Hey,

I live in a small town in europe, built a house and well it takes me about 25 minutes to the next bigger city (not huge one, lets say 50.000 people live there.

I sometimes find myself getting frustrated because the next gym is 7 minute drive by car to another smaller town. Grocery shopping I also do in another town nearby. Same people, same stuff, nothing new.

I am thinking about selling my house but I love the quiet area too. I love my freedom in my house and yard and I know everyone in town but nobody has my interests.

I can’t just go to board game nights, meet many people in a bar, go shopping, go to a cafe and all that. I always have to drive those 25 minutes first.

But would I do all those things I wrote above if I’d live in the city? A few friends live in that city and say everything is so expensive and they do the same as I do (same gym, same grocery, same routine) just in the city.

But I feel like I am missing out.

  • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.mlEnglish
    10·
    8 hours ago

    I moved from a smaller city (~100k) to a bigger city (>2m). These are the biggest pros as I see it:

    • Better jobs. I would never have had the kind of career growth I had staying where I used to live.
    • Possibility to live without a car. I can walk/bike/take transit everywhere, without compromising on convenience. This saves me a lot of money and gives me lots of “free” exercise.
    • More people who share my interests in the vicinity.
    • Closer to the largest airport in my country, giving me convenient access to travel the world.
    • An unending amount of nice restaurants with different foods to taste.

    Neutral points which people like but don’t really matter that much to me:

    • Bigger dating scene. I already have a long-term partner so this doesn’t benefit me.
    • More expansive nightlife. My personal limit is basically bars where I can talk to friends, and the occasional karaoke. The night clubs and related activities do not really interest me.

    Cons:

    • The housing costs are more expensive than where I used to live. With the increase in income I still make it out way, way ahead, but it’s a notable tradeoff.
    • If I want to visit some of my family members, I need to take a train for several hours.

    On balance, the pros far outweigh the cons for me, and I will likely be staying in the city for a long time.

    • esa@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      3·
      3 hours ago

      Better jobs. I would never have had the kind of career growth I had staying where I used to live.

      Side note here: Better access to work-related events. It is possible to WFH for some jobs that were previously city-only, but you’ll be missing out on not only the casual socialization of stuff like grabbing a pint after work, but also various technical meetups. I’ve gone to meetups for fields of work not related to me just because I find the topic interesting and it’s easy to swing by.