# City life vs. Small Community life



## christianyouth (Jun 3, 2009)

Which do you prefer?


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## Idelette (Jun 3, 2009)

What if one likes both and would like something in between......such as suburban life??


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Jun 3, 2009)

In my head my perfect life would be a very secluded mountain cabin with bookshelves, a chair, a fireplace, and a still.


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## westminken (Jun 3, 2009)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> In my head my perfect life would be a very secluded mountain cabin with bookshelves, a chair, a fireplace, and a still.



Amen


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## Josiah (Jun 3, 2009)

A big old farm-house (with some acreage) on Whidbey Island, vegetable garden with raised beds, a large solar powered greenhouse, chickens, roosters (maybe), a big barn/workshop.


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## Berean (Jun 3, 2009)

In His Grip said:


> What if one likes both and would like something in between......such as suburban life??



Suburban life is virtually the same as city life. Life on the fringe of the metropolis.


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## PresbyDane (Jun 3, 2009)

Small community, is the only logical answer to this question


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## Idelette (Jun 3, 2009)

Berean said:


> In His Grip said:
> 
> 
> > What if one likes both and would like something in between......such as suburban life??
> ...



LOL! Not always....

Where I live right now is pretty far from the Metropolis so to speak...and near enough to the farm lands! I love having the best of both worlds!


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## christianyouth (Jun 3, 2009)

Re4mdant said:


> Small community, is the only logical answer to this question



Back this up brother.


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## Timothy William (Jun 3, 2009)

I live in a city of 300,000 and I find it much too small. Even my previous city of 3.5 million was definitely on the small side, compared to what I'd prefer. I'm not sure that this is related to being single though.



Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> In my head my perfect life would be a very secluded mountain cabin with bookshelves, a chair, a fireplace, and a still.



This sounds quite attractive, for a season, but I wouldn't want to be in such a situation permanently.


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## LawrenceU (Jun 3, 2009)

In the country on a farm outside of a small town raising my own vegetables in a truck patch and selling the extra. I'd have a small herd of Jersies, some ranging hogs, laying hens, and a fryer/broiler house, and always have a couple of steers going. I'd raise my own hay, corn, and other necessary grains. I'd also prefer to do most of the vegetable work with my mules. In my shop I'd build furniture when I had time for sale. I'd build it like I prefer: no power tools, fine woods, fine joinery, and hand finished.

I gotta get out of this city.


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## Curt (Jun 3, 2009)

I currently live in a town of 2100, but I saw an ad today for a mobile home on 40 acres, in a town of 1600. 
Looks good to me. I have lived in good-sized cities, the suburbs, and small towns. The small town is my preference.


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## Knoxienne (Jun 3, 2009)

I used to be a city mouse as far as what I like - ethnic restaurants, cafes, music stores, bookstores, etc., but I'm becoming more and more of a country mouse as I see how valuable small community living is to us as Christians, theologically, economically and politically. I'm not disparaging city life - it has its advantages, and I more than anyone understand the allure - it's just possible to change over time. I've lived in Mid-town KC, and I think I've gotten city life out of my system and am ready for more of what LawrenceU and Backwoods mentioned. I like the idea of self-sufficiency and anonymity. The city just doesn't allow that.


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## gene_mingo (Jun 3, 2009)

I would like to have a small farm, maybe 200 or so sections.


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## Montanablue (Jun 3, 2009)

City life for me. I live in a very rural area now, and there are definitely advantages and things to appreciate, but I love the city. I just love being surrounded by people - the crowning glory of God's creation.


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## DMcFadden (Jun 3, 2009)

Lived all of my five and one half decades in greater Los Angeles. Yech! Give me the midwest or the Ozarks ANY day.

BTW - 2 sons, 2 daughters-in-law, 1 grandson in the Ozarks.
1 son, 1 daughter, 1 son-in-law, 1 daughter-in-law, 3 grandsons in the midwest.


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## Blue Tick (Jun 3, 2009)

Country Life. With a solid reformed church within a 25 mile radius.

200 acres of land for farming and raising livestock, self-sustained power and water, low taxes, lots of guns, a big truck with 4 wheel drive, and 4 hounds! I do need high speed internet though... Maybe satellite internet.


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## Jesus is my friend (Jun 3, 2009)

As close as I can be to the best Reformed Church,currently we can walk there if we have to (about 1.5 miles) and this makes me very happy

We have lived far away from church before (1/2 hour) and this was very depressing,so it means alot whether city or country to be near the Church we belong to


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## ColdSilverMoon (Jun 3, 2009)

City life all the way...


