Is living in a city really that bad?

I didn’t mind it. I lived on campus and what not in Columbus Ohio. Population like 750k total. I wouldn’t want to live there forever or raise a family there, but it wasn’t bad.

Parking can be a bit of a pain though..

I haven’t found it all that bad.

People can go insane anywhere.

Of course not; It can be wonderful. Some people love it and some people can’t stand it.

It is more expensive. It is shocking to realise how much money you waste on food alone.

No. I live in London and it’s fantastic (although it helps if you have a load of cash).

Who says it is bad? Some people love it, some hate it. My grandma moved to NYC in her late 70’s. Much more convenient, she did not need to drive anymore, because the public transportation was good. The grocery store delivered her groceries once it became difficult for her to lift things. Almost every restaurant in the area delivered. She had season tickets to the opera. Her doctors were just a bus or cab ride away. All types of shopping near by. Trains to travel many places, upstate, VT, DC, all just a few hours. Central park for a fix of green. Fantastic museums.

If it would be true, all cities around the world would be 100% full of insane persons, and we all know that that is not the case, so no.

That depends on the city. Springfield, MO would drive me nutty, but not Chicago.

I really don’t think it’s more expensive once all costs are factored in. People who really don’t like the city can leave. ;-)

Every place has its plusses and minuses. You just have to go by what you like and ignore naysayers. I love the Adirondacks. Know what is an absolute SOB to find up there? Men’s underwear. Can’t be found. I know that’s a bit of a wacked example, but I think by it’s absurdity it highlights some of the plusses and minuses I mentioned.

If people didn’t like living in big cities, they wouldn’t be big.

I’ve lived in a large city and now live in a small community. Like @Adirondackwannabe said, there advantages and vise versa, but I’ll take the small community everyday. DON’T like sitting in traffic and people going 500 mph on the freeway….and riding on my a**!

I loved living in the big city when I was younger. There was always so much to do and many places to go. I use to think I would like living in a country or on a farm, but now I realize I like living in a smaller more spacious community that has the best of both—people, animals, shopping, night-life, etc….

Like anything, it has it’s pluses and minuses.

On the up side there are certain conveniences available like having a multitude of nearby stores that carry pretty much anything you have a whim to purchase. Additionally, there are great entertainment options ranging from live music to movies and everything in between.

The down side is the traffic, noise, and crowds. Additionally, depending on your choice of living arrangement, have less personal space and are often constrained with what local codes and neighborhood associations will allow you to do on your own property. OTOH, if you choose wisely these limitations can be overcome. For example, I live in an older neighborhood with ¼ acre lots. I have a real backyard with some great trees, a nice patio and pool, and even room for a garden and a chicken coop. Your basic privacy fence makes it a great little oasis smack in the middle of the big city.

It’s not at all bad.

I grew up in a very large city and I loved it. I still live in the city. I have lived in smaller towns and I appreciate what they have to offer, but I won’t be able to live in a small place until I retire, and even then I doubt I would move away from the life of the city.

I love the city and country living isn’t necessarily cheaper here but even if it was I’d never willing live outside a city

Cities generally don’t have to be more expensive, but you will have less space to live in, and a different lifestyle.

It is entirely personal preference. I don’t living downtown in any large city, but I love living in the suburbs. Some people can’t stand the suburbs being so far away from ‘everything’, but in California, everything is far away from everything else.

If you are comparing to rural living, there are some who wouldn’t be able to stand rural living, and others who wold love it.

It depends not only on the city, but what you want from it. I loved NYC for 7.5 of the 8 years I lived there. One day, I just got sick of it – crowds, noise, expense, being unable to see the stars at night. So I finagled a transfer and now live happily just outside a smallish city. The cities didn’t change – my needs and priorities did.

Born in a city (Buffalo), raised in a city (Milwaukee), went to uni in a city (Madison), moved to a huge city (New York), and want to move to another huge city (London).

As @perg says, it depends upon your priorities. I love city life, and it’s not like I’ve not been to the country or the seashore or any other type of place, and though I liked being in those environments, I prefer the city as my primary residence.

I agree with @perg – it depends on the city. I was born and raised in Sydney, moved to the bush when I was 22, and moved back aged 43. I loved the bush, and thought I’d never come back to Sydney. We now live in a northern suburb, on the edge of a bush reserve, and even though we’re in Sydney, still have kangaroos and wallabies in our yard, and beautiful native birds to wake us up. I would not live in the inner city suburbs for anything. I would die from claustrophobia. I stay out of the city centre as much as possible, and escape Sydney altogether when I can.

On the other hand, we recently spent some time in Lima, Peru, and I would not live in any part of it for anything. Great to visit, but the harbour bridge and opera house never looked so good as when we flew back in!! I guess it depends on what you want, and what your city is like.

Also, it depends how you define city? What is the population cut off? I remember my aunt being stunned that someone sitting next to her at my college graduation talked about coming to the city for the graduation. I went to school in East Lansing, Michigan. To my aunt, having always lived in NYC, East Lansing is a town. Lansing, if that is what the other person was actually talking about, is the capital, but a small city, not coming close to how my aunt would define a city.

@JLeslie The definition of a city is very important. I grew up in L.A. The definition of a city for me is a city that is at least similar to the size of L.A. So for me, there are very few real cities out there.

@tinyfaery I find the fact that what most of us call Los Angeles is actually dozens of little cities.

The actual city of Los Angeles stretches long and wide, even if you do not count incorporated cities.

I live in NYC, and I’m not insane… just a little coocoo…

When my husband moved to California from New York, it took him several years to get back his ability to hear and to smell, both of which were severely diminished. He still walks down the street like the hounds from hell were after him, I don’t think he’ll ever learn to just take a leisurely walk.