For me, cities are like marmite. Like many country girls, I spend my time flitting between the love of having every service conveniently at my doorstep (no hour round trip to pick up your takeaway in the city!) and the contempt for the lack of green space and healthy fresh air of which we are accustomed to. Here are a few details of what I learnt from moving to a city for university…
It’s weird to say “hi” or even smile at strangers you pass in the street
At home, whether you recognise them or not, the unspoken rules of village life demand you greet everyone you meet while out for a walk with at least a smile. To do so in the city would cause you to stop every metre as well as earn some odd looks from passers-by who aren’t accustomed to sharing life events with strangers. At least in the city you can get on with your daily business without having to stop and hear about Uncle Terry’s brother’s dog’s puppies or how Margaret’s potatoes have been struck down by the blight again.
Crossing roads has almost cost you your life more times than you can say
For country people, city roads are a minefield as our brains are not adapted to having to cross a road with more than one car on it (if any at all!). In the countryside, listening out for that one car that could be up to a mile away suffices while we ramble down the middle of the road. Having to deal with so many cars coming from all angles at roundabouts and crossroads in the city is enough to send your heart racing. It could even cause you enough panic that you never wish to cross a road alone again!
The city REALLY doesn’t ever sleep
Every time you come home from the city you are amazed by the quietness thanks to the lack of people. Â You are woken only by the sweet singing of birds (or a noisy tractor) in the morning. In the city, you are kept awake practically until the early hours of the morning by revving and beeping cars or sirens from ambulances. Returning to the city after time away almost certainly means no sleep for the first couple of weeks and certainly makes crossing roads an even more dangerous feat.
You forget what it’s like to breathe clean air
That first breath of fresh air after arriving home to your country abode never ceases to amaze. You wonder how you didn’t die on the spot from inhaling all the car fumes back in the city and relish the somehow fragrant (probably down to the cow pats) air that fed you up to be the strong, healthy country girl you are.
Despite its obvious downfalls for us lucky few who grew up in the country, as I said before, cities are like marmite and therefore there are things that we love about them…
The wonders of accessible and frequent public transport never ceases to amaze
After having spent years relying on my parents for lifts or walking miles for a bus that sometimes turns up every couple of hours, moving to a city and having a bus turn up outside your door every 5 minutes is appreciated beyond belief. The fact that a journey into town can take less than 2 buses, miles of windy roads and insurmountable potholes is a genius to behold and means “popping to the shops” no longer takes three hours.
Takeaway doesn’t mean driving an hour round trip for then luke-warm noodles
Oh the glory of home delivery at 2am. Being able to order food without moving from your sofa after a long night of drinking and dancing will never be as appreciated by anyone as much as it is by a drunk and country girl. Need I go on about the brilliance of having such a large variety of food on offer to be delivered to your doorstep in well under an hour? To anyone who has experienced the long drive to collect takeaway from their country residence, I know I do not.
Edited by Lucy Jackman
Sources:
http://www.prettymuchliqi.com/2011/12/friendship-dating.html
http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/16/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road-oregon-police-dont-know-4834872/
http://giphy.com/gifs/black-and-white-twin-peaks-tired-mERsFg7xeGbaU
http://www.boozwheez.co.uk/bwdata/health-2/summer-health-benefits/
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