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## Edward (Jun 3, 2009)

Timothy William said:


> I live in a city of 300,000 and I find it much too small. Even my previous city of 3.5 million was definitely on the small side, compared to what I'd prefer. I'm not sure that this is related to being single though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I live in a city of about 250,000, and I would miss some of the services and amenities if I was to move to a rural area.


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## Timothy William (Jun 3, 2009)

I'd happily live in a community of 200 people, on the condition that I got to choose the people. I can't quite see that happening though.


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## Carolyn (Jun 3, 2009)

We live in a small community that is 30 miles from St. Paul, Minnesota. That is just ideal for us.

Even better, God answered our prayers and provided 2 OPC churches within driving distance!


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## he beholds (Jun 3, 2009)

I can't make up my mind. I was born in the city, grew up technically in the suburbs, but five minutes from the city, so pretty much city-life, moved back to the city when married. Then moved to an apartment community, which was I guess its own version of a suburb, and was no fun. Then moved to a dirt road in the country, about 15 minutes outside of a small town and 30 minutes outside of a city. I have mixed feelings here. I like our five acres, but now that we get ticks on us anytime we go outside, it's making me a bit of a shut-in. And being 35 minutes from church and friends also helps my new affinity for isolation, which I don't think is great. 

So, I'm conflicted.


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## LadyFlynt (Jun 3, 2009)

Berean said:


> In His Grip said:
> 
> 
> > What if one likes both and would like something in between......such as suburban life??
> ...



Uhm, no it's not.


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## matt01 (Jun 3, 2009)

I have lived all over, from a fairly small town (250) to a decent sized one (400,000+). I would prefer something in the middle, maybe property outside of a mid-sized city.


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## Herald (Jun 3, 2009)

I like small town life, but having experienced the lack of good pizza, Chinese food, and a visit to Wal*Mart counting as a big deal; I prefer city (or suburban) life. I was raised ten miles west of Manhattan. Within fifty miles of New York City you don't have to go far to get whatever it is you need.


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## Berean (Jun 3, 2009)

LadyFlynt said:


> Berean said:
> 
> 
> > In His Grip said:
> ...



Um, depends on which city, its size, what type of neighborhood, what sort of people, etc. A neighborhood in a city can very closely resemble a neighborhood in a suburb. I grew up in two cities. I've lived and worked in three suburbs, a rural area, and a small town. The 60's were different from today's neighborhoods. Subjective assessment?


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## LadyFlynt (Jun 3, 2009)

Berean said:


> LadyFlynt said:
> 
> 
> > Berean said:
> ...



Could be


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## Theognome (Jun 3, 2009)

The best place to live is one where you can run a table saw in your woodshop at midnight on a Tuesday and not disturb your family in the main house or be heard by a single neighbor. Pure bliss...

Theognome


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## Berean (Jun 3, 2009)

Theognome said:


> The best place to live is one where you can run a table saw in your woodshop at midnight on a Tuesday and not disturb your family in the main house or be heard by a single neighbor. Pure bliss...
> 
> Theognome


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## HokieAirman (Jun 3, 2009)

I grew up in the country...where you can walk out back and do this:











...without anyone calling the cops...or hearing.

Someplace with good soil, good stone, good trees and good scenery. The land in the photo has a great view of Humpback Rock in Virginia...hope to inherit it someday.


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## ww (Jun 3, 2009)

Grew up in a town of 784 people north of Pittsburgh. Always had a passion for the City and have lived in Cities ever since. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Phoenix, and now Albuquerque. However Albuquerque is like the country/city. If you can drive down a road to 4th street and pass several ranches with horses along the way you have quite the combo and less than 30 minutes away I can be sitting by a stream, enjoying the mountains, and smoking a fine cigar. So I like the convenience of the City but spend time out in the country from time to time.


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## smhbbag (Jun 3, 2009)

You must be really far out there HokieAirman, if they can't even hear you.

We could always tell what time of year it was from all the pre-dawn gunshots within 5 miles of us. There's a country golf course 4 miles from my house, and after finishing a round I came home and asked him how his shooting time was. He didn't tell me he shot. I heard it during my round. Maybe sound just travels out there.

Either way, of course, no cops would ever be called, because the nearest law enforcement is 30 minutes away, at least, and nobody hesitates at the sound of a gunshot.


