LIVING IN A CITY OR THE COUNTRY

I am going to talk about city living. Living in a city and the advantages of living in a city
compared to living in the countryside and also the disadvantages.

The first advantage that I can think about in terms of living in the city is that you are
closer to all of conveniences. You have got services at the touch of a button. Services
very close to you. You have got the doctor, supermarkets leisure activites, sports
centres, shopping centres, all those things are really close. Whereas you know, if you
live out in the sticks, it is a bit more difficult to get to those places. Out in the country
there is a lot more privacy and tranquility. You don’t have the hustle and the bustle of
city living. The sound of trains, cars, machinery, people, it is a lot quieter and peaceful.
Also in the country, you know, you feel closer to nature. It is obvious really, city living
can make you feel dirty. The air isn’t really clean. You get on the metro and you wipe
your skin and it is just greasy, so when you are out in the country, you just feel natural.
In the city there are more things to see, especially if you are a tourist. Obviously, I think
there are pros and cons to visiting another country and visiting the countryside, or
visiting the city. There are advantages and disadvantages to both but I think generally
when tourist go to another country the first thing they want to see is the city, the
monuments, famous places… They want to do some sightseeing (TURISMO) and they
want to experience the culture and being in the countryside and hugging a tree is
maybe not exactly an experience in the country. Generally, people want to see what
life is like in the city when they first visit.

One of the advantages of living in the countryside over living in the city is that you
can essentially have a garden and you can make your own food which is a huge
advantage because you know that what you make (grow) is healthy and you choose
what goes into the food. In theory, people in the city are generally a lot busier or that
is the kind of concept what we have. They are always in a hurry and they are less
likely to help you so I think maybe people in cities are a bit colder than people who live
in smaller towns and villages because in smaller towns everybody knows each other so
you walk pass somebody in the street and they will be like, Hey, how are you doing?
And I know that for some people, who live in smaller towns, that can be quite
frustrating because you are going somewhere and you are stopping every 5 minutes to
have a five minute conversation with somebody and before you know it, an hour has
gone and you still haven’t reached your destination. So I think people in cities maybe
feel more anonymous,they can travel around and nobody really knows you. It is quite a
surprise if you bump into (tropezar con) somebody that you know in a city. The pace
of life is faster in the in city and that can be good because some people are really
ambitious and really just want to be doing stuff, moving forward and city life gives you
that opportunity. I know that my perception of places like New York it is a very
competitive city but there is a lot of talent there. There are a lot of ambitious people
and the pace of life is really fast. I think London is similar, also Paris, Tokyo, in the big
cities the pace of life is a lot faster than in smaller cities or in villages or in the
countryside.

Crime, you know, crime is generally a problem in bigger cities like Las Ramblas in
Barcelona , where there is a lot of crime that happens on that street. Crime is not
something that happens that much in smaller towns so, I think it is an advantage if you
live in a smaller town or village but yes, I think there is a lot of violence in bigger cities
and, I don’t want to blame it on multiculturalism but I think that sometimes also when
you have a lot of different cultures together in one place that can create friction. It can
create friction between people but at the same time there are a lot of problems that
happen within cultures, within ethnic groups and it is not one etihnic group against
another but, yes, I think when you have a lot of people together it is like being in a lift,
it is quite uncomfortable being in a lift with a lot of people and I think maybe big cities
are like that, you feel packed like a sardine and that creates pressure and sometimes
people snap and there is a lot of violence in bigger cities in my opinion. Although Tokyo
is maybe an exception. There is hardly any crime there, You’ve got the Yakuza which is
a kind of crime mafia, syndicate but apart from that, you can leave your wallet in a
restaurant and come back in a few hours and it is still there which is definitely not
something you can do in London or New York, so Tokyo is an exception.

Public transport, you know, a huge advantage of living in a city in London you have The
Tube or the Underground, you can catch the tube every 3 minutes, most of the times
there is another tube coming in 3 minutes time. The bus networks let you get around
very easily as well and then you have got train networks which connect people form
outer villages and bring them to the city. So there are a lot of commuters who
commute into the city form outside because cities have such good public transport
networks.

I think I have spoken about shopping, restaurants as well, you have got a huge array of
restaurant options in bigger cities. Just social posibilites and networking. There are a
lot more possibilities to meet people who are doing things that can take you to the
next level…