Has anyone else experienced growing up in the city and then moving to a rural place in the middle of nowhere? I was born in Phnom Penh and I grew up there, spent all my time there and when I was 11 I moved to this random village in the middle of England. Even tho PP isn't a particularly big or grand city (compared to say Bangkok, NYC or London) but it's still the bustling capital city that never sleeps. This was quite a big change as I am a city girl and will always be. I miss the traffic jams, the bustling city lights, the busy streets and people, the concrete jungle, the tall buildings and skyscrapers, how there was always 'something' wherever you looked. I miss how full it was, how all the shops were just 5 minutes away, how big the malls were and how close they were, I just miss the city, living in such a rural area has made me realize how much I love it. The village I live in is so quiet, barely any ppl or houses, we have like one mini shop and that's it. I know as soon as I'm old enough to leave home, I'm getting out of here and going back to a big city like Paris or Berlin- I feel like it's what I was made for, my home, where I can feel 'complete'. I guess I'm quite lucky to have been able to grow up the capital city, everyone here has lived rural all their life.
Well, I grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden's capital, and when I was 16 I moved to a village of about 300 and lived there for 3 years. It was quite the change since I was used to having so close to everything. I liked it living in the countryside though. Mainly because I lived alone and I had all of my friends within a 200m radius, everyone with their own apartments. I can't say I missed Stockholm very much, I quite dislike many parts of living here. But there are things about the city that I do like. For example I like having all of the options that you don't get in rural areas, food, clothing etc. It was also hard since I didn't have a drivers license during the time I was there, so I couldn't get around easily to school, the city, the grocery store etc. Which led to having to plan a lot of my days to find time to buy groceries and do all of the errands I needed done. However I think the surrounding nature and the adventurous and active lifestyle that everyone had around me in the countryside was fantastic. It is something I really miss now that I've moved back to the city where there's just people and things everywhere and pollution and all of this horrible stuff. But I understand that it isn't for everyone, some people simply prefer the citylife. I also believe I had it quite easy because I had loads of peers around me when I lived there.
I hate rural living. Even towns are hard for me to adjust to. Most of my relatives live in this town nearby.. around 75,000 people. It's dreadful. No good shops or restaurants at all, people look grey and anemic, often obese. Lots of pensioners. Ugh. Feels like the gene pool is very shallow. It's called Castleford - some Brits might know it. It's the worst town I've ever been to. I like spending time in the countryside, but I couldn't live there long-term. I need civilisation.
I hope the opposite will be true for me. I live in a town with under 7,000 people here legally. Nearest house is a quarter mile. I would love to live somewhere better.
I grew up in Pitesti, Romania. And now that isn't some huge city like London, for example, but compared to the small town I am living in right now, it's huge. I don't like it. It's small, everyone knows everyone, the shops are limited, and the people are mean and whiny about pretty much everything. If you dress a bit more classy, they stare as if you grew another head. And by classy I mean black jeans, a shirt and a treanch coat. Nothing out of a fashion magazine. If you dress in any way that doesn't match theirs, they stare. It's just that. If you have a camera- and I do, because I am a photography student- and you also use it, they even call you names and laugh at you. If you're a foreigner, they automatically hate you. It's horrible and I only know a few nice people in here. I like tall buildings. And traffic jams. And people going everywhere. Shops, cafes, libraries, you name it. Diversity. I feel trapped in here. I didn't like my old place much, but this little town with their mean people just doesn't do it for me.
You and I are complete opposites. I was born in 2001 and have been living in the same town since I was one day old. It's a mix of suburban/rural. I cannot stand the city, I hate going there. The more rural a place, the better. I feel very unsafe and exposed in cities, and all of those skyscrapers are scary, man! I don't mind long car rides to the store or mall. It's so nice and quiet at night, you can go outside and look at the stars because there's not that much light pollution. I know my way around here very well (obviously, if I've been living here for fourteen years). Oh, and don't forget all of the corn. There's corn everywhere. They just harvested it today and it's just one big field now. It's nice going to the small shops (for example, we still have a video store here) and somebody else walks in and you recognize them and can have a little talk. It's so nice.