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## Zenas (Jun 3, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> In the country on a farm outside of a small town raising my own vegetables in a truck patch and selling the extra. I'd have a small herd of Jersies, some ranging hogs, laying hens, and a fryer/broiler house, and always have a couple of steers going. I'd raise my own hay, corn, and other necessary grains. I'd also prefer to do most of the vegetable work with my mules. In my shop I'd build furniture when I had time for sale. I'd build it like I prefer: no power tools, fine woods, fine joinery, and hand finished.
> 
> I gotta get out of this city.



Lemme know when you do, we can buy land adjoining yours. I need someone to teach me woodworking.


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## VictorBravo (Jun 3, 2009)

smhbbag said:


> You must be really far out there HokieAirman, if they can't even hear you.
> 
> We could always tell what time of year it was from all the pre-dawn gunshots within 5 miles of us. There's a country golf course 4 miles from my house, and after finishing a round I came home and asked him how his shooting time was. He didn't tell me he shot. I heard it during my round. Maybe sound just travels out there.
> 
> Either way, of course, no cops would ever be called, because the nearest law enforcement is 30 minutes away, at least, and nobody hesitates at the sound of a gunshot.



Right. I grew up on a ranch of 1300 acres, and the nearest neighbor had a ranch twice that size. His house was probably 5 miles away.

But we could hear each other shooting and know what was being fired. Not only that, I could tell when he hit the gopher he was aiming at from the sound after the shot.

Of course, that was prairie and rolling hills, not forest, so there may be a difference.


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## Spinningplates2 (Jun 3, 2009)

Timothy William said:


> I live in a city of 300,000 and I find it much too small. QUOTE]
> 
> Too small for what?


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## HokieAirman (Jun 3, 2009)

smhbbag said:


> You must be really far out there HokieAirman, if they can't even hear you.



We shot those guns in a hollow, so it directed the sound straight out and up...away from our neighbors. That said, there's about 200 acres out there, so they're not very close. The ones that care don't hear a thing...we asked 'em. They're related so they wouldn't lie.

So, maybe I exaggerated a liiiiittle bit...


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## he beholds (Jun 4, 2009)

Herald said:


> I like small town life, *but having experienced the lack of good pizza, Chinese food, and a visit to Wal*Mart counting as a big deal; I prefer city (or suburban) life. * I was raised ten miles west of Manhattan. Within fifty miles of New York City you don't have to go far to get whatever it is you need.



Good point. We don't have any good take out here at all : (


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)

Zenas said:


> LawrenceU said:
> 
> 
> > In the country on a farm outside of a small town raising my own vegetables in a truck patch and selling the extra. I'd have a small herd of Jersies, some ranging hogs, laying hens, and a fryer/broiler house, and always have a couple of steers going. I'd raise my own hay, corn, and other necessary grains. I'd also prefer to do most of the vegetable work with my mules. In my shop I'd build furniture when I had time for sale. I'd build it like I prefer: no power tools, fine woods, fine joinery, and hand finished.
> ...




Will do. 

I find it curious that most people who say they prefer to live near the city seem to mention food and conveniences in shopping. And, most of the food is of a variety that our grandparents would probably not have had the ability to buy. And, if they did it would have been a rarity to partake in it. I guess I'm just content to eat my beans, greens, cornbread, ham, tomatoes, and other regular old stuff.


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## christianyouth (Jun 4, 2009)

Well this has been an interesting poll. I thought that small community life would win out, and I see I was right. 

Some reasons for choosing city life over against rural life :

- More options for church membership in a city
- More opportunities for evangelizing/other forms of ministry. 
- More potential to meet and befriend people of different demographics


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## Skyler (Jun 4, 2009)

You forgot country life.

But I think I'd like city life. The neighbors are busier and don't have as much time to be nosy.


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)

Skyler said:


> You forgot country life.
> 
> But I think I'd like city life. The neighbors are busier and don't have as much time to be nosy.



Hah! You have never been in an inner city Italian/Jewish/Greek/ (just name it) neighbourhood. I've never had my life so snooped as when I lived in a city. Folks in the country are usually too busy doing the work it takes to get life handled to care about being snoopy on their neighbours. One of the nosiest places I've ever lived was in the suburbs. Their the ease of living allowed people to get in everybody else's business. I'm sure it is different in various areas, but these have been my observations.


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## Herald (Jun 4, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> Skyler said:
> 
> 
> > You forgot country life.
> ...



Don't start on the Italians. It's a road you don't want to go down unless all your affairs are in order.


