 20 minutes away.

[BigBear57]

I'm definitely certified country boy. I've never really lived in the city but having stayed with family in the cities I'm always glad to make it back to the peace and quiet.

[BlueSwede]

I'm w/Fzzy; I have spent my best years living in woods that were part of cities with populations of about 125,000. I felt I had the best of both worlds--plenty of quiet and wilderness and wildlife but with most any store or park or anything "cultural" being 5 to 20 minutes away and having somewhat of a cultural/ethnic diversity.

[Bardog]

I'm as country as grits and turnip greens and damn proud of it!

I live about 15 miles from what most would consider a small town (about 25-30 k) and there is no way I could live in a place that big.

[Scarecrow]

The best of both, I'm a country boy through and through and I can see an Amish horse and buggy anytime I want to, but it's only 1 1/2hrs drive to Chicago, Indianapolis or St. Louise.

[huntersgirl]

I grew up in a mid-sized city, but summered in the country on a lake. I have always been both....I thrive off the energy in the city, feel like I can do anything when I am there. For the last 10 or so years I have lived very rurally and I love that too. I love the privacy, the nature and the peace and quiet. It's amazing that when you look around, I mean really look, there is almost as much diversity in the types of people that live around here as there are in a big city. Maybe not quite so much cultural diversity, but diversity none the less. Some day if I win the lottery, I will buy an apartment in the city to use on weekends. Then I can have the best of both worlds:)

[scotzoidman]

Guess I'm mostly city boy, (Gnashville is much more urban than people think) but where I live is still very close to the country, I'm married to a country girl, & I was raised by very much country parents. Plus the in-laws are on a real live cattle farm less than an hour away...

[osuche]

I am a city girl -- I have lived in VERY small towns (think 2000 people) but I prefer mid-sized cities. I like nightlife, but not too much smog and traffic. Columbus has about a million people, and that's about right for me.

[darogle]

I have lived in the big city. I've fit in there and enjoyed all the bustle and activity. But I was born and raised in a rural setting. I lived on a farm until I was 7, then moved to a town of just over 200 people where I stayed till high school. Being able to honestly compare the both, I have to say my heart still belongs to the country. Luckily, that's just where I'm headed when I get back to the states!

[vampeyes]

I was born and raised a city girl.. although my family is from the hills. When hubby and I first married we moved to rural SD and hated the country small town life so we went back to the big city (yes Detroit has more population in the one city than all of SD) but the older I got and the bigger my kids got I realised that I wanted to go back to the country to raise my kids..... so here I am again in the middle of nowhere lol and lovin it... so I guess I am a country girl at heart after all :D

[GingerV]

You know, I don't consider myself either country or city. I think if you get right down to it, I mostly consider myself a South Westerner.....we're a special kind of crazy.

I grew up in a small town (5,000...a think Fizzy and Daroogle beat me...)...and I've lived in big ones. I like the options in a big town, but honestly...I don't think I need to live there. You can always visit.

But if I can't get myself someplace where I can't see pavement and electric lights regularly...I get downright unpleasant. Does that make me a country girl? ;)

[dicksbro]

Lived in both. Baltimore, Chicago, Mannheim (GermanY), Yokohama, and Sendai (Japan) were the larger cities and they were okay, in fact, loved Baltimore.

Also lived in several smaller towns and do today. I prefer the smaller towns for lifestyle, but like being close enough to larger cities to be able to take advantage of the shopping and entertainment opportunities they offer.

[Ranger1930]

WEll, i was born in west virginia, then taken to pennsylvania, then to rhode island. then back to PA then up to new york and then to ohio. and then finally to north carolina.. and back to pa.

I, personally see myself as a corn bred country boy to the core. none of the places up north that i've lived in were anything close to city. every house had well over 10 acres of land.. and when i moved to NC i lived there from 13 to 16
so that was te bulk of my life in one area
.... and where i live in PA is just as country if not more... i love it though. i love the smells.. i love the sounds.. i love being a roughneck and i love being a country boy. all you big money making citty boys can come and flash all your cash all you want.. but youk now what... i got fresh air.. i got a house with a lawn.. i got me 4 cats and 2 dogs that like to raise hell with the neighbors dogs.... romping around in ponds and gett'n puppies... hehe help'n my neighbor damn near 3 to 4 times a week go get loads of wood for his wood stove... If anyone alive could claim to have the best neighbor in the world.. it would be me!. hehe he's about 50 feet away at all times.. and anyone else is about a mile away..

god.. got me all remmorsefull...
i need to quit...

but anyways i love being a country boy.. its in me and through and out my soul..

[WildIrish]

Having lived in both, I've found that there are things I'd miss about each if I lived in the other.

Washington DC and my current town have nothing in common. Not even the language! ha ha My town has 9,000 people in it and 27,000 cows. After 5:00, we have to drive 30 minutes to get to a grocery store. Our fast food restaurant consists of one Subway. We couldn't support a Blimpies at the same time, they moved out. I love small town life but hate small town minds and attitudes. I love the peace and tranquility of being able to sit outside and not hear anything but the birds, but hate bringing my garbage cans down a 400' driveway at night (because I forgot to do it during the day) and being afraid of things that go bump in the night...like coyotes! And I love that I'm not afraid for my children when they go out to play (except when they find the machete I keep hiding on them) but I hate the 45 minute ride to the nearest city with any semblance of cultural.

Bottom line, I don't forsee moving anytime soon. So I'll be chewed alive at the bottom of the driveway while my machete wielding children bitch about having to go to a museum because the ride takes longer than the batteries in their gameboys last.

[south]

urban v country??? Neither!
geeez I have been either in a Suburban or an ExUrban environment for as long as I can remember. Wide open spaces mean a quater of an acre lot and a lawn to mow. Going to the store generally means a 5 minute trip by car. Now I can walk to a bodega but "the city" is a short train ride away.
My preference is to live with space and conienvience near to the wildlife and the nitelife.

[jay-t]

I've lived both places now in a small town of 2500.just something about being able to look out and see wild turkeys and deer feed across the road,or smell fresh cut hay,listen to the ring of an anvil. you cant get that in a city very often, nor can you run naked thru the woods to go skinnydipping. I'll keep the country

[skipthisone]

From a small town of about 15,000...at University it was a town of 100,000 and that was my biggest. I personally would hate the traffic of a large city and now live in a town of about 2000 and dont mind it, just close enough to larger cities to get things and go to events, but far enough where there are still bumpkins around so I seem smarter.... :D

[Steph]

If there was a poll in this thread, it looks like the country people would win.

I live in downtown Toronto and love the hustle and bustle. Walking the dog is entertaining because there are so many people to watch. There are 2.5 million people in Toronto (which grows to 5 million if you count the greater Toronto area) and so many different foods and events happening every day. I'll never tire of hopping a streetcar or listening to the chimes of the subway.

That's not to say I'm not looking forward to spending a weekend in a provincial park listening to the birds as I paddle down a river.

[Aqua]

City. Plain and simple.

[Kissy]

I grew up in a town of 2000 people. Very small, but the biggest in the entire county. You have to drive an hour to Wallmart, or McDonalds. It's a great place to visit and vacation, but now that I'm out I would go crazy with nothing to do. Some days I miss the quiet though.

[smithy020]

i'm a city boy thru and thru. but i'm lucky enough to live in a new town where there's loads trees and stuff for walks and muck!