Live in the US, and I live in a village, like there’s not even enough people here to be a town. There are cities within reasonable driving distances (5 mins - 1 hour depending on what you want to do/see.)
But, for the most part I like staying here in my area. Not too much noice and plenty of woods to see and go through. But still good food around, and fairly decent places to go and see.
I don't know if I could ever deal with (American) upstairs neighbors again in my life. The percentage of inconsiderate people meeting the percentage of multi-family housing with basically no soundproofing is a recipe for sleeplessness and rage.
The percentage of inconsiderate people meeting the percentage of multi-family housing with basically no soundproofing is a recipe for sleeplessness and rage
This problem is exactly why I will never live in a city again. I’m sure it’s possible for multi-family housing to have reasonable sound proofing. I’m also sure it will never actually happen in anything except the most high-end units… And even that soundproofing does nothing when you try to have the windows open during nice weather and discover that your neighbor’s wife screams like an actress in a bad porno at 3am. Ya, no, fuck that noise. Gimme a small home in the forest with trees between me and the next asshole.
That all said, I quite like my current setup. I’m in a rural area with ~25k people in the county, last time I looked into it. The community I live in is more suburban in layout. We don’t hear our neighbors unless they are really, really loud. But, we also have BBQ’s on the regular with our neighbors and our kids are out and about together constantly. It’s pretty darn idyllic.
Small town. I was born and raised in Toronto/GTA. Moved to a small town during Covid, where my dad was born and raised… Absolutely love it. I do of things I was never able to do (or did) in the city. I can do all of those things alone and without people watching (wonderful, as an introvert).
I do occasionally travel to Toronto for work, and I absolutely despise it. First day, I want to go back home. Too much chaos. Too much traffic. Too much people. I simply don’t know what to do when I’m there and have free time.
Small town for sure. I love the outdoors, I love the quiet life, I love the community cohesion, I love pretty little houses and cottages and I love animals. I adore hills and crags and mountains and valleys.
The city itself isn’t really my scene. I don’t like cars, I don’t like shopping centres, I don’t like big flashing lights, and loud noises, and I don’t like sirens or clubs. I especially don’t like loud cars and pollution.
I live in a city now and I just miss the colour green and ponds and lakes and people that smile and say hello. I realise the country isnt perfect and there’s still things I’d miss about the city but by far I’d rather live out there than the middle of a city.
I wish Buffalo was closer in size to Cleveland or Pittsburg, but being within driving distance of Toronto and to a lesser extent NYC (on top of the aforementioned Cleveland and Pittsburg) is pretty friggin great.
Well, if I lived in a small town I would need to either walk or give little kids asthma to get anywhere. And seeing as I have both a conscience and the pressures of 21st century fast paced living, it’s impossible for me to live in a small town.
There was a city I lived in that had a small town feel on Vancouver Island. It was nice being able to go do things like eat at restaurants, hike, go buy hobby stuff, but also the freedom of driving a few minutes to the woods to be alone. The neighborhood I lived in and the surrounding area was quiet and close to nature. So, I’d say I’d like to live in a small town, since I grew up in one, but be close enough to a city where I can do stuff.