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## Jon Peters (Jun 4, 2009)

City life for me. I live in the suburbs of a smaller city now (Sacramento) but moved from the San Fernando Valley (SoCal). I miss it in many ways but am content with where I am now.


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## Skyler (Jun 4, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> One of the nosiest places I've ever lived was in the suburbs. Their the ease of living allowed people to get in everybody else's business. I'm sure it is different in various areas, but these have been my observations.



Hence the choice of city over small town.


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)

Herald said:


> LawrenceU said:
> 
> 
> > Skyler said:
> ...



No harm intended.  Just an observation.


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## Herald (Jun 4, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> Herald said:
> 
> 
> > LawrenceU said:
> ...



Hey, it's your life. I'd hate to see Vinny, Joey, and Carlo show up in your town with all that expensive gold jewelry looking for you. Forgedabodit.


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)




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## Tripel (Jun 4, 2009)

City for me.

I'm all for a vacation in the country, but I couldn't live there.


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## ColdSilverMoon (Jun 4, 2009)

I appreciate grass and trees and mountains, but I enjoy waking up to this view every day from my bedroom window...


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)

Mason, more power to you, brother. Unless I knew that God had called me to such a place I would go insane. I get the feeling of being crowded just looking at the picture. I'll never forget the time I was in NYC as a youngster. My father had gone to school there to take a few specialised courses for one of his Master degrees. We lived in Babylon during that time. Going into the city was so strange. The sky was limited to that little slot up way up there. I was young, but I had spent all my life in the country.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Jun 4, 2009)

You can see trees Mason...


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## Skyler (Jun 4, 2009)

I'm jealous, Mason!


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## Herald (Jun 4, 2009)

I like to think I had the best of all possible worlds living in North Jersey. If I wanted to see a Met game I could take the PATH train to Manhattan and the #7 train to Shea. If I wanted the ocean it was only an hour drive away. The mountains and countryside? Thirty minutes to an hour either north, south, or west. There are small towns in Jersey and New York state that have less than three hundred residents. I've also been in the middle of Nebraska, two hours from the nearest big town of one thousand.

"Black asphalt is the place for me,
City living is the life for me.
Skyscrappers spreading tall and wide,
Keep the country just give me the New York side."


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## Knoxienne (Jun 4, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> Mason, more power to you, brother. Unless I knew that God had called me to such a place I would go insane. I get the feeling of being crowded just looking at the picture. I'll never forget the time I was in NYC as a youngster. My father had gone to school there to take a few specialised courses for one of his Master degrees. We lived in Babylon during that time. Going into the city was so strange. The sky was limited to that little slot up way up there. I was young, but I had spent all my life in the country.



I can imagine how overwhelming that must have been!

Another thing is, so much of scripture speaks of ties to the land (we were made out of the dust and there's a natural pull to it) farming, agriculture, husbandry, and an agrarian lifestyle that it's hard to understand a lot of the Bible apart from living that way or at least taking a good bit of time to learn about that way of life from friends, sermons, books, etc.


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## ColdSilverMoon (Jun 4, 2009)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> You can see trees Mason...



Heh, true!

If you didn't know this picture was taken in Central Park with taxis whizzing by just a few feet away, would you ever think this scene is in the heart of Manhattan?






See, there's grass and trees and water here!


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Jun 4, 2009)

ColdSilverMoon said:


> Backwoods Presbyterian said:
> 
> 
> > You can see trees Mason...
> ...



Well I have been there, so yes. Problem is when the bums "appear" out of the water.


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## ColdSilverMoon (Jun 4, 2009)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Well I have been there, so yes. Problem is when the bums "appear" out of the water.



As in floating face down? Those aren't bums...just guys who didn't pay their bookie....


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## LadyFlynt (Jun 4, 2009)

I said city. There really needs to be more options. If I had to choose, it would be an island in the middle of nowhere with a couple of good mountains or the city. Keep me out of small towns and suburbs. People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).


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## Theognome (Jun 4, 2009)

LadyFlynt said:


> People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).



Reformed Christians are like that, too.

Theognome


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## LadyFlynt (Jun 4, 2009)

Theognome said:


> LadyFlynt said:
> 
> 
> > People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).
> ...



Yes, they can be.


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## Knoxienne (Jun 4, 2009)

LadyFlynt said:


> I said city. There really needs to be more options. If I had to choose, it would be an island in the middle of nowhere with a couple of good mountains or the city. Keep me out of small towns and suburbs. People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).



What you wrote made me think of those HOA's - what a pain. We knew one family who lived in a nice neighborhood in Northern CA and you weren't supposed to hang laundry outside but did it anyway! Good for them. 

