City Life Vs. Country Life

It can be tough to decide what kind of community to live in, especially if you have a lot of options. Start by learning about and deciding between city life and country life.

Social Setting

In the country, there are fewer people to interact with, while in cities there are more people than you could possibly ever know. In the city, neighborliness may more optional. In the city, there are more cultural venues.

Air Pollution

In the city, there is smog. There is also air pollution in the country, because factory farms release gases like methane, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, says Sustainable Table's "Air Pollution."

Prices

Prices can be higher in the country because trucks make more stops and leave less at each store. Store owners don't make as many sales and need to make more per item to stay in business. Yet certain items are cheaper in the country, especially if they are made or grown nearby.

Transportation

Cities have limos, taxis, buses, trains, street cars, trolleys, and subways in addition to automobiles. In the country, public transportation is school buses, church buses, and senior citizen activity buses. In cities there are traffic jams; in the country, you might have to go along slowly behind farm equipment.

Jobs

Jobs vary less in the country, with less opportunity to work close to home. Connecting for Baby's "Poverty in America" cites an article published by L. Jensen in 2006 that says rural unemployment is higher than urban unemployment.

Migration

There has long been a migration from inner city cores to suburbs. On the other hand, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports "Brain-Drain" as the brightest of rural young people move toward areas of larger population.

References

• Sustainable Table: Air Pollution
• Connecting for Baby: Poverty in America
• The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Rural Brain Drain