But what folks will say is, 

 Rich people should be able to afford to run their dryer and their A/C when it gets too hot in the summer. I don't want to see someone's underwear Grr. 

After the kind of stuff I've seen in suburban neighborhoods, I'd be glad to see clothes hanging outside. 

And I collect windchimes, so a HOA wouldn't work for me either.

-----Added 6/4/2009 at 01:24:34 EST-----



Theognome said:


> LadyFlynt said:
> 
> 
> > People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).
> ...



I know _I _am. That's why I like the internet. "_So that's what so and so's up to now! Hmm_".


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## kvanlaan (Jun 4, 2009)

Grew up mostly in a town of 20,000 in Ontario, Canada.
Then moved to a city of 400,000 close by.
Then to a town of 25,000 in Oklahoma.
Then lived for a decade in a city of 11 million in China for almost 12 years.

Verdict: cites stink by comparison.

Rambling farmhouse on a few hundred well-watered acres is my #1 choice. Far from town, where you can close the gate and say goodbye to the world for a few weeks if you'd like.


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## Jen (Jun 4, 2009)

This is where my mum grew up. This is where my dad was born and lived till 10, and this is where he lived from 10-17. But this is where I grew up. Any will do, though the smaller communities only in a country like Switzerland where nosiness is abnormal. My aunt and uncle went back to Switzerland for a year, actually, and it was the closest look I got to what it's actually like living there. I'd do it in a heartbeat. If there was a good church to attend (which, sadly, in that part, there isn't).


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## 21st Century Calvinist (Jun 4, 2009)

I grew up in a village of about 800 people. Everybody knew each other and consequently each others business. I do like that community aspect of small community living. We were 90 miles from the nearest city (Inverness). 
However, I am now a city guy. I like the busyness, the amenities, the diversity. Even though the traffic is a nightmare I love (and miss) Atlanta.


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## Poimen (Jun 4, 2009)

I chose the latter option only because it was the better of the two. But I would prefer to be where I am now: country living on 11 acres, 2 miles outside of town, a half-hour to the city of Edmonton. The international airport is 5 minutes as the Canadian goose flies but I am surrounded by farmland. And it is only four hours to the Rocky mountains. 

Leduc County is a great place to live.


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## Craig (Jun 4, 2009)

Depends on the city...but overall: I choose city. NOT NYC, Chicago, L.A., San Fran, etc.

Toledo is "mid-size"...probably geographic size rather than in population as everyone continues moving away 

My favorite big city I would consider living in...Indianapolis (believe it or not...if you've been there, you can understand why). ALL the amenities of a big city minus congestion (though you'll run into it...especially during the Indy 500).

If I had to live some place away from the city...it would have to be in a forest or along the Pacific Ocean. In the forest, I could just shoot me a bear when I got hungry...near the Pacific...non-stop sushi!


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)

Why would you trek all the way up to the library for a beer? Just put a cooler on the deck.


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## Montanablue (Jun 4, 2009)

LadyFlynt said:


> I said city. There really needs to be more options. If I had to choose, it would be an island in the middle of nowhere with a couple of good mountains or the city. Keep me out of small towns and suburbs. People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).



I really agree. I like the extremes - way out in the country or in a big crowded city (my first pick). The dynamics of a small town or a suburb just isn't for me. And don't even get me started on Homeowners Associations...*shudders*


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## Grace Alone (Jun 4, 2009)

We live in a small town but it's less than an hour from a large southern city. It's just right for us. We'd hate to deal with big city traffic on a daily basis. The log cabin in the mountains has always been my husband's dream. I like the idea but would prefer it as a second home if we had that kind of money, which we don't.

That said, I love VISITING big cities...and we're headed to NYC in a little over a week!


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## Theoretical (Jun 4, 2009)

Montanablue said:


> LadyFlynt said:
> 
> 
> > I said city. There really needs to be more options. If I had to choose, it would be an island in the middle of nowhere with a couple of good mountains or the city. Keep me out of small towns and suburbs. People there are NOSEY and think the entire world should do things the way they do, and heaven help you if you're the oddball (which I typically am).
> ...




Bigger city, the better, though like Montanablue, if not a city, then the country, but suburbia is the antithesis of me. Also, like JC, I'm nearly always the oddball/outlier in most groups, and am thus significantly more comfortable in an urban setting than in suburbia.

Just in less than a year, I've been exposed to far greater socioeconomic and value system folks in my urban area than I did in the suburbs or the highly uniform neighborhood of my parents. I've had far more opportunities to share the Gospel in this setting than in the suburbs, in part because I've found city folk far more likely either intrude on your space or welcome a bit of intrusion on theirs. And this include some strongly homosexual folks, down-and-out impoverished, and militantly opinionated people, and various others.

I also think it's easier to hold and maintain countercultural stands, including Sabbatarianism if you hold it, in an urban setting than in a suburban one, in part because urban culture doesn't mind oddballs and outliers like so much of suburbia tends to do. In my experience, people are far more likely to be intrigued or "ok that makes sense", both Christian and non-Christian, in the urban areas than in suburban ones, where something like that is much more dismissed as being "non-mainstream". 

Plus urban culture does far less whitewashing of its sin. Yes, depending on the parts of town you go to, you may see the pierced, ultra-tatooed, overtly immoral, baldly intoxicated, ridiculously depraved obviously non-Christian, but then, do we and should we really expect the non-Christians around us to live as we do?


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## py3ak (Jun 4, 2009)

If the population is less than 10 million should it really be considered a city?


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## LawrenceU (Jun 4, 2009)

Joshua said:


> LawrenceU said:
> 
> 
> > Why would you trek all the way up to the library for a beer? Just put a cooler on the deck.
> ...



Thanks for clearing that up. It was truly troubling to me.


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## Vonnie Dee (Jun 5, 2009)

Greeeeen Acres is the place for me! Not really, but I'm not far from it. I live in a subdivision. However, one step beyond my backyard is a corn or soybean field (depending on the year). I like living here because we can get to St. Louis in about 20 minutes without actually living there.


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## SueS (Jun 5, 2009)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> In my head my perfect life would be a very secluded mountain cabin with bookshelves, a chair, a fireplace, and a still.





That's us here on Bald Mountain, minus the still - if I had one it would probably explode!!!

I saw a cayote puppy down by the garden yesterday - that tells ya how far out we are!


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## Edward (Jun 5, 2009)

SueS said:


> I saw a cayote puppy down by the garden yesterday - that tells ya how far out we are!



Around here, coyotes and bobcats are spotted in densely populated subdivisions. At least we don't have bears like they do in Atlanta.


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## Curt (Jun 5, 2009)

Poimen said:


> I chose the latter option only because it was the better of the two. But I would prefer to be where I am now: country living on 11 acres, 2 miles outside of town, a half-hour to the city of Edmonton. The international airport is 5 minutes as the Canadian goose flies but I am surrounded by farmland. And it is only four hours to the Rocky mountains.
> 
> Leduc County is a great place to live.



Dude, I plan to be in Edmonton in August (already have tix for the Blues Festival). Any good lake fishing around Edmonton?


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## AThornquist (Jun 5, 2009)

Tough call.
I like having animals, gardens, lots of space, intimacy with those around me, lots of businesses and attractions, and lots of people. In other words, I'm hopeless.


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## Ivan (Jun 5, 2009)

Vonnie Dee said:


> Greeeeen Acres is the place for me! Not really, but I'm not far from it. I live in a subdivision. However, one step beyond my backyard is a corn or soybean field (depending on the year). I like living here because we can get to St. Louis in about 20 minutes without actually living there.



I grew up about 35 minutes from downtown St. Louis on a farm in the Metro-East area. It was a good life. My wife grew up in East St. Louis. She and her parents were still living there when we got married, but they soon moved to Greenville, IL. My father-in-law lives now with his oldest son in Belleville, IL. He is 95 and going strong. My parents still live on the farm. My father has lived in the same house since he was 12 years old. He is 83 years old now. His family lived in the same area (within a few miles) since the 1850's. 

Since leaving home, the largest city we have lived in is Ft. Worth, which I dearly loved. However, for the most part I prefer living in the country...far out in the country. But my wife prefers living in a large town or small city. Presently, we live in Beloit, WI where I work at Walmart as a manager. In all truth we don't really live in Beloit...we just have the address. We live way out on the outskirts of town with several interstates dividing us from the town. Although there is a good number of people who live in our subdivision, it definitely has the feel of country. 

The church I pastor is also in a small town but only about 15 minutes from Rockford, IL and less than ten minutes from Belvidere, IL. These two towns are very close together and have a combined population of about 140,000. Beloit and Janseville, WI have a combined population of about 90,000. Hence, our area has a lot of people and amenities. Still, if I could be out in the country where all the sights and sounds were nature, I'd choose it.


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